First of all, continuously working on your stick grip is of course all important. For this purpose I can really recommend a video on youtube called “Scottish Pipe Band Drumming – Stick Grip/Technique” made by Steven McWhirter. Go and check that out – it’s great.

And, then, before we go into the exercises collected on this site, my general recommendations in terms of learning and developing your skills in pipe band drumming are:

• Get yourself a teacher – This will allow to to keep working on the things you need to. The teacher can hear things that you can’t yet hear. The teacher will open your drumming world and expand your horizon.
• Take part in workshops & summer schools – This part is for me the most effective and fun way of getting better. My own development has happened much due the fact that I took part in everything I could get close to in the first 10 years of my drumming journey. Becoming better happens in steps, I believe. And, on these workshops and summer schools you get into a bubble and play a lot with like-minded drummers who seek challenges and development. AND, you get tuition from experts.
• Get inspired from score books – My best recommendations for pipe band drumming books are the Duthart books and also the collection of rudiments called “Taking No Shortcuts” made by J. Reid Maxwell.
• Join a band of like-minded musicians – Seek inspiration from people and musicians that are better than you. Join groups and bands anywhere in the world. Take some months or a year off to go and do that. My bet is, that you’ll never regret doing that – but you might, if you don’t.

All of the exercises I collected on this page, are some that I’ve picked up along the way in my drumming journey – learned at summer schools, in lessons or from drumming friends. In the liner notes to each exercise, I try to give credit to the one who introduced it to me, if I remember that, and then I try to explain how I teach, use or play that particular exercise. In some cases, I will bring on a short story from my drumming journey.

The videos of the exercises should NOT be used to play along to. They are only meant to demonstrate the specific exercises. All exercises can of course be played with opposite hands, and in different tempos. Remember – if there are any difficulties; play softer and slower.

Enjoy, and please share if you think others can make use of these exercises and tips 🙂