Drum Rudiments: Single Stroke Roll

This is the first of a series of entries about drum rudiments. You can play them on the snare or on a drum pad. The purposes of the rudiments are...

1) to develop the proper way of holding the drum sticks,
2) to develop the proper way of hitting with the drum sticks,
3) to develop the strength of the drummer's stroke and
4) to develop playing comfortably at slow and fast tempos.


Instructions on how to play rudiments:

*The best way to practice is to have a metronome with you. The metronome helps you identify the tempo you are playing in. (examples, 45 bpm, 60 bpm) bpm means beats per minute

*The letter "R" means you strike with the right hand and "L" means you strike with the left.

*The notes on the scale are 32nd notes so you hit a total of eight strokes for every beat. For example, you're practicing at 60 bpm, so that tempo is equivalent to every tick of the second hand of a clock, which is one beat. So for every second you must be able to play 8 strokes (4 right strokes and 4 left strokes alternately) total.

*Start practicing at slow tempos then go faster as you become comfortable (remember the purpose of the rudiments) at the tempos you are practicing at. Level 1 (44-56 bpm), Level 2 (58-70 bpm), Level 3 (72-84 bpm), Level 4 (86-98 bpm), Level 5 (100-112 bpm) Credits to vicfirth.com