How To Develop Silky Smooth Doubles On Drums - Keith Carlock

Fix your hand technique:
► www.Drumeo.com/hand-technique/
Once you know about his extensive drumline background and rudimental foundation, it makes complete sense why Keith Carlock’s double strokes are so good. “We used to practice just singles and doubles all day to get them clean and strong…it taught us to lock in and listen to other people.”
Now he applies these skills to the drum set. Here are two exercises Keith has used to strengthen his doubles. You want to get that snap so both the first and second stroke are at the same volume.
Click the link below for the sheet music:
www.drumeo.com/beat/how-to-pl...
Whether he’s in a hotel room or getting ready for a show, Keith is always practicing on a pad to stay in shape and keep his doubles strong. Now it’s your turn. Feel yourself working your muscles as you go through these exercises, and keep it up!
Follow Keith:
►Facebook: / keith-carlock-44833144532
►Instagram: keithcarloc...
Follow Us:
►Facebook: / drumeo
►Instagram: / drumeoofficial

[@SteveNanda]

Besides being a monster on the drums he’s also such a wonderful guy. Met him once and he was the most down to earth guy you wouldn’t believe it.

[@dustindaniels3976]

Why wouldn't we believe I he seems like an awesome person

[@dominiquechapados2830]

Totally second that

[@jumpinjojo]

He’s not a monster.

[@matthewsherman9765]

Okay. This is crazy! Keith, dude, you might want to consider doing this for a living.

[@petarpavasovic6333]

lol

[@bobbysands6923]

A teacher taught me about accenting the 2nd stroke of a double way back in the late 70s. Been practicing them that way forever and it was a game changer. Funny thing...I tried to tell other drummers in music school about it and they thought I was crazy. In any case, I am grateful that a great player like yourself emphasizes the rudiments.

[@whyhatestrangers]

I wish I began my training with this guy. After playing for 25 years, I've gotten pretty damn decent - but only at what I could already do 20 years ago. There's an entire world I've yet to explore when it comes down to it, and that's where I wanna get to. Folks like Keith keep reminding me to get off my ass and do it before it's too late.

[@Glitch-nr9ct]

I hear ya man. I cut my teeth on drums as a teenager in the 80's when the only access you had to drummers was albums, concert *VHS tapes and interviews in Modern Drummer magazine. In some ways that makes me feel fond and nostalgic about that era but then sometimes I think to myself,...my God, if the internet and You Tube were around back then I would have been exposed to SO many more influences and styles that I could have built into my arsenal.

[@leonardkenyon]

Same.

[@whyhatestrangers]

@@Glitch-nr9ct in the late 90’s, i sent some dude 50 bucks to give me a tutorial on the heel to toe method lol. I got two separate VHS tapes, one with him attempting to describe the technique and how to practice it, the other tape was him applying the technique to different songs. That was the extent of the training, and there was very little explanation of the fundamentals. He was just like “all you need to remember is walking walking, walking walking”. I felt ripped off. Years later, I’d see legends performing similar things uploaded on youtube for anyone who wanted to study it for free.

[@Glitch-nr9ct]

@@whyhatestrangers ...I'll never forget the excitement of "sending away" for my "Zildjan Day in New York" tape and waiting like 8 weeks to get it. Or all the different Rush concert tapes I got. I still can't bring myself to throw them away despite all this stuff being on YT for free now.

[@LiquidFlairEnt]

7:05 *after slaying drums*... “so I hope that was helpful.” ... It was, Keith. It really was

[@mikep9945]

😂😂😂😂

[@Kman1960]

Strong Fundamental Rudiments, all the great drummers have them. Great insight, thanks for sharing Keith !

[@johanneswarn5488]

Keith just oozes smoothness and stability. LOVED his playing with Toto.

[@theGurthee]

Keith Carlock just blew my mind. Same drill in drum line for years and never used it on the kit. "That's also a shuffle..."

[@noelteter3398]

The man explains his playing as well as he executes it, and that's saying something

[@ronjon5386]

What a great video. Getting a free class from one of the best drummers in the game . I had the pleasure of seeing Keith with Steely Dan and I was on the 3rd row. It was incredible and a highlight of my life.

[@paulbergner9713]

This is such a great lesson from a humble, beast of a player! Love this!

[@JohnGatesIII]

North Texas State leading the way. First saw Keith at PASIC 2006 and he was a BEAST then. My dad was always impressed by Keith and what he was doing.

[@gregpeller1499]

Gregg Bissonette went to the same University and did tons of marching band rudiments just like Keith did.... it's great to play from the heart, but pays dividends to know those rudiments.

[@JohnGatesIII]

@@gregpeller1499 It's all about the foundation. You can build the most beautiful house in the world, but if it doesn't have a good foundation, it won't last. My dad was a drum teacher at NTSU, back in the early 70s after he got out of the US Army Studio Band, so NTSU holds a special place for me.

