A Beginner's Guide to Drum Rudiments

 

When you’re learning to play drums, you will inevitably hear about drum rudiments. Drum rudiments are essential, and learning and mastering them will help you improve as a drummer. Here, Woodland Hills, CA teacher Emerson W. breaks down what you need to know about rudiments.

Are you new to drums and drumming? If so, you may be wondering what the rudiments are. In this beginner’s guide, we will discuss what drum rudiments are, and how they can help improve your playing. We will also provide tips for practicing them. 

So, let’s get started!

What Are the Basic Rudiments of Drumming?

The basic rudiments of drumming are the building blocks for all drumming techniques. They are essential for developing coordination, speed, and stamina. 

• The most common rudiments are single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles, flams, and rolls. Single strokes require the drummer to strike one drum with each hand in alternation. 
• Double strokes involve striking two drums with each hand in quick succession. 
• Paradiddles are a combination of single and double strokes, and flams involve striking two drums simultaneously. 
• Rolls involve playing a series of single or double strokes in rapid succession. 

By mastering the basic rudiments, drummers can lay the foundation for a lifetime of successful drumming.

Still curious about drum rudiments? Ask your drum instructor for more advice – and check out the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6R2QeM3fBA

What is the Hardest Drum Rudiment?

The hardest drum rudiment is often considered to be the double stroke roll. This rudiment is played by alternating between two drums, usually the snare and the hi-hat, using both hands. 

The double stroke roll is difficult to execute smoothly, as there is a very limited time for each hand to strike the drum. 

As a result, many drummers find that their hands become fatigue quickly when trying to play this rudiment. In addition, the double stroke roll can be difficult to control, as it is easy to create unwanted sounds if one of the drums is struck too hard. While practice and patience are key to mastering this rudiment, there is no doubt that the double stroke roll is one of the most challenging drum rudiments.

Drum Rudiments for Beginners

Drum rudiments are to drumming as the alphabet is to language. They’re the foundation of the music you make as a drummer. Rudiments are small musical ideas that can be easily memorized.

When you’re learning, it’s important to pay close attention to the skeleton of the rudiment. The skeleton is the rudiment in its most basic form; the rhythm without the ornaments. For example, the skeleton of a five-stroke roll is four eighth notes. Once those four eighth notes are mastered, you can add the ornaments (rolls and accents.)

When learning a rudiment, pay close attention to which hand you use for each note—this is called sticking. Every rudiment has a specific sticking pattern.

The Percussive Arts Society has documented the 40 essential drum rudiments. Rudiments are necessary for endurance, agility, stretching, smooth movement around the drum set, accents, syncopation, and special effects.

Here are tips for rudiments drum players should know.

Rudiments as Warm-Ups

Rudiments are easy to memorize, and you can use them to warm up your hands, wrists, and forearms at the beginning of your practice session. You can use a metronome to help you keep a steady tempo.