In this drum lesson I’m going to suggest 3 sticking patterns to practice daily for faster hands. It’s a very simple concept, which is exactly why it’s an effective practice method. This method is designed for efficiency, so you can practice these stickings for 30 minutes daily, or as little as 10 minutes daily, and still see a lot of improvement.

There are an almost infinite number of possible stickings on the drums. All you need to do is open a book like Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone, to see that this is the case. However, one of the keys to improving technique, control and speed is repetition. When it comes to developing speed, it’s better to take one sticking pattern and play it over and over, than playing 100 sticking patterns one time each. With that principle in mind, we’re going to focus for awhile on just 3 simple sticking patterns.



Here Are The Three Stickings

Single Strokes-RLRL Double Strokes-RRLL Single Paradiddles-RLRR LRLL

How To Practice The Three Stickings

All stickings should be practiced With a metronome. This is another key to developing speed. Practicing with a metronome will help you develop control of the sticks, resulting in more speed. It will also enable you to track your speed, and improvement.

Practicing with a metronome will also develop your ear. Part of the trick to playing faster is to learn to hear things faster, and the metronome will help you with this aspect as well.

Try to make every stroke sound the same. Again, this builds control of the sticks, and ultimately speed.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the keys here is repetition. Play each sticking many times without stopping. At the extremely slow speeds, you can play each a minimum of 4x each. As you start to get a bit faster, play each sticking at least 20x without stopping.



Start by practicing each sticking as quarter notes. Keep all fingers around the stick, but stay relaxed. Practice at three dynamic levels-soft, medium-loud, and loud. The dynamic level determines the height of the stroke, so soft should be 2″, medium-loud is 6″, and loud is 12″. It doesn’t really matter exactly what height each level is, but strive for consistency. This again builds control of the sticks, resulting in more speed. Next practice each sticking again in the same manner, but now each stroke is an eight note. The metronome is now sounding in unison with every other stroke. Do the same again, but each note is now a 16th note. The metronome is sounding on the first of every four strokes. Do the same again, but each note is now a 32nd note. The metronome is sounding on the first of every eight strokes.



Here’s a video demonstrating the technique.



As I mentioned earlier, a metronome will allow you to track your progress and actually measure your speed. The question is not “Can you play a paradiddle?”, the question is “How fast can you play paradiddles?”! For years I kept track of exactly how fast I could play various stickings. This was great psychologically, because I could actually see myself improving. It motivated me to continue practicing. I recommend you do the same.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.