Single-Handed Grooves

by Brad Schlueter

I'm a professional drummer, drum teacher, and music writer. Drumming has always been an important part of my life, creatively, emotionally, and financially. A few years ago I broke my left wrist badly, requiring surgery and a six-month period of rehabilitation and physical therapy. My livelihood requires my ability to drum, and also to demonstrate drumming techniques to my students. During this period my doctor was uncertain as to what degree I'd recover from the injury, prompting a good measure of fear and depression from me. Practicing has always cheered me up when I've been down or sick, so to combat these feelings and remain productive, I began practicing grooves and patterns with my remaining three limbs. After working on these patterns for a few months, and about halfway through my rehabilitation, I sat in with a band at a club and played James Brown's "Sex Machine", with one stick and my other arm in a cast. It brought the house down and elevated my mood and outlook immeasurably.

Happily, I've recovered very well and have resumed playing drums professionally. I thought I'd offer some of these patterns in the hope they serve you as well as they did me.

• Download a PDF File of the Patterns Here

**Click on each set of patterns to view large image