Introduction To The Drum Rudiments

Welcome to Introduction To The Drum Rudiments! We will be covering 8 of the first rudiments including the Single Stroke Roll, Paradiddle, Flam, Press Roll, Ruff, Double Stroke Roll, 5 Stroke Roll, and Flam Tap.

Every lecture goes over 1 rudiment starting with what the sticking for it is and whether it has any grace notes or accents.

Then, we go over what it’s used for. For example, a flams, ruffs, and buzzes are used to add different amounts of duration and texture to a note because otherwise everything that you play on percussion would be short.

After that, we do any exercises that are useful for dialing in that rudiment which may be like playing it from open to closed (going from a wide amount of space to a small amount of space), dropping the stick, or playing it in another iteration that helps you play it more evenly.

For every rudiment, you’ll begin by playing the notes in the correct order, but with no rhythm. Allow yourself as much time as you need to get to the next note as long as it’s in the right order. Then, you’ll gradually add rhythm and begin to play it slowly. After that, you’ll try them at the written tempos. If you ever have trouble playing something or begin to flail at a rhythm, stop and play it slower or go back to playing the notes in the correct order out of time.

Lastly, I cover any sort of pitfalls that you may run into when learning them. The most important things are keeping an even stick height throughout, matching the right and left hands, and aiming at the center of the drum. That way, you get as pure and even of a sound as possible.

Similar to scales, the rudiments don’t particularly sound like much by themselves, but their value will become clear when you have to use them in the future. Most of the things that you play on the drums will be comprised of one rudiment or several rudiments combined and it opens up a whole realm of possibilities.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message at any time!