Here is a fun exercise that will put your arms in a pretzel. I won’t claim that this exercise is the most essential (or even the most logical) exercise ever, but it covers a lot of paradiddle patterns around the tenors—and it’s just plain fun to play. Some of the patterns are easier, and some of them are harder. There is a continual contrast between standard patterns and not-so-standard patterns that makes the overall flow tricky to navigate. Have fun with “Paradiddle Pretzel”!
This exercise is a lot of fun to play. It utilizes only four drums, so it can be played on quad-toms, quint-toms, or sex-toms. You especially need two things to play this exercise well:
Endurance. As a constant barrage of single strokes, you have to dig deep and keep pushing to the end in order to play this exercise without stopping or slowing down.
Fluidity of Movement. Practically every combination of drums is covered here without using crossovers or spock drums. It’s important that you take each pattern slowly until you have the spatial memory to know where you’re going from phrase to phrase. Focus on striking in the proper playing zones and maintaining consistent note spacing.
For added endurance and accuracy practice, play this exercise through 10 times, 20 times, etc. Keep building new goals, and push yourself to get to the next level.
Five-Drum Version
Six-Drum Version
To view the exercise, click on the images to enlarge. To download in PDF format, click here for the five-drum version, and click here for the six-drum version.
This exercise is written for either a five-drum setup or a six-drum setup. While the six-drum setup obviously has more options, the fundamental skills covered are about the same.
As the title indicates, this exercise focuses on sweep patterns. A sweep is a double stroke split among two different drums. The “A.N.S.” in the title stands for Adjacent Sweeps, Non-Adjacent Sweeps, and Spock Sweeps.
Adjacent sweeps are sweeps between two drums right next to each other. On the basic quad setup, this would cover sweeps between drums 2 & 4, 1 & 2, and 1 & 3. For a six-drum setup, this would also include the two spock drums.
Non-adjacent sweeps are sweeps between two drums not next to each other. On the basic quad setup, this would cover sweeps between drums 1 & 4, 2 & 3, and 3 & 4. (On the six-drum version of this exercise, I went ahead and included drum 4 to the farthest spock drum and drum 3 to the farthest spock drum. Technically, these would fall under what I call “spock sweeps,” but the movements are similar to non-adjacent sweeps, so they work here. These sweeps are somewhat of a gray area.) These sweeps require a farther reach than adjacent sweeps, and they are more difficult to play fast. When playing this exercise, feel free to take this section slower if needed.
Spock sweeps require a different type of movement than adjacent or non-adjacent sweeps. As the name indicates, these cover any sweeps utilizing the spock drum(s). When sweeping between the spock drum and drums 1 or 2, you must use a push-pull motion. This is quite difficult to play fast. Feel free to adjust the tempo on this section as well.
When it comes to tempo, take each section as fast as you can comfortably play it. Of course, you should initially start slowly to focus on your technique and accuracy. Once you have a solid foundation, you can start speeding it up. As always, focus on accuracy and great sound quality. If you keep hitting rims, slow down a little bit and reassess your aiming spot.
The odd-metered measures are intended to provide a little rhythmic interest between the sweep patterns. Focus on playing the 16th notes with steady time.
If you can play through this exercise smoothly, you will have a pretty solid grasp on all of the sweep combinations!
I am happy to announce that my new book The Art of Multi-Tenor Drumming is now available to order. It has taken me the better part of a decade to write it, and I believe drummers everywhere will find it worth the wait. For decades, drum set, keyboard percussion, snare drum, and timpani have had several detailed texts written for them. Now tenor drums finally get their turn. This is the book that the tenor world has been waiting for.
At 366 pages, this is the most thorough book ever written on the art of tenor drumming. It covers the absolute basics and lays a solid foundation for beginners, while giving intermediate and advanced players plenty of material to challenge them as well. This book has been a true labor of love, and I hope people will enjoy playing from it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I offer this book as an opportunity to raise the bar and set a new standard for the next generation.
Click on the link below to see the product page and learn more.
https://www.rudimentaluniversity.com/product/art-of-tenor-drumming/