Snare Drum Variations
To play the drums well, you need to be able to place any kind of note on or in between any beat with any limb independently from the parts played by the other limbs. A good way to start developing this ability is to play a basic beat and then vary one of the parts. The following examples should help you become confident with varying your snare drum parts. First try example 18, which uses only the right and left hands.
Now try the following examples which make use of the right and left hands along with the right foot. When you are comfortable with these, try making up some variations of your own.
Know Your Drums…
Double Kick Pedal
Double bass drum pedals present a much more portable and cheaper alternative to twin bass drums by having two beaters operated by two pedals on the one drum. Double bass drum technique is used in an extreme form in metal music but is present in many other types of music. Drummers ranging from Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater to Dennis Chambers of P-Funk and Santana have used double bass drum pedals.