[@GeorgeLawrence24]

@@JohnGatesIII I studied with your dad, John. He was a cool guy. A great guy. We kept in touch over the years.

[@JohnGatesIII]

@@GeorgeLawrence24 I appreciate you sharing that with me. I think the one thing my dad valued, over anything else in his "career", was teaching.

[@runningman5106]

No - I wouldn't give NT that much credit- he had those skills before North Texas. Here's a word from the wise: most of the successful musicians coming out of big time music schools were good before they got there. The biggest benefit of going to a music school is the networking opportunities. But you would never know that by the way the schools promote their association with their previous 'attendees' (most never graduate).

[@patrickcarroll1754]

Fantastic lesson. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Keith.

[@mifflinfinity]

His style is so unique. I love this guy

[@petelaufman4359]

Beautiful kit. Good lesson

[@IAMDRUMMER]

Everything he does is smooth, I love it.

[@stixpooper3704]

Amazing drummer and a very inspiring video. The rudiments are the foundation of good drumming.

[@AndreasHalvardsson]

Fantastic information, thank you!

[@brdrake765]

😍 wow. That was awesome and his playing is amazing.

[@Glitch-nr9ct]

Keith is such an amazing drummer that it never even occurred to me that he doesn't play single strokes around the kit until he just said it. I guess when your doubles are that good, why bother?

[@td-12kx53]

Great instructional video!👍

[@keefriff99]

I saw Keith drum for Steely Dan back in 2017…he was incredible!

[@CaliforniaBushman]

Kinda grew up checking out Keith & Wayne & Tim at the 55 Bar, in The Village since 1997. Here's a two drink minimum toast to Keith for keeping that gig going even though he didn't have to 🍻

[@gavinremedios7953]

Wow a I have watched Mr Carlock for years and he is awesome , just watch his left hand technique, it hardly changes when going from slow to fast, how loose is he, thanks so much.

[@autodidacticprofessor869]

Awesome! That first exercise was one of the double routines I studied with Jim Riley. Both UNT grads. Great drum school

[@lefujyou]

Love that flow.......

[@zumb42]

Smooth and clean. .Like everyday life.

[@jdogg5771]

It is so great to hear that another player plays like this. I often think there’s something wrong in my playing because I’ve put so much time into learning double strokes etc as opposed to singles. As a result, I hardly ever use single strokes. Good to know I’m not alone!

[@kainen1279]

When I first started drumming I just figured you only used doubles for speed flurries without losing count since it's the same amount of movement and you just add a rebound for twice the notes. I had no clue they were legitimately separate techniques with pros and cons and applications - I just figured it was an "easy" way to double your output

[@mbaumgarten8203]

Thank You!

[@maladykiller]

Thomas Lang does the same double exercise where you accent the second partial of the double rather than the first. Till this day Keith and Thomas have the best sounding double stroke rolls on earth!

[@Renodrums-vq8nv]

He has the strongest double stroke I have ever seen. Super strong and clean.

[@MrFg1980]

You are one of the drummers whose name I probably murmur in my sleep. I'm having some trouble sorting out the left hand...still, and the shot at 5:24 was a TREMENDOUS help, so thanks for that ! Oh, and Happy Holidays !

[@Bob-nu3xe]

really enjoyed your video Keith, rudiments are key to all drumming it teachers you where the beats are and the notes drop in time so when you play fills etc they will fit and sound right toms and cymbals are an extension of the snare if you can play it on the snare you can play it anywhere on the kit many thanks

[@trevormcmanis]

Awesome video

[@tiagomoura5261]

Very good

[@ChicoFagundes78]

Carlock is a double stroke beast!

[@nameloss]

i’ve been working with textiles for a few years now no silk is as smooth as those doubles tbh 😂

[@kjthekunoichi]

What a comment!!😊

[@Funkmaster0007]

Smooth, speed and power

[@alwilliams1997]

amazing

[@mrmisfit635]

Yes, Master.

[@kendo5862]

Lol that intro ... what a beast of a start!

[@ugna2773]

Smoooooooth. Wish i played like this.

[@edubatera72]

U can...just practice!!!!

[@HenkJanDrums]

Thanks.

[@dawnpoint]

I didn't know who Keith Carlock was until he slayed on the Toto XIV album.

[@craigtheschmeg3253]

Great snare work! Smooth...

[@madcat9803]

"Other instruments have chords and scales - we have our rudiments" As a drummer who regrets not playing in the drum core in high school, I wish someone told me this 25 years ago.

[@eddy-kun5590]

3:45 “im always on the pad” hehehe nice

[@ND-iz6dd]

Ive heard the first exercise refered to as "double beat" i play this everyday in my warm up. I learned it from a drummer named Richie Martinez.

