Alternate vs. One Hand Drumming

Video Transcript

JOEL SIEGEL: All right. So one more thing I want to add about the quarter notes is they're also referred to as downbeats. So whenever anybody is talking about the downbeat of beat three, or the downbeat of beat four, that's the actual beat, that's that quarter note, and that's what that sounds like. The other thing I want to address is when we just played those I told you to start with your right hand, and then go to your left hand. This is called an alternating sticking and it's also called leading with your right hand because your right hand is playing first. This is typically the most natural thing to do for right-handed players. If you're left-handed, it might be more natural to lead with your left hand. You're going to get into some interesting situations if you're leading with your left hand but playing beats with your right hand just because--as you're trying to negotiate the kit, you'll get into some interesting double sticking. But just for now, just know that there's alternating sticking and with that you can lead with your right or your left hand; I recommend developing both. And then the other type of sticking is just one-handed sticking. So I'll demonstrate real quickly just some quarter notes, one-handed sticking with the right hand. Here's one-handed sticking with the left hand--two, ready, play. The reason this difference is important is because you're going to find yourself playing mostly alternating rhythms--alternated sticking when you're playing fills, but while you're keeping time, you're going to find that you're doing a lot of one-handed sticking. This will make more sense as we play more beats, play more fills.

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