10 One-Minute Warm-up Exercises for Daily Drum Set Practice

Effective practice makes perfect, so grab your sticks; here is a killer daily drum routine to help you level up!

Do you ever ask yourself: What should I be focused on when warming up? Is it better to practice one day a week or a few minutes a day? Do I need real drums or a practice pad to warm up properly? What goes into a solid drum warm-up routine?

You came to the right place for answers and inspiration. Dive into all this and more as we walk you through a comprehensive daily 10-minute routine with ten tried-and-true quick drum exercises the pros use. Let us help you strengthen your basics, get your muscles firing, and put your head in the right space to create killer music. Along the way, we will utilize Beat Note as our playback, metronome, and rhythmic interpreter. Let’s go!

Let me create a complete table of contents based on the actual headings from the article.

10 One-Minute Warm-Ups

1. 8 on a Hand to 16ths

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8 on a Hand to 16ths

Start with the basics! 8 on your right - 8 unison - 8 on your left - then a bar of 16ths.

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8 on a Hand to 16th with Feet

The intermediate version is to do this in unison with your hands and feet.

2. Accent Tap

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Accent Tap

Focus on keeping things tension-free. Cushion the stick as you play the up and down motions.

3. Accented Triplets

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Accented Triplets

It is essential to know the basic combinations of triplet accents, move these around freely, and explore where your ears take you for various fun rhythmic motifs.

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Accented Triplets Variations

Here are some fun accented triplet variations.

4. Sandford Double beat

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Double Beat - Hands Only

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Double Beat - Feet Only

Basic double beat with your feet. Strive for even timing between the notes.

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Double Beat - Unison

Playing in unison allows us to iron out any timing issues and hone in our technique.

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Double Beat - Ostinato Hands, Double Beat Feet

Let’s put this in a simple groove.

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Double Beat - Ostinato Feet, Double Beat Hands

Adding different patterns into our feet will build your interdependence.

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Double Beat - Fill in the Blanks

We can also fill in the gaps with our other limbs for groove ideas and fills. Also try this with the right hand filling the gaps as your left takes the lead. Move it around d the drums for fun ideas.

The classic Sanford Double Beat focuses on the use of velocity in our double strokes. We can also incorporate the triple version.

Before every show I perform, I lightly stretch a bit and always incorporate this quick warm-up routine. I grab my sticks and sit on a chair for these, drumming on my thighs. Ideally, I recommend using a practice pad on a snare drum stand, a drum stool at a proper height, and a wooden floor to tap your feet on. If you have the luxury of playing on a kit, bonus! In that case, move the exercises around to train your ears and hear the voicing in time.

5. HUGGA DUGGA Brrr

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HUGGA DUGGA Brrr Singles/Doubles

Let’s get those hands moving with nice relaxed doubles! Even spacing and sound are key.

We can also do this in triplets:

6. Count Up, Count Down

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Count Up, Count Down

Count along sequentially with your hands (1-1, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, etc). Move your feet in unison with eighth notes underneath.

CHALLENGE! Try playing quarter notes with your feet for added interdependence. This can be tricky stuff but gets your brain firing!

7. Sextuplets & 8ths:

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Sextuplets & 8ths

CHALLENGE! Move the stepped Hihat to all 8th notes!

8. Essential Drum Rudiments - Basic Triplets With Flams

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Basic Triplets with Flams

The foundation of playing drum set boils down to moving singles, doubles, and triples in time with our hands and feet. We warm up using these basics to get the blood and oxygen flowing to our muscles. Remember to breathe and fuel your muscles with plenty of water for better pliability.

9. Essential Drum Rudiments - The Paradiddle Pyramid

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The Paradiddle Pyramid

The powerful paradiddle has so many applications and variations. Great for sticking fundamentals and inspiring grooves. Here’s one I wrote in 6/4 with Beat Note.

Even 5 minutes a day is always better than 35 minutes once a week.

10. Mirror Exercises

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Beginner Mirror Exercise

This is the stretched out version. Bar of 8ths. Bar of hands 16th/feet 8ths. Bar of 8ths. Bar of hands 8ths feet 16ths.

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Intermediate 16th Mirror Exercise

The intermediate version here is 8ths and 16ths.

CHALLENGE! Crank it up into 8ths and sextuplets.

Bonus Section

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Pantera Singles

Let’s go deep and work our single diddles and timing. This is a classic drum corps exercise; playing it a few minutes daily will work wonders. Apply it to your feet or hands/feet in unison to crank things up a notch for some serious modern rock drumming chop building.

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Sextuplet Warm Up

One of my favorite flow phrases. Great for warming up and flow around the kit.

Wrap Up

And there you have it, my 10 x 10 with variations and 2 bonuses to boot!

No matter your musical taste, these will get you ready to rock the house, get the dance floor moving, or the bandstand swinging. Remember to incorporate playing with Beat Note for rhythmic interpretation and as a click to dial in your timing.

If you’re looking for more warmup exercises, check out our Snare Warmup for Beginner Drummers post.

About Me

I play every day. My bands play 250+ shows a year with lots of travel, so I get a ton of time on my kit and pad to shed. Thankfully, through the help of gifted teachers, I have yet to deal with any drumming-related injuries after 35 fun-filled years. To give you an idea of the extent of what I do in my drumming life, my wife and I just wrapped a 3-month Broadway tour in Japan for a show called Blast. We played A LOT. These are the exercises I use daily to get my head in the right space before shows and for exponential growth. Generally, before every show I perform, I stretch a bit and always incorporate a quick warm-up routine. I mostly grab my sticks and sit in a chair for these, drumming on my thighs. Ideally, I recommend using a practice pad on a snare drum stand, a drum stool at a proper height, and a wooden floor to tap your feet on. Just use what you have at your disposal!

Maximize Your Practice Time Here’s a concept that will elevate your drumming exponentially: THE BOX. Maximize your practice time by using all four limbs PLUS the big kicker, YOUR VOICE. Isolation exercises are also great when you need to iron out a few hiccups, but applying this concept as much as possible will advance your interdependence three-fold. Always incorporate your voice to mark the time OUT LOUD. You control time and feel from inside, so get your brain firing on all cylinders!

CONCEPTUAL APPROACH: 4 Limbs, 1 Voice

(Used with permission: excerpt from 200+ Block Builders for The Modern Drum Set Artist)

Best of luck, and happy drumming! -Z


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