Tenor Exercises

We begin line exercises with a tap-off, usually played by the center snare, which sets the tempo for the exercise.

The first exercise is Eights. This gets the feet and hands moving, and the brain thinking about timing, technique, and playing clean with the line. Click here for a video of Eights. Variations include volume and speed.

Next we work on controlling the volume of each beat by playing eights with crescendos and decrescendos. Click here for crescendo and here for decrescendo.

Next we work on controlling the lateral movement of the mallets by playing eights moving around the drums. Click here for a video of moving Eights.

Next we stay with eights, but add accents. An accent-tap exercise like this is often called "Bucs" (or "Bucks"), and there are many possible variations. Click here for a video.

Now we move the accents around on top of a 16th note pattern. This is called an accent grid. You can grid flams, diddles, etc. Focus on keeping your feet and the 16th notes perfectly steady, simply adding the accents on top of the pattern. Click here for a video.

It is vital for quad players to play in the right spot on each drum. This keeps the sound consistent while keep arm motion to a minimum. Here's a basic movement exercise which will help develop stick positions and flow between drums. Click here for a video.

Here are 3 straightforward roll exercises which build 32nd note rolls on a 16th note check pattern. The first is a slow starter pattern, then Roll Builder 1 begins each roll pattern on the beat, finally Roll Builder 2 begins with a tap -- thus these are called tap rolls. Click here for Roll Starter. Click here for a Part 1. Click here for Part 2.

The objective of this following exercise is to improve the player's ability to change rhythms from duple based to triplet based subdivision. Click here for a video.

Triplet Sub is a more advanced roll exercise which requires considerably more concentration. Click here for a video.

Often, a quad player will have to cross one hand over the other in order to produce the best musical or visual effect. Here's a sample phrase with cross-sticking. Click here for a video.

Applications

The Illini Drumline takes the fundamental rudiments and applies them to their street beats, music, and in-the-stands grooves. Here's an application of Bucs: "Beer Cheer"

Grandpa Latin is an Illini street beat which demonstrates quad stick placement. Click here for a video. Click here for an audio file.

"Long" is the classic Illin Cadence, brought to the Illini by Russ Weber. Click here for the quad part.