HOW TO HOLD YOUR DRUMSTICKS
1.  First thing you have to do is grab a hold of the drumsticks! The pinkie's job is to
hold the butt of the drumstick in the crease of the hand. With the match grip I
recommend keeping the thumb extended so that you can gain velocity on your
accent strokes by pinching the drumstick lightly. With the traditional grip in your
left hand, your thumb should stay up, and your index finger with your middle
finger should be in touch with the drumstick. You should be able to squeeze the
drumstick lightly between your thumb and fingers on accent strokes. Many
drummers like to find the sweet spot on the drum stick where they can get the most
bounce out of the drumstick.
80 BEATS PER MINUTE
2. 80 beats per minute! Set your metronome to 80  bpm. It feels weird at first but it
is very important. Start with the single stoke roll, bringing one hand up while the
other one is going down. It's hard to explain, but when your hands go fast at a slow
tempo they will be in control and much faster at higher tempo's. It is also very
important to count out loud (1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4) etc.  Many music schools make
their students count 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 4 2 3 4   repeat! It makes you think in
terms of 4 measures instead of 1. I'll try it with a single stroke roll in the VIDEO on
the right.
THE DOUBLE STROKE ROLL
3. The double stroke roll! Most drum teachers recommend accenting the second
stroke of each hand. I like to practice the roll with my bass drum on the second
stroke with my hand bringing back the drumstick in what they call the flyback
method, whipping the drumstick back to its starting position after the second stroke.
See VIDEO on the right. One exercise that really works good is to play a triplet with
the bass drum and accent (PINCH THE DRUMSTICK LIGHTLY)  on the second
beat of the hand that is playing the double stroke. RIGHT HAND ( r RlrRlrRl )   and
LEFT HAND (lLrlLrlLrlLr.) See VIDEO on the right. I think it is natural to play the
triplet with the accent on the hand that only plays one stroke, but ounce you can get
a good triplet sound out of my exercise you'll be very surprised with how it helps  
your double stroke roll! One important  thing about a double stroke roll is that ounce
you reach a certain tempo the fingers have to take over.  
YOUR LEFT FOOT
4. Most of these drum exercises will call for your left foot to be rocking back and
forth on the high-hat pedal, usually in time with the 1 and 3 beats. This is the secret
to playing those jazz beats that are so tough to figure out. Try tapping your toes
down on the 3 and your heel on the 1. After a while it will be second nature, and
when you add the jazz .8th note on the ride cymbal you'll start to get that jazz feel to
your playing. See VIDEO
Lesson # 1
Triplet with accent on second stroke,
good exercise for double strokes
Number one lesson should be the rebound stroke. This stroke
should be practiced until perfected, before moving on to any
other lesson. Start out RRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL  80 beats per
minute, then RRRRLLLL next go 100 BPM  then 120BPM ,
140BPM , 160 BPM At the faster speeds, your fingers need to
take over throwing the drumstick down and letting it rebound!
THE REBOUND STROKE