I love stick control exercises and all the rudimental material I can get my hands on. They go perfectly with a cup of morning coffee or while binging my favorite videos. Picking a few bars and slowly working through the mechanics feels so satisfying. Once it’s under my hands and I’ve worked out any hiccups, bumping the tempo and feeling the new vocabulary pouring out is gratifying.

This process is so fun I began writing my own. Beat Note makes it so easy to explore new ideas.

In This Article

• Fundamental Stick Control Exercises
• Advanced Rudimental Patterns
• Complex Sticking Combinations
• Speed and Control Development

Play-Along Exercises

Fundamental Stick Control

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Stick Control Basics

Here, we move single paradiddle sticking around with some doubles and singles.

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Stick Control Basics 2

Check pattern followed by basic combinations of doubles and then inversions of the paradiddle.

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Strive for even sounding strokes hand-to-hand. Listen to the spacing between the notes to maintain consistent rhythmic accuracy. Don’t overcontrol the stick; let your velocity and the rebound do the work.

Advanced Rudimental Patterns

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16th Rudimental Break

Diddles, low-height flams, and some sextuplet goodness.

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Drum Rudiment Lesson

This is quite advanced! Work through slowly for control and mastery.

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Maintain rhythmic accuracy while moving through fulcrum and rhythmic shifts. Transitioning from doubles directly into singles requires a bit of finesse to maintain an even sound and stroke. Slow down and focus on the mechanics if you find any hiccups in your ability to control the rhythms.

Complex Sticking Combinations

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Paradiddle Paradiddle-Diddle

16th and triplet rolls with paradiddle-diddles.

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Rudimental Break Fundamentals

Fun hand-to-hand single-diddles with some sticking, low-height Swiss triplets.

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Most players tend to crush single 32nd diddles. Think about maintaining an open sound when executing difficult transitions and rhythms. Don’t worry; your sense of rhythmic accuracy will increase as you develop your ability to hear more complex phrases. Try not to crush your interpretation of the rhythms or squeeze down.

Speed and Control Development

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Syncopated 16th Roll Phrase

Leaving a little space creates a nice flow.

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Build your ensemble ears by playing along with Beat Note. This will train your ears to hear all these rhythms and their accurate timing. Developing this skill will allow you to play more easily with others.

Wrap-Up

I hope you are enjoying these; follow along with our posts here for more drumming knowledge! For more on these specific concepts, check out my YouTube channel and Rudimental Puzzle ebooks available at my shop.

In the future, I’ll adapt these into play-along excerpts for everyone here at Beat Note!

Happy drumming!

Z