[chungiemunchin]

All great suggestions..........something that I am acutely aware of as I practice (yea, I make it a focus of my practice in fact) is muscle relaxation (in both hands but certainly in my left hand) as I play. Joe Morello's "Master Studies" is a great book to help you develop your technique. The exercises are not designed to be played at your fastest speeds but with focused practice, your speed does improve without compromising your relaxedness. Actually, it is the relaxedness that increases our speed. It also increases the amount of fun we have while playing. It also increases our confidence that we can pull off more stuff on the spot because we don't tighten up while playing (see Steve Gadd for example of how relaxed one can be - and should be - while playing). These are conditioning exercises intended to be played repetitously over time and ALWAYS with our hands and wrists in their maximum relaxed state, as relaxed as they can be without dropping the sticks.

I just thought this angle might add to your other suggestions re: developing our technique.