Playing With Energy Efficiency

All of us drummers are constantly trying fills and beats in different ways which usually help us play with more ease. By different ways I mean trying different kinds of sticking (right or left hand), different kinds of limbs (hands or feet or both), and different kinds of techniques. An example of sticking might be playing a paradiddle (RLRR) between the hi-hat and snare rather than playing single strokes (RLRL) to achieve the same sound. (Figure 1).  

But ultimately, we usually end up asking ourselves; what is the most energy efficient way to play? 

Well first off, to be energy efficient you're going to want to incorporate all of your limbs as much as you can. To get a feel for why extra limbs help, start with doing a 16th note exercise (Figure 2) with just the right hand, then the right and left, then the right the left and your right foot, then finally all 4 limbs. You'll find that when playing (RLFG; R = Right hand, L = Left hand, F = Right foot, G = Left foot) that it is much easier on your body, rather than stressing one limb. 

This application is so relevant in metal and heavy styles of drumming that I can't think of a single metal album that doesn't have at least a few of these patterns containing RLFG. There are many variations of this pattern of course, you can find these in Figure 3. 

You may have noticed by now I have left out what may seem like a very simple variation; RFLG. The amazing part is where as this pattern may seem as easy as the other, I can assure you it is light years more difficult. The bright side is that this patterns unlocks huge potential for all kinds of styles and patterns. This is because your hands end up evenly spaced almost as if you were just playing RLRL (Figure 4) which allows for easy manipulation of rhythms. This differs from RLFG in that in this pattern your hands are playing the first 2 16th notes, 1 and e. 

(Ignore the 16th note snares in the 4th measure)

Jazz drummer Steve Smith has already taking advantage of this pattern and had even taken another level further! Watch as he takes the fundamental pattern RFLG and adds some variations to the hands on top. 

Modern Drum Lessons