By Tiger Bill Meligari
This lesson expands on our previous lesson by taking the two five-stroke roll patterns around the drum set. If you haven’t yet practiced Five-Stroke Roll Workout – Part 1, be sure to watch and study that lesson before moving on to this one.
If you haven’t first mastered these drills on a single surface, you’ll find that any sloppiness will be greatly magnified when you apply them to the drum set! Just as in the previous lesson, the key here is to play both the closed and open stroke rolls cleanly and without tensing up your muscles. It’s this relaxed approach that allows us to play with maximum speed and endurance while maintaining precision and control.
Refer to the music notation. When working on these two exercises for speed, you’ll find the limiting factor to be the transition from the fourth beat of the second measure into the first beat of the first measure.
Video Lesson
Check out our video to see a demo of these exercises applied to the drum set. The key is to start slowly and gradually increase your speed, providing you can do so without developing tension. The key is to make clean transitions between the open and closed stroke rolls as well as maintaining a distinct difference in the sound between the two types of rolls.
Practice Tips
After you’ve practiced these exercises as written, reverse the sticking to play them with a left-hand lead. Note that this sticking change will force you to cross one hand over the other as you move around the drums. This may prove difficult at first but will become easier with practice while adding a nice touch of showmanship. For additional practice, try applying all of the odd and even stroke roll rudiments to the drum set. The key is to stay loose and relaxed and not to become tense while moving around the drums.
If you have questions on this lesson, leave a comment for me below.
Until next time: Have fun and stay loose!
Tiger Bill Meligari