Moving arount the kit with triplet accents

This is a simple idea for moving around the kit with triplets while maintaining a quarter note accent on the cymbals. It seems simple, but it can become a coordination challenge once the triplets start moving around the kit.

Play all the exercises with single strokes.

Play the quarter notes that come on the right hand on the right side of the kit - the ride cymbal - and play the quarter notes that fall on the left hand on the crash cymbal on the left side of the kit.

Play the bass drum with the cymbal accents. Maintain this throughout the exercises.

The initial exercise shouldn’t be too hard. Repeat the exercise on other sound sources - rack tom and floor tom.

Once comfortable move between the snare drum and the rack tom, and the snare drum and the floor tom. Play two beats on each sound. Exercise A1.

Keep an even sound.

Next, move around the kit from left to right. Two beats on the snare, one beat on the rack tom and one beat on the floor tom. Exercise A2.

Finally, move around the kit from left to right. One beat on the snare, one beat on the rack tom and one beat on the floor tom. This will take three whole bars to come back to the start. Exercise A3 in the PDF.

Exercises B to B3 in the PDF follow the same pattern but with the accent on the up-beat - the final beat of the triplet.

Once comfortable you can try double up the unaccented notes as 16th note triplets - A+ and B+ in the PDF.

When you have mastered the basic figures, try to bring more freedom into how you move around the kit, all the while maintaining the accents on the cymbals.

Have fun. Make music.