After getting to the double stroke section, well, I do see where you're coming from and I think there's a kernel of truth to what you're saying, but I also fundamentally disagree. The extent of my disagreement depends on who this is aimed at. If it's aimed at beginners, then sure, the main goal there is to stop them from doing anything terribly wrong. If it's aimed at advanced players however, my disagreement is very strong. Also, is this aimed at concert snare or drumset? That also makes a difference. I'm going to assume it's aimed at both, but reply from a drumset perspective.
The part I most disagree with the most is the "conceptual framework." Yes, there's a kernel of truth there. A good conceptual makes a huge difference. But constructing a framework that is close to optimal is
incredibly difficult. You make it sound straightforward like "pay attention to your hands and make adjustments, and get a good teacher." That's good advice for a beginner, but potentially ruinous for an intermediate.
The thing about your hands is that whatever you're used to feels natural, and whatever you aren't feels unnatural, regardless of whether some approach is superior or inferior.
And the thing about teachers few of have anything approaching anything like optimal hand technique. And even the ones who do can be biased and short sighted. Take Buddy's infamous "the drumset way," or the ubiquitous "balance point" rule on fulcrum placement (which also has a kernel of truth, but taken as gospel can be hugely destructive).
So let's take Keith Carlock who can play world class double strokes with his left hand in traditional with the fulcrum about as far back as it can go (in other words, further back than is even possible in matched), with his right hand playing an overhand grip with a generally far forward fulcrum. Note that he doesn't play this way all the time, sometimes his left fulcrum is further forward, and sometimes his right fulcrum is further back, but generally his hands are significantly mismatched. It's obviously not anywhere close to the optimal way to play doubles, yet Carlock has stellar facility playing doubles around the kit.
So how did this happen? Well, the reason for his mismatched hands likely isn't to play doubles better, but for other things, like getting a stronger backbeat with the left hand. I'd be willing to bet that Carlock could move his left fulcrum way forward and the right way back and he'd still be banging out killer doubles. I'd also be willing to bet that Carlock can bang out killer doubles in push/pull, pure fingers, wrists, pretty much whatever he feels like.
I'm willing to make these bets because playing on a single static surface is one thing, while facility around the kit is quite another. I think that Carlock, aside from doing a ton of exercises, has mastered most if not all of the variations of double strokes either through explicitly practicing the micro aspects where he found himself wanting, or that over a long period of time he was forced to develop these aspects by the sheer amount of time he has devoted to, as well as the sheer difficulty of, the types of fills he plays around the kit. Probably a bit of both. The thing is that, like you said in your video there are a lot of variations to playing doubles. To play doubles the way Carlock does you need to cast a wide net. If you focus too much on "deep" and not enough on "wide" when it comes to hand technique, the drumset will invariably find some way to ruin your day.
If I had to summarize what I think the best way to practice is, it look something like:
- Practice whatever you run into that you can't do (or do well), and actively seek these things. Not just on a macro level, but on a micro level too.
- Don't practice any one thing for too long. Your body needs time to internalize your learning. You'll want to put in a lot of time if you want to improve quickly, but you want to practice a lot of things in small chunks rather than a few things in large chunks.
- After you learn something new, set a goal to take it to 11 (eg. the way mortals play doubles versus the way a guy like Carlock does).
- Eventually, you will hit a wall. Eventually, you will be able to intuit what hitting a wall feels like, and then what being on a wall hitting trajectory feels like. When you find yourself in this position, start experimenting.
- This is where you need to look for weaknesses on a micro level.
- When you experiment, do research and find the traditional wisdom, but don't take it as gospel.
- Also look at skilled players who are less orthodox, and don't be afraid to come up with your own ideas. Treat everything with skepticism until you prove it.
- Don't abandon one technique to learn another. If you do so, the new technique will always seem better. To know the strengths and weaknesses of both techniques, both must be appropriately developed.
- When two techniques are unequally developed, playing very slow and focusing on mechanics and ergonomics can help even the playing field.
