Straight Roll Drill

Speak the pattern below. Once you can say it several times in a row without getting tongue-tied, pick up your drum.

Speak and play the pattern slowly until you can do so with confidence several times in a row.

Set your metronome to a slow tempo and speak and play the pattern.

When you feel steady, stop speaking and just play. Concentrate on getting an even sound, with each stroke crisp and at the same volume.

If you sound like tennis shoes in a clothes dryer, slow the metronome a little, check your form (posture, drum, hand positioning, relaxation) and try again.

When you can play the pattern at the current tempo with even timing, even stroke volume, and you're relaxed, turn up the tempo by one or two bpm and play it again.

When you begin at a tempo just outside of your comfort zone, you may feel some tension (and possibly an impulse to speed up or drag the beat) after a few minutes, you will begin to relax as your body becomes accustomed to the new tempo.

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . -->
T . . . K . . . T . . . K . . . -->
T . K . T . K . T . K . T . K . -->
T K T K T K T K T K T K T K T K -->
TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK-->
T K T K T K T K T K T K T K T K -->
T . K . T . K . T . K . T . K . -->

 Happy practicing!