Rudiments: Basics and Beyond | Part 1

Rudiments:  Basics and Beyond | Part 1

Back in the day, a poster with The Thirteen Essential Rudiments published by Ludwig Drum Company hung on the back wall of my high school band hall. An LP album with rudiment demonstrations resided among my band director’s reference materials. 

A multitude of school-age percussionists honed their skills as they chopped through the baker’s dozen of drumming licks on that poster.  

Although rudiments are often associated with marching percussion, the rudiments are not exclusive to drum lines. Whether your principal percussion outlet is hand drumming or you prefer drum set, a working knowledge of basic rudiments will enhance your drumming skills and add to your creative arsenal. My rudimental training serves as the foundation for all of my drumming technique, and certain aspects of those fundamentals influence my approach to keyboard percussion. 

If you are getting started on the rudimental journey, you will find tips and resources in this two-article series, while percussionists who are farther along will find methods for sharpening their rudimental prowess.

A search of the web will provide a variety of definitions for drum rudiments. I might as well add my description to the pile: a drum rudiment contains one or more of the basic striking methods along with a specific sticking permutation—with or without accent(s). 

The Super-Brief History Highlights

Drummers have been concocting catchy little snatches of rhythms and passing them along to their fellow percussionists from time immemorial. Pinpointing the actual start of rudiments is impossible. However, evidence of notated drum rudiments appears around the late sixteenth century.

Over time, collections of rudiments were presented in various drumming manuals, but two significant events in the evolution of rudiments happened within the last one hundred years. 

• The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) was formed in 1933 by a group of thirteen prominent American percussionists. The members collaborated to assemble a grouping of rudiments that were termed The Thirteen Essential Rudiments.

1. Long Roll

2. Five Stroke Roll

3. Seven Stroke Roll

4. Flam

5. Flam Accent

6. Flam Paradiddle

7. Flamacue

8. Ruff

9. Single Drag

10. Double Drag

11. Double Paradiddle

12. Single Ratamacue

13. Triple Ratamacue

• Fast forward about a half-century when the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) adopted a new listing of rudiments. The 1984 collection of Forty International Drum Rudiments drew from marching, orchestral, and international influences. 

Get Started

• Begin learning common basic rudiments by downloading a free copy of the Percussive Arts Society’s Forty International Drum Rudiments at www.pas.org. Go to Menu and click on Resources and find Rudiments. Along with the notation, you can listen to recordings of all forty rudiments. 

• Private lessons from a qualified teacher will aid in learning the fundamentals and tutorial videos are available online.

• A range of method books devoted to rudiments are available. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Haskell W. Harr Drum Method Book 2   Haskell Harr 

Written by PAS Hall of Fame member Haskell Harr, this manual contains instruction on twenty-six rudiments along with exercises. Several rudimental solos are included along with access to audio files. While writing this article, I dug out my copy of Mr. Harr’s venerable book and knocked out the classic solo “Downfall of Paris” on a practice pad. Good stuff.

Rudimental Logic 3.0  by Bill Bachman

Drummers of all levels will find learning strategies and wisdom in this book from rudimental authority Bill Bachman. Topics include standard rudiments, grips, stroke techniques, and hybrid rudiments along with over 150 exercises.  

Old-School Open-Close-Open

One of the time-honored methods for developing control of a rudiment is called playing open to close to open. The term simply means slow to fast to slow. Begin the process by playing a rudiment at a very slow, deliberate tempo, paying careful attention to each note. Gradually increase the speed until you are at your maximum and still have control. Hold that speed for a moment before beginning to gradually decrease the tempo, eventually returning to your original tempo. The exercise should take about 60 to 90 seconds to complete. At the aforementioned PAS website, the rudiment recordings are presented in open-close-open format. 

Running a rudiment through this process will advance your ability to play a rudiment at a wide variety of tempos. The exercise is especially useful for the development of rolls.  

Be sure to check back next month for the second installment of this two-part series.  Various methods for improving and deepening your rudimental skills will be presented along with ideas for using rudiments to boost your creativity.

This article was previously published in Worship Musician magazine.