[@CharlesTPrimm]

"I'm not thinking about what I play" (5, 7 stroke rolls, accented doubles, etc) is what separates drummers like you from drummers like me.

[@Ethernet480]

1:25 - "He's going the distance.....................he's going for speeeeeeeed.....he's all alone"

[@TheMaburg]

In his hour of need...

[@arrigoaxia]

After seeing this, I think the true "secret" behind his doubles is that he has very fast and accurate WRIST double strokes. We can talk all day about push/ pull, finger control, rebound etc but the reason why he pulls them out with so much power is that he's using a lot of wrist. Really: any other finger or rebound based technique will give you no sound on toms and loose surfaces in general. Amazing drummer and very good techer as well.

[@seelanne]

Arrigo Axia exactly. They all say „stay loose“ but they all forget, that there is motion, that „pulls the trigger“ and thats the wrist. Or as tony williams once said: „try to really play every stroke, not only rebound it“

[@rogerwelsh2335]

I agree, every drummer in videos keep talking about rebound and show it when they go slow, but when the speed picks up to get those strong 2nd notes. You just don’t get the greatest 2nd stroke sound in toms unless you use your wrists

[@saulmighty]

I beg to differ. Using the fingers to snap the 2nd note can be as powerful as 1st stroke and no one is forbidding the use of both fingers and wrist for the 2nd stroke, thus fingers are there to take some load off the wrist. It's just a way to take advantage of the rebound however much there is of it. Dave Weckl uses the finger snap technique with both snare and toms. Can't find fault in the sound of his tom work and don't find mine sounding bad either.

[@hxhdhhdhd6984]

Daaam Daniel

[@3Kiwiana]

Keith’s awesome I saw him play with steely Dan in Auckland New Zealand, pity about the vector arena where they played whoever built it did not know anything about sound.

[@petenas4404]

His backbone is actually his left hand!

[@irenakotrynalickuviene4262]

Si good

[@debagusadi3626]

Niiicee

[@reginaldoshinkai4321]

👏👏👏

[@robbledot7290]

Steely Dan 🤙🏼

[@lh1678]

Went to the same H.S. and me and my brother were in the marching band with him..Clinton High School Marching Band...honored.

[@lh1678]

Mr. Wilson and I think it was Chip Fortenberry? he would know the teachers

[@lh1678]

I bet he would know Bud Berthold..my teacher at HCC

[@russhicksart]

@@lh1678 Greg Tyson was the drumline instructor when I was in the line with Keith at Clinton in '89. Greg made that line great! I don't remember him ever taking lessons with Bud, but Keith was one of George Laurence's students. Bud was an amazing teacher when I was at HCC and my favorite drum instructor by far.

[@saulmighty]

Like I've said in previous videos, please start filming in 60 fps!

[@magohipnosis]

@Mac Ton It would be a ton of help for slowing down and appreciating motion details.

[@feliperoa5821]

I started hearing the first exercise and Cowboy Bebop opening came to my mind

[@tobyjohnson2771]

Good lord look at those cymbals

[@5thbassdrum]

Looks like you marched drum corps too nice video. - Former Cavaliers Drum Bugle Corps snare drummer.

[@proberaum7015]

Happy Nikolaus!

[@panplayer]

I love the fact that his left hand has such a loose grip, that the fingers are often open. I had a classmate who gave me shit about that. Then I saw Evelyn Glennie at PAS. And I said “you going to give her shit too?”

[@mikestein1024]

Dam you know your good when steely dan calls you up for a gig

[@dailygiftsforever]

Peart was a master of everything drums..... the beginning reminds me of his snare work. Keep working.

[@maartenfivez8712]

You could see his right hand drastically change on 4:59 while slowing down. I think he comes back there from using the push/pull or open/close method.

[@arrigoaxia]

Maarten Fivez unfortunately the camera angle doesn't help... up to a certain speed it's clearly all wrist, then at the peak he probably involves some kind of finger snap.

[@drumken]

Cranckin' the tom batter heads helps doind those doubles. => high tuning for doubles

[@AldeanLeger]

What drumlines did he play in???

[@michaelharwood8848]

They should have allowed him some time to recover, though. Catch his breath? It's not a live recording, after all.

[@whyhatestrangers]

I was thinking the same thing, yeah. But if one thing is clear about Keith, other than his well-honed talents, it's that his style seems organic and real and I bet that has a lot to do with his personality bleeding into his technique. Meaning he might be fine with panting on camera during an explanation of how he developed such great chops lol I know I'd probably ask for an edit - not so much for the general viewing ease but for my own sense of.. I dunno, pride? I don't know if I'm expressing myself correctly here, but maybe you get my point. Or maybe Keith just had other shit to do and wanted to get this over with lol

[@Aiafati]

How to get fast, silky doubles? Step 1: Do Cardio.

