Invert Motion

Invert Motion works on inverted flam taps—with an optional cheese invert variation—by contextualizing the rudiment with other rudiments that have the same one-handed breakdown: the “invert motion” (two taps followed by a quick upstroke to an accented third note). Pataflaflas and same-handed flam paradiddles have the same one-handed breakdown, although the precise timing of the three notes will vary with the taps’ role as either grace notes or proper taps (within the rhythmic grid).

I pulled this exercise off the cutting room floor of the NC State Drumline exercise packet… I recently found a very early handwritten draft that included several exercises which, despite not making the cut, are actually quite versatile and worthy of study. This exercise was ultimately thrown out in favour of one that focuses more on filling in the breakdowns of the inverted flam tap rudiment; however, the idea for juxtaposing rudiments that have the same one-handed breakdown as each other formed the basis of the Off-Hand Control chapter in the Rudiment Control packet.

Flam Taps '09

Flam Taps ‘09 was incorporated into a larger ensemble warm-up performed by the NC State Drumline, but it is a neat little exercise on its own. It is built like a straightforward flam-taps builder, but it starts with the nonlead hand in order to create a driving upbeat feel that gives the hugadigs (three-note series on the same hand) a sense of urgency and a need for precision.

Drag Control

Drag Control runs through some different interpretations of the tap drag and flam drag rudiments to build mastery over doublestroke attacks and spacings. The main idea is that “if you can do it wrong, then you can do it right.” By exploring some extremes of how a rhythm can be incorrect, you learn to hear and feel the difference between correct and incorrect attacks and spacings.

I pulled this exercise off the cutting room floor of the NC State Drumline exercise packet… I recently found a very early handwritten draft that included several exercises which, despite not making the cut, are actually quite versatile and worthy of study. This exercises was probably not included because the Tap Five builder covers the same ideas and then some. The slurred tap drags in measure 2 are not intuitively easy to read, so it was easy enough to work on different tap drag variations by rote, and leave the Tap Five builder as the thing people needed to read, prepare, and use to develop fulcrum awareness. For more rudimental interp exercises like this, check out Rudiment Control.

Check Yo'Self

Check Yo’Self (Paradiddle-Diddle exercise) uses simple diddle figures to prepare your ears to listen for inconsistencies in paradiddles and paradiddle-diddles. It’s a very simple exercise, but it should make your bad habits really apparent. It’s all right hand lead, so be sure to rehearse this one off the left.

Loosey Juicy

Loosey Juicy uses swiss triplets and different doublestroke rolls to contrast different applications where the second note of a double beat is achieved largely through fulcrum/finger pressure acting against the rebound of the first note of the doublestroke.

Nine on a Hand (Flam Drag Builder)

Nine on a Hand (Flam Drag Builder) is similar to Eighteen on a Hand, but it focuses on the distinction between taps and grace notes while drawing your attention to different features of the flam drag rudiment. Ideally, grace notes are played from the tacet height in order to create the best sounding flams possible; i.e., the grace note does not speak as powerfully as the taps or diddles. This approach is the flams equivalent of “doublestrokes consist of two equal attacks.” While the ideal will not always be feasible, understanding it and being able to apply it where it is reasonably achievable will improve your execution across the range of rudimental contexts.

Eighteen on a Hand (Paradiddle-diddle Builder)

Eighteen on a Hand (Paradiddle-diddle Builder) is a twist on the traditional 8 on a Hand. By adding a huckadig (one-handed breakdown of a paradiddle-diddle) to the measure of legatos, this exercise opens the door to many great variations for combining and refining doublestroke and accent-tap fundamentals, in service of building excellent paradiddle-diddles. It is a simple concept, but there is a lot that you can do with it.

Waltz

Waltz mainly works on paradiddles, using different variations to draw your attention to the various mechanical demands of the rudiment. Additional variations open the door to numerous new possibilities to test your accent-tap fundamentals and fulcrum control.

