Gene Hoglan

Hands · 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

Hands · 50–140 BPM

Each hand plays twice before you swap. First hit is powered by your wrist, second hit is the stick bouncing.

Goal: Clean doubles you can move onto any drum

Hands · 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

Progressive & Odd Time · 50–120 BPM

The bar is still normal 4/4 — 16 notes. But you accent every 3rd note. Because 3 does not divide into 16, the accent lands somewhere new each beat and only lines up again after 3 bars. This is the 'over the barline' sound.

Goal: Comfortable playing one rhythm on top of another

Independence · 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

Double Kick · 55–140 BPM

Your feet play a constant stream of 4 notes per beat, alternating right-left. Your hands play a normal rock groove on top so it sounds like music, not a machine gun exercise.

Goal: Even 16ths with nothing dropped for a full minute

Double Kick · 55–130 BPM

Same 16th note double kick, but treated like gym intervals. You play until the timer stops you, then rest completely.

Goal: Hold your tempo for 60 seconds with no tension

Double Kick · 50–120 BPM

Everything you normally start with your right foot, you start with your left. It will feel wrong. That is the point.

Goal: Both feet equally strong, so fills can start with either

Double Kick · 70–180 BPM

The benchmark test. Dream Theater's Panic Attack sits around 150 BPM. You are working up to holding that for a full chorus.

Goal: A full chorus of 16ths at 150 BPM

Independence · 55–130 BPM

Instead of thinking 'groove' and 'fill' as separate things, you orchestrate — spreading one continuous musical phrase across every drum and cymbal you have, so the kit sings a single melody.

Goal: Kit playing that sounds composed and orchestrated, not just grooved

Independence · 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

Progressive & 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

Independence · 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

Double Kick · 70–190 BPM

Short bursts above your comfortable tempo. Speed is trained in tiny doses, not by grinding.

Goal: Raise your top speed for short phrases

Progressive & 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