[@jerrywitaj]

Aiafati irrelevant moronic comment.

[@drumchanneltunnel5191]

does it look like keith does cardio?

[@jerrywitaj]

Dawson Nichols irrelevant comment #2..... but I will say this, his doubles are way better than anything you can do.

[@drumchanneltunnel5191]

@@jerrywitaj I know for a fact his doubles are better than my own, I was just making a dumb comment about how Keith can have great doubles without needing to have the best cardio.

[@drumchanneltunnel5191]

@@jerrywitaj Try to lighten up a little man this is youtube, I meant no disrespect to Mr. Carlock lol.

[@austinknight6028]

Another thing to remember, apply what he’s doing to the double bass pedals too if you use them it helps a lot!

[@99beatmonster]

while I appreciate that the rhythm in the opening exercise is composed of pairs of notes and you can focus on the 2nd note because of the 'rest' , these are not based on a grouping of 'four sixteenth notes', they are part of a group of three notes as confirmed by the sixteenth note rest between each pair of notes. So the feel is different to when you remove the left stick part from a double stroke roll. A double stroke roll has groups of 4 as it's main building blocks in 4/4 ,whereas the opening pattern feels like 4 groups of 3 x 16th's [ of which only 2 are played ] plus a 4 grouping on the end [ of which 2 are played as 1/8th notes] making up the 16 pulses. I understand what is being said but it may be confusing to say that those 2 notes are what's being played in a double because the placement in time is different when you introduce 2 notes with the left hand , rather than a single rest. Still great playing all the same.

[@thibodaux3424]

Yeah I noticed that too but I think for the purpose of building strong doubles the spacing doesn't really matter. In fact since there's only a single 16th rest in that exercise it makes the exercise more difficult than the double stroke rudiment itself for each hand.

[@ronaldgenendlis6423]

What are the cymbals he is using?

[@anandgautamm]

I got a whipslash feeling.

[@Anaximander29A]

Can someone explain to me what exactly he is doing with his hi-hat in the beginning (0:10)?

[@madcat9803]

I'd assume he was filling the extra space with the HH, while keeping tempo. It's like he wanted to put his own accent on the tempo. IMO

[@jossandman]

I'm no drummer per se, but that's how I naturally hold the sticks. Is there a term for this style/grip? thanks in advance.

[@Quaselfasel]

Traditional Grip

[@kaseybaka]

It’s called a traditional grip☺️

[@policeluber6720]

Gotta be humble when taught by Ed soph

[@TheMICMusicInspirationChannel]

That exercise at the beginning sounds kinda like the theme from Terminator. Just play the Terminator theme, and you can practice doubles and playing in 13 at the same time.

[@zachary813]

Is this the Push/Pull, Open/Close technique?

[@motodrummer]

no way to print the sheet music man?? and yes I am a member of drumeo already

[@user-xl1on9kg1j]

Yah but he's gotten it to the point where it sounds like a storm the way he goes around the drums with those doubles. This video is well done (micing and general sound) but hearing this man in a band is another thing. He's a true artist!

[@dbmdrums1105]

Man! This is why double strokes are such a easy and kind of cheat for certain type of fills! Certainly works for me when I am jamming along to Almost Easy by A7x. That part when Jimmy does the double ride groove is really difficult to pull it off with single strokes (atleast for me) thus I just cheat away with smooth doubles 😅😅. Anyone like me who does this ?

[@mr.s.7081]

Somewhere in the silky smooth area? - Zohan

[@jarfrobinksss]

awww he's so nervous in the beginning

[@brandonklevans7473]

Are drummers supposed to be able to overlap these? Cause I can't seem to do it

[@andrew007s]

Wow! Don't the doubles sound like singles at that speed?

[@gopesha96]

why am i here?? i dont even know how to hold the sticks... but i like this video

[@Youtube_Feed]

I see the doubles, I like I'm a simple man

[@russjohnson1715]

Dude got the drum sweats. Or withdrawal.

[@charleshot25]

4:57 Caravan

[@pranavquackerson831]

oh i play doubles with the second hit accented

[@smc4606]

Accents and rebounds 👍

[@oleromer9525]

I don't agree on 4:26. You could play the accents on the beats ;-) . But some nice exercises you show us.

[@phillbr51]

Can you just quickly walk me through that last exercise again. I know it's simple but I think I may have missed a few notes.

[@maakeklein4073]

Swiss army rudiments are pretty amazing too.

[@TheMICMusicInspirationChannel]

As is their knife!

[@robcrowson8587]

I wonder if he was ever in a Drum Corp...

[@billbobaggins801]

Ringo didn't need'um?

[@fejericktorres5539]

I don't know why 15people disliked this.

[@jumpinjojo]

Fejerick Torres They're limbless.

[@01REDEYEDDEVIL]

hahahahaha nice!!!!