This is a technique you can use to tighten up your stick control.

Materials needed:

1. aluminum foil
2. drum pad or drum

Tear off a big enough sheet of aluminum foil so that you wrap it tightly as you can over and around the practice pad or drum. If you don't want to waste any foil, then use tape to secure a smaller piece so that it won't fly off the pad or drum head.

The only thing left to do is play. Practice away, play around, play rudiments, play songs, make something up, or play whatever you want. Then, begin to watch the foil as you play. You will be able to see where the stick is bouncing off the pad. The stick will leave a small shiny indention in the foil wherever it lands. This is a great way to see where your sticks are bouncing on the pad. With this method you will be able to focus on your stick control and tighten it up with immediate visual feedback. The goal is to aim for 2 spots near the center of the foil where both sticks should always land. If your just starting off, this area will be large. As you gain more control and technique, you will have the ability to tighten up the area into the size of a dime. The more precise and consistent you make your bounces, the better your technique will become. It takes less energy to maintain quickly bouncing sticks if they remain consistent. The better your technique, the more energy you free up to use elsewhere.

Obviously there are times where you may want a different timbre or sound. This might require the stick to strike a part of the drum near the edge. Go ahead and use any part of the pad or drum head you want. The foil is there to show you how consistant you are wherever you wish to play. The foil technique I present, specifically focuses on improving your stick control by providing real time immediate feed back. This will refine your ability to place the stick consistantly in the right spot every single time.