＜Single Stroke＞


  A single stroke is when you hit the drum with the stick down once.
  In the past, many teachers would not teach the double stroke until the player was able to do the single stroke quite well, but it is not practical to have practiced the snare drum for 1-2 years in an elementary school band and not know the double stroke at all.
  Once students can hold the stick firmly and start practicing the single stroke, I think it is better to start practicing the double stroke at about the same time.

  The way students hold the stick is very important, so please teach it properly before practice.
  If they do not hold it properly, their future practice will be completely meaningless.
Please refer to the illustration on the left for how to hold the stick with right hand.
  Hold the stick between the pad of thumb and the second joint of bent index finger. Keep other fingers lightly supported and squeeze the stick tightly just as it hits the drum head.
  Holding the stick equally with both hands is called matched grip. With this grip, the snare drum should be set horizontally on both sides.
  There is also a traditional grip for the snare drum (the right hand is the same as the matched grip), but it seems that many people are practicing with the matched grip these days.

  First, practice hitting the snare drum once in time with the metronome.


  Match the timing of lifting the stick to the metronome, such as lifting the stick on the fourth beat and hitting it on the first beat.
  Once students can do that, practice hitting with just right hand and then with just left hand. This practice of hitting with just one hand is very important. It is especially difficult to control non-dominant hand, so spend a lot of time to practice.

  Once students can play with the right and left hands with the same feeling, practice playing alternately with both hands.

  Once students can play the same note repeatedly, practice playing notes of different lengths in combination.

Connecting quarter notes and eighth notes


  Adding sixteenth notes


  Combining eighth notes and sixteenth notes


  Triplets require special practice because the accents alternate between left and right.

  Moving the accent (accent on the backbeat)

  Once you've done the above, try combining them all and playing them one after the other.


Return

< Home >