Place The Grace 2

Place The Grace 2 is a flams builder that challenges you to keep a consistent pulse on one hand while the other hand plays isolated taps that either serve to fill in the rhythm, to create true flams, or to create flat flams.

Place The Grace 1

Place The Grace 1 is a flams builder that challenges you to experiment with grace-note placement by starting with a rhythmic grid, altering the timing of the rhythmic grid, transitioning to true flams, tightening to flat flams, and ultimately settling on a true flam interpretation.

Chugga-Chugga-Wuggas

Chugga-Chugga-Wuggas is an introduction to some fun flam, flam-tap, and inverted flam-tap combinations that can function as hybrid rudiments. They require a great deal of control, finesse, and advanced flam fundamentals, where raw chops have to meet mature touch awareness. Enjoy!

Odd Singles

Odd Singles consists of variations to the classic 7/8 Singles exercise. The variations change the beat-long into into something subtly slower or faster than the sixteenth-note triplets that set it up.

We Got 2 Kinds of Threes

We Got 2 Kinds of Threes compares the hugadig rudiment (one-handed breakdown of a flam-tap) with the triplebeat rudiment (where all three strokes are attacked in the same way). The goal is to challenge your application of fulcrum/finger assistance and efficient use of wrist turn and rebound. Confronting the dramatic contrasts that manifest in the pairing of these two approaches will help you to build better habits for the application of good fundamentals.

Pinch Perfect

Pinch Perfect requires the consistent application of a given amount of fulcrum pressure and finger assistance to create strong and consistently-timed doublestrokes. Variations then alter the release of the roll so that the fulcrum pressure and finger assistance demands are not uniform throughout 100% of the exercise.

Full 'o Crumb

Full ‘o Crumb challenges your control of fulcrum pressure and finger assistance by juxtaposing singlestrokes, doublestrokes, and flam-taps. It will require a lot of dexterity to switch between the demands of the different rudiments.

Herta Henry

Herta Henry is a fun singlestroke and herta étude that is a lot more challenging than it looks. You will have to mind what I call the “herta paradox”: hertas consist simply of legatos on one hand and doubles on the other hand, but putting them together in the herta rhythm mysteriously creates a tendency to unnecessarily tense up on both figures in order to achieve correct timing. The skeleton variation will give you a benchmark of how the as-written exercise should feel if you are truly relaxed.

Nice Kicks

Nice Kicks is a diddle interp exercise that is primarily focused on rolls that put an accent before their release. Rehearsing different roll interpretations is an excellent practice for building confidence and consistency in timing, as well as greater fulcrum control. Apart form this benefit, the figures in this exercse are interesting rudimental fare in their own right—fun to include in musical passages to create a looser rhythmic feel where appropriate.

Durrty Dubbles

Durrty Dubbles works on double beats using variations that allow for one hand to check the timing and sound quality of the other hand. You must variously create doublestop doublestrokes, doublestrokes where the first note of one hand coincides with the second note of the other, and singlestroke fours. The unison doublestrokes facilitate building a completely uniform doublestroke motion between the two hands. The half-unison doublestrokes force you to match sound quality and timing when the doublestop note is achieved through differing amounts of forearm assistance, wrist turn, and fulcrum pressure between the two hands. The single-stroke fours give you an opportunity to hear each note of both hands’ doublestrokes by itself, without being hidden within a doublestop.

Smoooves

Smoooves is a simple pattern for fitting five-note rudiments into a juxtaposition between sixteenth notes and fivelets. Included are some example rudiments that are well-suited t this pattern, as well as some accent variations to play around with. Despite all the effort changes involved, keep it smooth!

2/28 Spree

2/28 Spree is a spree that I wrote with the help of the WSIP 2015 snare line after a particularly brutal visual block. I wanted to keep the performers off their feet, so we hashed out this piece using sticks on a carpeted floor, and it turned into something quite cool. So here is the WSIP 2015 snare line spree.