Snare Exercise: Stutters

snare-0002-stutters-exerciseClick on the image to enlarge or click here to download in PDF Format.


I’ve got a brand new snare exercise for you today.  I came up with it several years ago just for fun.  It has been in my “private collection” of exercises that I use sometimes for individual practice and one-on-one with students, but I’ve never shared it anywhere before now.

This exercise focuses on stutters—that is, isolated diddles.  These have a cool “stuttered” sound (hence the name), but they are also really good for focusing on your diddle quality between each hand.  The 16th note check patterns help to keep your timing in check.  Be careful to keep each “stutter” in time.  If you play this with other people, it will be a really helpful exercise for checking that your diddle interpretation is the same.  The last measure is particularly tricky to play cleanly with others.  Happy stuttering!