$310

Two important things any drummer should know. Proper targeting and how to properly control the stick.

Targeting
Targeting is the act of hitting the drum head in the same exact spot over and over again. This produces the same sound consistently and will reduce head ware immensely. The best way to practice targeting is grab a practice pad or an old head your not using and in the exact center, take a quarter, outline it with a marker and there is your bullseye. Practice playing within the center of the outlined quarter to build your muscle memory up and prepare to be amazed at how full a sound you get time and time again whether playing through or to the head.

Stick Control
Proper stick control will allow you to play at lower levels with minimum effort. Now we all know how to hold a drumstick I hope but controlling the rebound and attack fully, is a different concept. When holding the drumstick between your thumb and forefinger, or the fulcrum, make sure your middle, ring and pinkie are all gripping the stick. Do not let your fingers fly away from the stick ever! Keep the control at all times! Let your fingers do the work for you. To strike the head simply follow through the arm, wrist and finally squeeze your fingers to your palm and the stick will hit with a clean and clear resonance. When you squeeze your fingers the stick will hit the head and follow the rebound but control it with your fingers, this sets you up for full follow on attacks.

5-4-3-2-1
A neat little exercise that will build up your finger dexterity. When holding your stick properly, set your fulcrum firm but relaxed and make sure your back three fingers are cradling the stick, there will be a tendency to let the stick drift when using this exercise, but control your fulcrum and target your notes properly. It's always best to practice with a metronome especially with this exercise. Set your met on 50-55bpm and using your middle finger, squeeze in to make the stick strike the head 5 times. Then move to your ring finger for 5 beats and then your pinkie for 5 beats. Then back to your middle finger for 4 beats...ring...pinkie. Then 3 down the line...2 down the line..and finally 1 note down the line. Then start the exercise again using the opposite hand. The more your practice this and the more comfortable you feel with it start moving your tempo up 5 bpm at a time.

To get the best results out of this exercise, as your doing 5-4-3-2-1 focus on targeting as well.Before long your playing and your finger dexterity will become cleaner, faster, and stronger.

Great advice! Never heard of the 5-4-3-2-1 thing, I'll give it a try!

Definitely do man, and start slow and make sure that you can feel and target every note properly while mainting stick control.