TECHNIQUE
by Linda-Philomène Tsoungui Coordination (also called "independence," when it refers to coordination on the drumset) is one of the few things that unites all drummers, despite the styles and genres they play in. For me personally it has become the key to my own voice on the drums, my own style, and that feeling of being 100% comfortable behind the kit. Coordination has become a huge part of my practice routine and it does not fail to amaze me every time I go deep with it. When I visualize coordination, I see something that flows, something that is not disturbed in its motion or behavior. When we adapt that image to our body, we can think of our limbs and muscles not being disturbed by one another. And that kind of flow actually starts the moment we sit down at the kit, since a correct sitting position plays a huge role in coordination. For example: if my sit bones are not in the position they’re supposed to be, if my jeans are too tight to let my muscles relax, if my chair is too high or too low, it causes tension in the lower back, which leads to an endless chain of tensed muscles that should be relaxed (unless they’re being used). Tension is a coordination killer. If my muscles are tensed, they eat up energy, and it’s a lot harder to control them. So, the next time you sit down at the kit, take a moment to close your eyes and feel where your centers of tension are right then. I bet you can find some. Try to figure out what’s causing the tension, and, little by little, let this kind of awareness get you closer to your personal way of sitting that makes you the most relaxed. Below are coordination exercises I always start my practice with. The basis is an ordinary RLRR LRLL paradiddle (once you’ve mastered that, you can just as easily use any other paradiddle variation). The most important thing is to start really slow—let your body and your muscles learn to let everything flow and not tense up.
EXERCISE 1 Play a 16th note paradiddle between the right and left hands on the hi-hat and snare, and play moving accents on the bass drum (the bass drum plays a 16th note that moves through the four possible positions in one quarter note): r
l
r
r
l
r
l
l
4¿ ¿¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ /4œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 3
Dr.
62
/
¿œ¿ ¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿ œ¿œœ ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿œ¿ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
EXERCISE 2
TOM TOM MAGA ZI NE
Do the same thing with 2 moving strokes on the bass drum. r
l
r
r
l
r
l
l
4 ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ¿œ¿¿œ¿œœ /4œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ 3
¿ œ¿ ¿œ¿œœ¿ œ¿ ¿œ¿œœ ¿œ¿ ¿œ¿ œœ¿œ¿ ¿œ¿ œœ / œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œ
