This lesson presents a shortened version of our '1234568' Exercise. It can be used to help build up to this full pattern but is more useful as a way of focusing pushing your hand speed as it is built of the three fastest note values covered up to this point. On this page you will be playing various lengths on each note value rather than just a bars worth of each.
The exercise will be using groups of straight sixteenth note, Sextuplets and Thirty Second Notes. Always remember, whatever tempo you start the sixteenth notes at you will be playing 32nds at too. You may need to start at a speed that makes the 16ths feel really slow.
The whole exercise is played as single strokes.
One 4/4 Bar Per Value
We'll start with a simple version of this exercise. Play one bars worth of each note value.
One 2/4 Bar Per Value
This is essentially half a bar of 4/4 on each value but moving it into 2/4 makes the notation a little more comfortable.
One 3/4 Bar Per Value
Play three beats on each value.
One Beat Per Value
This time switch note value every beat, this makes the exercise fall into the time signature of 3/4 again.
TASK:
- Learn the exercise up to a tempo of at least 100bpm.
- Experiment with staying on each note value for various other lengths.
