Hand and foot independence exercises

Small two-beat rhythm cells: the right hand sings the cell on the hi-hat, the left hand fills the gaps with ghost notes. Kick on 1, accent on 3 — half-time. The right hand is the melody, the left its shadow.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8
9. Etude 9
10. Etude 10
11. Etude 11
12. Etude 12
13. Etude 13
14. Etude 14
15. Etude 15
16. Etude 16

No ghost notes: the right hand plays the cell, the snare plays 3, and the kick is free. Over two bars, find spots under or between the hi-hat notes — try a new spot every repeat.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8
9. Etude 9
10. Etude 10

The kick no longer follows the right hand; it repeats one fixed pattern. Above, the cell changes; below, the foot stays put — the first real step in independence.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8
9. Etude 9

Drop extra snare accents into the gaps of the hi-hat. Accents use the holes in the cell; the right hand never stops. Less is more — one or two per bar is plenty.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8
9. Etude 9
10. Etude 10
11. Etude 11
12. Etude 12
13. Etude 13

One cell in the first half of the bar, a different one in the second. The switch happens right on 3 — sing the right hand's new pattern in your head one beat ahead.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8
9. Etude 9
10. Etude 10
11. Etude 11
12. Etude 12
13. Etude 13
14. Etude 14
15. Etude 15
16. Etude 16
17. Etude 17
18. Etude 18
19. Etude 19
20. Etude 20
21. Etude 21
22. Etude 22
23. Etude 23
24. Etude 24
25. Etude 25

The kick plays together with the hi-hat, two limbs sounding as one. Ghost notes stay in the gaps. Make sure kick and hi-hat land exactly together — no flams.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8

The kick shadows the right hand only after the backbeat; the first half of the bar stays calm. The phrase starts simple and ends busy. Don't rush the first half and the second will feel easy.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8

The mirror image: the kick shadows the right hand in the first half and goes quiet after the backbeat. Busy start, simple ending. Holding back after the backbeat matters as much as playing.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5
6. Etude 6
7. Etude 7
8. Etude 8

If beat 3 is taken by the cell, the backbeat moves to the nearest gap — just before or just after. The rule: fit the backbeat to the cell, never break the cell for the backbeat.

1. Etude 1
2. Etude 2
3. Etude 3
4. Etude 4
5. Etude 5