Stewart Copeland
The Police · Reggae-rock hi-hat intricacy, rimshots and restless syncopation
The techniques Stewart Copeland actually uses across their path, moves and song studies — each one opens the same exercise workout the rest of the app links to.
Single Stroke Roll — Moving Around the Kit
Level 1Hands · 50–160 BPM
You alternate hands, one hit each, non-stop. You do NOT stay on the snare: every bar your hands move to a different drum so your arms learn to travel.
Goal: Even singles that stay even while your arms travel around the kit
WorkoutAccent & Tap Control
Level 3Hands · 55–130 BPM
Every beat has 4 notes. The first one is loud (stick starts high), the other three are whispers (stick stays 2cm off the drum).
Goal: You control volume, not the stick
WorkoutGhost Notes Under the Backbeat
Level 3Hands · 55–130 BPM
Ghost notes are snare hits played so quietly the stick barely leaves the head. They fill in the funk groove between the loud backbeats without stealing attention from them.
Goal: Funky pocket built from dynamic contrast, not extra notes
WorkoutDynamics Ladder — pp to ff and Back
Level 2Hands · 50–140 BPM
You play the exact same sticking the whole time — only the volume changes, climbing one step every bar from a whisper up to as loud as you can play cleanly, then back down.
Goal: Full conscious control over dynamics at any speed
WorkoutHi-Hat Foot on the Offbeats
Level 3Independence · 50–120 BPM
Your left foot closes the hi-hat on the '&' — the space between the numbers. Most drummers' left foot is asleep; this wakes it up.
Goal: An independent left foot that keeps the pulse for you
WorkoutHi-Hat Foot Chatter (Half-Time)
Level 3Independence · 50–130 BPM
Half-time means the snare only lands once a bar (on beat 3) so everything feels slower and heavier. Keep your left foot ticking underneath so the pulse never disappears.
Goal: Holding an underlying pulse during quiet sections
Workout3 Over 2 — Hands in 3, Feet in 2
Level 5Progressive & Odd Time · 45–110 BPM
In the same amount of time, your hands play 3 notes and your feet play 2. They only line up on note 1. The classic phrase to say out loud is 'NICE cup of TEA' — hands on every syllable, feet on NICE and of.
Goal: Internalise the polyrhythmic feel
WorkoutFills That Land in Odd Meters
Level 4Progressive & Odd Time · 50–120 BPM
Fills are harder in odd time because the bar ends one note earlier than you expect. This exercise trains you to plan a fill that fits inside a shortened bar and still resolves cleanly.
Goal: Fills that work naturally inside odd time signatures
WorkoutFour-Limb Independence — Everyone Different
Level 5Independence · 45–110 BPM
Each limb gets its own distinct part: right hand plays quarters, left hand plays an offbeat pattern, right foot plays a syncopated kick, left foot ticks 8ths. None of the four parts are the same rhythm.
Goal: True four-way independence with four genuinely different rhythms
WorkoutFour-Limb Ostinato
Level 4Independence · 45–110 BPM
'Ostinato' just means a short pattern you repeat without changing. Here your right hand and both feet play a fixed loop while your left hand improvises on snare and toms.
Goal: Genuine four-way independence
WorkoutFree Play Challenge
Level 3Progressive & Odd Time · 55–160 BPM
No grid, no tab. You play music and deliberately drop in at least three things you practised in this session.
Goal: Turn exercises into music
Workout