Rudiments
Rudiments are excercises that are done to help develop hand control and can be used as a good warm up for any drummer. There are tons or rudiments out there. Some are very simple, while others are very difficult. The following examples of rudiments are very basic and can be perform by almost anyone.
The first rudiment is singles. This is hands down the easiest rudiment there is. Anyone who has sat down at a drum has played these without knowing it. To play singles, you simply hit the drum alternating hands each time. The hand pattern goes like this: right-left-right-left-right-left etc.. Although this is very easy, it is worth practicing this rudiment so that you can play it very fast as it is necessary for many fills.
The second rudiment is doubles. Doubles is only a very tiny step up from singles in terms of difficulty. To play doubles, you hit the drum as you would for singles, but you hit the drum twice before alternating hands. The hand pattern goes like this: right-right-left-left-right-right-left-left etc.. This can be a little tricky when played fast because you might accidentally play a single instead. Being able to play doubles fast is important for drumming because they are needed for some fills and some beats.
The paradiddle is the next rudiment. Every drummer who is worth their salt knows how to play the paradiddle. It is an excellent warm up exercise which can be made more complex if wanted. to play a paradiddle you need to combine the single and the double together. The hand pattern looks like this: right-left-right-right-left-right-left-left etc.. This can take some practice to get down solid. The paradiddle can be used for almost anything in drumming. It can be turned into a beat on the high-hat and snare drum and it can also be used as a fill across the toms and snare drum.
The fourth rudiment is a more complex version of the paradiddle called the double paradiddle. The double paradiddle is only slightly harder than the paradiddle in that there are more singles before the double. To play double paradiddles you play a paradiddle, but you add two more singles before the double. The hand pattern for the double paradiddle goes like this: right-left-right-left-right-right-left-right-left-right-left-left etc.. The double paradiddle has the same uses as a paradiddle. The double parradiddle is far less common used than the paradiddle. Try using the double paradiddle while playing a paradiddle to add variation.
These are only a small sample of the hundreds of rudiments that exist. Learning these basic rudiments till they are as natural as breathing will greatly improve your drumming. After these rudiments are mastered try playing them over different parts of your kit. Get creative!