Mastering Six-Way Independence: Marco’s Drumming Exercises for Hands & Feet

In my ‘Six Way Independence’ Masterclass on Drum Channel, I wanted to give my students the opportunity to learn the way I learned, and how I came up with my concepts. I started thinking about all of the combinations I saw in the Stick Control book. I wanted to be able to play these not only between the hands and feet, but also between the left side against the right side, or left foot/right hand against the right foot/left hand. I wanted to learn all of the possibilities.

Here’s a funny story about that. Our producer was working in another studio next to the room where I was practicing. I was practicing Ratamacues and Rudiments between the two sides of the body, and it sounded terrible.  My producer said to his assistant, ‘Someone is in Marco’s room practicing and he sounds terrible, go in and kick him out.’ When he went to the room, he saw that it was me rehearsing this concept.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it right away. What everyone should do is practice the things they want to learn so they’re always learning new things. I’m always on the search for new territory and new ground.

I started basically playing quarter notes between the right foot and left foot, putting eighth notes on the top with my right and left hands. This is the first exercise. Also, you should always keep a very even tempo.

For the second exercise, you reverse. The hands are playing quarter notes, and the eighth note groupings are done by the feet.

For the third pattern, the quarter notes will be moved to the left side of the body, so you will play the left foot and the left hand, and play the eighth note groupings with the right foot and the right hand.

In the fourth pattern, you move the pattern between the right foot and right hand quarter notes, and the eighth note singles between the left foot and left hand.

The fifth exercise is between the left foot and the right hand with the quarter note pattern and the eighth note pattern between the right foot and the left hand.

The last possibility, to equal six in all, the pattern moves between the left foot and the right hand playing the quarter note, and the eighth note pattern will be played between the left foot and the right hand.

Sometimes I struggle with these things. This is an exercise. Please take your time, work on these for 20 minutes a day. Do each pattern first and then try to put them together and improvise. You will find yourself coming up with some really cool music with it.