Why
Simply put these exercises are a way to expand the base of rhythms we use in our playing. In practicing all the basic rhythms and their permutations I hope to make it easier for you to execute any figure you come across or hear in your head.

How
The exercises are in three parts.

1. Play a certain rhythmic grouping (i.e. triplets or quintuplets).

   

   Take that group and break it up into all its variations (i.e. 3 16ths and an 8th note in a quintuplet group).

   

2. Create polyrhythms by taking the groupings and play every other note, every third note, etc. to create the new polyrhythm. (i.e. Every other triplet creates a quarter note triplet)

   

3. The on/off formula or trailing notes off of a polyrhythm. In any grouping a certain number of notes played to a certain amount rested.

   

   This example uses a standard sixteenth subdivision. You then proceed to play three of the sixteenths while resting (or flowing across) the next two sixteenths. Also it could be 4:5 with 2 trailing notes. This method has no name as far as I can find. I call them " rhythm clusters ". I would call this example 3 " A 4:5 +2 cluster".

Notation Method
Most rhythms can be written in a variety of ways. In general I have chosen the form that is the cleanest visually. I'm using what it is commonly known as " drummer notation ". Drummers usually take great liberty in the duration of a note, they are primarily concerned with the start of an event. Mostly because when you hit a crash or a tom you don't necessarily know how long it's going to sustain at a given tempo. So, when you see a quarter note followed by a rest of some sort you are free to sustain the sound (if you have the ability on your instrument) to the beginning of the next event. Also I use the dot in most of the exercises. Some beginners have problems with dots. They are extremely useful and most adopt fairly quickly. Here is an example:

1. Shows all the subdivisions clearly but its crowded and redundant.
2. Cleans up the rests. Note note rest.. . looks a little better.
3. Shows the cleanest version and its still easy to tell how the rhythm is broken up while maintaining the flow. Short long. Very hummable. :)

Sometimes there is confusion on what the rate is for a polyrhythm. The easiest way to think of it is when you see the ratio i.e. 3:5, 7:4, etc., is to see the first number as the rate and the second number as how many points in that rate. Therefore, 3:5 would be triplets and playing every fifth triplet, 7:4 would be septuplets and playing every fourth one. At some point I will show the shorthand on writing the polyrhythms and the concept of using the new rhythm as a base to expand from.

Practicing the Exercices
Select a comfortable tempo. One at which you can execute the grouping you are working with.

• Learn each measure individually. Repeating until its accurate.

• Start to combine the different measures together. You can work systematically going from measure 1 to measure 2, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, etc. Or you can just grab them at random.

Note: Again add up the meters. If it is a measure of 1/4 and 2/4 you would count it as 3/4. Same for 2/4 and 5/4 adding up to 7/4.

• Use a variety of dynamics.
• Use a variety of metronome settings. From whatever the lowest is on your metronome (30 on mine) to as quickly as you can accurately execute the figures.

Sounds All the exercises have little Quicktime/MIDI sequences embedded in them that play the exercises along with the original Virtual Drummer file to download. For the embedded sound I choose a speed that I felt anyone should be able to execute and that would not take forever to listen to. With the downloadable original file you can change the tempo to anything you want, and most importantly, you can mix and match measures to create any pattern you want.
Each set of exercises uses the following scheme. All single and 2 beat (1/4 and 2/4) exercises are repeated 5 times. All other multibeat measures (3/4, 5/4, etc. ) are repeated 3 times. There is a one measure count-in for all exercises and etudes. You should hear a bass drum playing the quarter note pulse, a snare drum playing the exercise, and a open triangle playing at the beginning of each exercise.
All the sequences were written using the Virtual Drummer application. It uses the Quicktime music instruments so everything should play fine. If possible drop them a note and say thanks for creating a very useful program. If anyone would like to assist in getting these little sequences turned into standard midi files, please contact the developers of Virtual Drummer and assist them in fixing the tuplet export problem. Thanks.