Technique Tuesday: Eighths

If you warm up with any exercise at all, warm up with eighths, AKA “eight on a hand.” Eighths can be played at any height. (Heights in drumming are usually defined as 3″, 6″, 9″, 12″, and full extension. At 12″ the stick would point straight upwards. Full extension is 12″, plus a bit of arm.)

Eighths is simply eight eighth notes on each hand. Some people play sixteen eighth notes to get a better warm up on each hand.

There are other variations to eights, like this:

In starting with sixteenth notes and then going into eighth notes, your hand speed won’t change. All you’re doing in the second measure that makes it different from the first is dropping the left hand. Same when you start with your left hand.

~Bianca