Paradiddle Speed Exercises

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I wrote a few Moeller Paradiddle exercises for one of my students but you guys might like it too so check out the content above. Basically it’s breaking down the Moeller paradiddle into two builder exercises.

The first builder is just the Moeller paradiddle without the last diddle. The objective here is to focus on this alternating down up tap or what some people call the wave.

The second builder which is just the first five beats of a paradiddle-so we’re focusing on building one side of the diddles at a time. The objective here is to pay equal attention to each side of the diddles.

In the lesson PDF the strokes are notated as either Down, Up, or Tap. Also, there are some suggestions for exercises that combine both builders and the complete paradiddle.

These exercise builders can help build fast and clean paradiddles while utilizing the Moeller technique. Now go and practice and have fun with it!


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NewGrip Wrist Support Wraps Review

David photo in woods
NewGrip is a family run business based in Portland, Oregon that started out developing gloves for weight lifting, crossfit, and rowing circa 1995. The gloves are a two part system including both hand pads and wrist supports, which can function together or separately.

Early on they found that they had a lot of customers who started using their wrist supports for daily activities like typing and gardening. The customers who really seemed to love the wrist supports were musicians and so they decided to expand their marketing for all the activities that people were using them for. I’m glad they did because a few years back when I was looking for relief for my carpal tunnel syndrome I found them online and they worked wonders for me.

Since then I’ve been mostly pain free until Jan 2nd of this year when my beautiful baby girl was born into this world. Between my daily activities of drumming, working on the computer and caring for my newborn baby, I experienced a painful carpal tunnel flare up in my right hand and wrist that negatively impacted my drumming.

So I started wearing my wrist supports as much as possible during the day and sometimes even at night. The supports had their work cut out since it seemed like every waking hour was spent utilizing the same muscles in my arms and especially my wrists. After two weeks I started feeling some relief and after four weeks I felt my playing was back to 100 percent.

NewGrip’s muscle and tendon support increases the blood flow to the wrists, which sends more oxygen and nutrients to the problem area. You can check out newgrip.com to find out more info about the the science behind it.

They are made in the USA which is great! I also must admit they look pretty handsome on the wrists! Kudos to a great company that has helped so many people!

rsjoy_newgrip


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HingeStix Learning Tool

I’ve been meaning to write a review for the HingeStix since I started recommending them last year. Basically, they are a training drum stick to help students with the concept of rebound as well as to teach them proper grip.

Drum educator and musician Sam Ruttenberg developed these sticks for his students. Sam (whose father was a machinist) decided to create a hinge in the grip area of the stick. He did this by drilling a hole through the stick for a pin to connect swivel pads on each side–one for the thumb and the other for the index finger. His concept was to simulate the stick’s natural rebound while forcing proper grip (fulcrum). With the sticks now “floating” on the hinge, Sam’s students had to relax their grip and keep all their fingers connected to the sticks in order to operate them. The design of the hinge essentially forced students to play utilizing the stick’s natural rebound. They also forced his students to use their back fingers to propel the stick all within the framework of a proper fulcrum.

This tool helps my students in three areas. First, HingeStix enable grip relaxation and internalization of the stick’s natural rebound. Second, HingeSticks teach proper thumb and index finger fulcrum while utilizing German grip. Third, it helps them with incorporating their back three fingers to propel the stick. Also, I think they are a great tool for any level player to circle back and check-in with their grip. I like warming up with them to get my back fingers going!

You can buy HingeStix at https://hingestix.com.

For more info check out this interview of Sam Ruttenberg by Bart Elliott from Drummer Cafe:


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Beginning to See the Light (Velvet Underground Cover)

We will miss Lou Reed. Lou was and still is such an inspiration and influence for so many artists. His legacy is massive. I was able to dig out this Velvet Underground cover we played from the Changing Modes video archives. The gig was from 2012 at Arlene’s Grocery in the East Village. For better or for worse the band let me sing lead on this one :)

This one goes out to Lou!


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