In this lesson, I introduce a series of exercises to develop coordination and independence. We will apply rudiments to create hand-foot combinations and play jazz comping ideas inspired by Elvin Jones’ drumming style.
We start with a preliminary exercise, playing a single stroke roll, double stroke roll, and paradiddle-diddle in 8th note triplets on the snare drum (bass drum in 4, hi-hat on 2 and 4).
The next step is to introduce hand-foot combinations, playing the ‘R’ with the hand and the ‘L’ with the foot (hi-hat on 2 and 4). A functional concept I shared in a previous article. Take note the sticking for the hand part is alternated, as indicated in the notation.
Now things get more complex! We add the jazz ride cymbal pattern with the right hand while playing the combinations with the left hand and right foot (hi-hat still on 2 and 4).
In the video below, I demonstrate the exercise at two different tempos. That is a challenging exercise to improve your drumming and enhance your rhythmic ideas. Moreover, you can creatively apply these ideas to other genres beyond jazz. Here you can download the PDF including all the exercises. Keep on drumming!
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