Single Strokes Made Easy: A Drummer's Approach for Developing Speed and Endurance

Burns cuts through the myth that fast single strokes require white-knuckle tension and endless repetition. His method units straightforward principles around relaxation and sound production that drummers actually remember and apply, making this one of the few technical books that produces real, lasting change in student playing.

Working through these exercises feels like unlocking a secret that was hiding in plain sight. The relaxed, methodical approach removes the frustration that often comes with technical study and replaces it with tangible progress you can hear week to week.

Student drummers at any age who struggle with evenness, speed, or fatigue in their single stroke rolls will find this method directly addresses their specific problems. Teachers working with students who have already learned basic grip and posture but are frustrated by inconsistent execution will benefit from Burns' clarity and logic.

• Record yourself playing the exercises at comfortable tempos, then listen back specifically for evenness between right and left hand strokes before pushing the metronome up.
• Establish a baseline tempo where you can play twenty to thirty strokes without losing control, then stay at that tempo for several days before incrementally increasing speed.
• Focus on the quality of each individual note rather than the quantity of notes per minute; the speed builds naturally when every stroke is clean and centered.
• Take breaks between exercise sets to shake out your hands and reset your posture, preventing the tension and fatigue that undermine both endurance and technique.

Integrate this into regular lesson plans for any student learning drumset, whether they're preparing for jazz ensemble, percussion auditions, or general technique advancement. The 28 pages work well as a semester-long reference, with sections assigned gradually rather than all at once.

• Single stroke control and evenness between hands
• Building speed without sacrificing tone quality
• Endurance and stamina in repetitive patterns
• Relaxation and tension awareness during technical practice
• Understanding the relationship between posture, grip, and consistency