Rudiments That Work Overtime

I have a habit of ranting against the rudiments. Of course I'm referring to the classic rudiments of military origin. The point I usually try to press home is that many of the ‘standard’ rudiments are rather hard to apply to the drum set and others rarely fit modern music. But that doesn't mean that I'm totally against rudiments. Some of my favourite stickings can be found in the Standard 40 (see below). So here are my picks from the classics.

Single-stroke Roll/Double-stroke roll/Multi-stroke Roll
I covered these a while back (you can review them online here: On a Roll). Let me just say that these techniques are very important, especially the double stroke roll. Even though it’s rarely needed, the required hand control is essential in much of what we do.

Single paradiddle
I play paradiddles any way I can think of: R on a cymbal, L on the snare; R on the BD, L on the snare; R on the HH, L on the snare; BD plays the R strokes, both hands play the L on snare and floor tom; add a rock bass drum pattern; play singles on toms … there are so many possibilities.

The permutated versions are also useful (see Stick Control page 5, lines 5-8). BTW, paradiddles are a great way to convey a sense of speed with less effort.

Paradiddle-diddle
This is definitely one of my favourites. In its basic form -- RLR RLL -- and played as triplets it's a great way to get a fast roll going as it's more efficient than single strokes. Permutations that I use a lot are RRL RLL and RLL RRL. I also like to play the single strokes as accents or on toms. Played ‘inside out’ (RLL RLR) it gives you a swing ride with the Right strokes playing the cymbal line and snare 'outlining' with the Left (See It's Just an Outline).

Flam
The Flam (rL / lR) is one of the most decisive sounds available to a drummer. It's a great way to start or stop anything. They're a lot of fun if you split your hands between two drums. They can also be used to create Dilla beats. Don't forget to try both closed and open varieties.

Swiss Triplets
This one is just plain fun. The sticking is a bit odd, but couldn't be simpler: fRRL / fRRL or fLLR / fLLR. The resulting sound is something like 'bluh-duh-duh / bluh-duh-duh'. No matter where you play it on the set, it sounds pretty awesome.

Four-stroke Ruff (rlr_L / lrl_R)
The usual way to play this one is to end it on the beat: d-d-d-BAP. Another way is to begin on the beat and finish on the half beat. I especially like playing them within quarter note triplets (A). The so-called Bucket o’ Fish (B) is a four-stroke ruff played SN/ST/FT/BD. And there other stickings that you can explore.