THE DOWN STROKE & UP STROKE

Once you have got the Rebound stroke going, the next aspect is to understand dynamics of the Down Stroke and Up-Stroke. Understanding these will help you develop a nice consistent rhythm as you start playing multiple strokes and accents (soft notes) moving forward

So what is a Down-Stroke? The common aspects of this stroke are, 

1. Everytime you strike the drum we start with stick up, hit the drum once ending in the ‘down’ position (about 3 inches from the head) hence the name..
2. The Down stoke sounds LOUD & CLEAR
3. There are NO bounces involved. Squeeze your back fingers to prevent multiple bounces

See a demonstration of this here. Practice this on alternate hands for 1 minute each multiple times till you are comfortable playing this stroke

The Up-Stroke is the opposite of the Down stroke,

1. It starts down and end’s up. So start with stick 3 inches above ahead and play the stroke
2. Naturally you will notice the sound is soft and low for this stroke. This stroke imitates action of our hand/palm when it touches a hot plate – a downward action with a quick snap back up as the stick touches the pad/drum!
3. Finally combine this with a Down-stroke motion to get a full smooth stroke

See a demonstration of this here. Practice this on alternate hands for 1 minute each multiple times till you are comfortable playing this stroke

Tips: Practice these strokes in front of the mirror while observing your motion. This will help you correct yourself and learn them quickly!