How to Play a Single Stroke Roll
40 Drum Rudiments
First up, Single Stroke Roll. There are a lot of drum rudiments. 40 to be exact. That’s if you don’t count all the fun inversions and hybrid rudiments coming out of DCI and WGI every season. It really is a good time to be a drummer. So much innovation and so many good players!
However, with all these fun new toys….it is important to remember the essentials. Here we go than…Best free online drum lesson coming up.
Single Stroke Roll is basically the first thing anyone does when they pick up a pair of sticks. It is the ‘Grand Poobah’ of rudiments. This is where you start. So stop working on that Cheese-Chuta-Chu if you have never broken down the Single Stroke Roll. Stop. I mean it.
Alright, so now that you put aside your NEED to grid the latest Cheesy Doodle Diddle let’s work on that Single Stroke Roll. In percussion there are four types of strokes. Full, Down, Tap, and Up. Single Stroke Roll is a bunch of full strokes in a row. Alright, later.
No I’m kidding. Start with playing each individual hand at a slow tempo. The objective here is making sure the stick starts UP and ends UP in one motion. Imagine a super bouncy ball when you throw it on the ground. You don’t start at the SET position, you throw that thing on the ground from above your head with velocity and excitement. Then it magically bounces back up. You don’t follow it to the ground and lift it back up. THI IS HOW YOUR STICK SHOULD TRAVEL. Go get a bouncy ball and try it…..I’ll wait….
Cool. Now play one measure of 8th notes on one hand. Then one measure of 16th notes with the sticking RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL. The right hand NEVER changes.
Alright, one last thing. Most students will play 8 perfect full strokes on one hand and then all of a sudden start playing down strokes on the 16th note measure. Don’t do it. DRUM! Magazine published a great article about on single stroke rolls. Check it out http://drummagazine.com/how-to-develop-a-smooth-single-stroke-roll/
Single Stroke Roll is the start of this enchanted journey of drumming. You need to play consistent and clear alternating notes if you want to play anything that your favorite drummer or drumline has ever played. That includes the latest show lick you’ve transcribed.
The people over at Vic Firth have an amazing practice tool to help students work on their rudiments. Go here http://vicfirth.com/single-stroke-roll/ and play along with their tracks. Start slow, get faster.
Get practicing!
products used in this video:
Innovative Percussion IPHB Combo Series Hybrid Drumsticks
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