Touch Doubles is a basic doublestroke exercise with some variations that will draw your attention to the second note of each doublestroke, so you can really examine how your hands work to create quality doubles. To overcome tendencies to play weak second notes, you are invited to explore the opposite extreme: make the second note of each double stronger than the first, either by increasing its height, or by increasing the stick velocity while attacking from the same height.
I pulled this exercise off the cutting room floor of the NC State Drumline exercise packet… I recently found a very early handwritten draft that included several exercises which, despite not making the cut, are actually quite versatile and worthy of study. This exercise does not lend itself well to a “drum camp” situation; it is more of a means to really get to know your own hands, requiring woodshedding, self-reflection, taking things nice and slow, and experimenting. The exercise of playing “Did Pat One” while maintaining a fully rebounded set position (something we did teach at the camps) was challenging enough, which is probably why this exercise didn’t make the cut.
