hey guys i need some help for my friend he cant get his hands fast enough, any technics or advice to get pretty fast with his hands?

Tell him to get a metronome and practice some rudiments. Do single stroke rolls everyday and start out slow. Wait for BrokenCrimson to post something, she knows like everything about starting out and has tons of advice.

PART 2: Tell him to bring sticks with him everywhere he goes and just play on anything that can be played on. Tell him to try practicing on a pillow. Tell him to buy a practice pad because you can bring that almost anywhere. Tell him to get some insrtuctional videos on what to work on the gain speed. Also some drumming magazines will help out. Alot of drum manufacturing websites have alot of usefull advice from their drummers. Theres a million other things also.

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Holly shit I'm flattered.

How long has your friend been playing for and how often does he practice? Does he have a teacher?

To even out the right and the left hand (reverse for southpaws):
You don't need a metronome for this.RLLL or RLL, start slow, then build up speed,when you get to the top speed (not as fast as you can go, but as fast as you can go without it sounding sloppy) hold it as long as you can at that speed and slow down, and go back again and again.

To work up speed and stick control:
Do this with a metronome. Play 4 eights and then 8 sixteenth notes and repeat. Make sure it's even.

Stonebreaker, the speed/endurance exersise:
Do this with a metronome.Play 16th notes for 4 bars of each of these:
RLRL
RRLLRRLL
RRRLLLRRRLLL
RRRRLLLLRRRRLLLL
This is not only for speed, but it helps you sustain those speeds for longer periods.

When you work with a metronome, pay close attention to it - a lot of people crank a metronome in the background and think they're in time while they're not paying any attention to the sounds and play at whatever speed they feel like while the metronome does it's own thing in the background, while they think they're hot shit and they're in time.

If it hurts to play, slow down and play with less force, and possibly re-look your technique. A slight sensation is okay, but if it full on hurts, it's better to relax than to push yourself.

There is a lot that comes under the tag of speed - in the same package there is also accuracy and endurance. Without those two speed is useless. You can twitch at high speeds all you want but it won't sound good. Also, if you can't play at those speeds for more than 20 seconds, what's the fucking point? Take your time and let yourself learn naturally without a hurry - yeah, there are some great exersises, but if you don't practice them often, they won't work. Always come back to the basics, even the most advanced drummers practice their rudiments.

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it depends what type of speed your friends after. rudiments and stuff will help if thats what he wants to get faster at but if its death metal style blasting its practice thats needed, i found when i was learning to blast and play fast, i just practiced loads at just trying to get my hands moving faster than they were, as with everything its all about practice.

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tell him to work construction, framing,demolition,deconstruction,concrete etc i know its a little wierd but, theres something about swinging a hammer,using a screwgun,hammerdrill,crowbaring shit,using a grinder,mixing concrete that'll really straighten a drummer out, has for me, speed and endurance,that is.

this goes along with doing the above mentioned advice

i once had the rare opportunnity to help friends who do metalwork art, blacksmithing, id roll in and sledge rebar all day,listen to old metallica,drink a pot of coffee, that was the most intense work in my life, my drumming greatly improved

if your friend is in high school, whatnot, construction companys are more willing to hire you, make good money too

were both in a vocational school, but hes in colison repair

if you wanna real wrist work out


get some real heavy sticks (mine are Mike sig sticks for this) and a pillow bust out your metronome and set it to what would usually be a 'comfy' tempo

and do this:

RRRR,LLLL,RRRR,LLLL 2 minutes

then

RRRRRR,LLLLLL,RRRRRR,LLLLLL 2 minutes

then

RRRRRRRR,LLLLLLLL,RRRRRRRR,LLLLLLLL 2 minutes

then with right hand eccents:

RlrlRlrlRlrlRlrl 2 minutes

then left hand

LrlrLrlrLrlrLrlr 2 minutes

because a pillow offers NO rebound, this gives you an effective double workout it laid waste to my wrists doing 8ths at about 160 bpm!!!!!

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yeah the simplest thing u can do...start with this

RRRRRRRR LLLLLLLL RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

LLLLLLLL RRRRRRRR LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

do this with a nome starting slow and higher rebound but try to use only wrist

then speed it up...as you get faster more finger

more speed=less wrist more finger

it should be a gradual thing but play each time till you are comfortable and then keep speeding it up but dont go too fast that you wont be able to control it cuz then u will suck

then just start alternating hands RLRLRLRL.....same basis, tempo-finger-wrist
the more you play the better youl get

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sorry dbl post some how

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theres a site i looked at today,vicfirth.com,they got this section where some geekmaster academic type who has little videos you can download off a list of of different types of ways to grip the stick, might be interesting

they also got this 800 year old dude who studied with that moeller guy back when the dinosours roamed, but the guy,half-dead, does indeed rip on the drumpad some nasty rudiment speed, demonstating the moeller way,pretty cool

they got some other methods of grip too, also beginner tips and stuff

I am sorry but the whole Finger thing is bollocks, I learnt this at the Mike Mangini clinic who incidently has the world record for the fastest hands, he basically said that Finger action is pretty useless, his motion is 100% Wrists, ans he has the Record to prove it.

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I agree on this actually. Fingers might be used for finese, but wrists are so much stronger and have more muscles. I switched to 2B today, feels a little odd but still damn beefy.

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i actually do stress the fingers slightly, and that post was more about the moeller guy, becoz i thought that approach was interesting, i just mentioned they demonstrate other ways, didnt say i agreed necessarily with the french way<this was the one i was tortured with, the one i hate> or the military way,so on,but hey it may work for somebody, i liked the german way myself<which seemed more of a straight wrist way, maybe not a hundred percent but close>, i should of also mentioned the geekmaster demonstrating the "open hand technique" doing left hand lead stuff as making it more interesting,freeing the hands up to move about the kit comfortably,not something i necessarily do since i like crossing hands at faster tempos but maybe worth a look. and he stated each grip way was just a mere difference in emphisis of speed or rudiments,draw your own conclusions

2b is killer, i once bought a pair of 2bs that just taper slightly to the end, no tip whatsoever, the company logo wore off and i dont know who makes them, took forever for one to whittle away, i think they were oak too, absolutely fuggin fabulous, wish i could find another pair like them

hmmm, that sounds exactly like the Derek Roddy exercise

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not quite, it is very close to it though, it is my simplified and shortened version, and I add a pillow, which makes the workout twice as effective.

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Yes, i see.

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