the 26 rudiments of drumming

tomas howie publishes the 26 rudiments of drumming on his website.
he says "Rudiments are the building blocks of drumming technique. Knowledge of these essential patterns, and the ability to play them fluidly at any tempo without conscious thought, will make you a better drummer regardless of the style of music you play.
Each set of rudiments includes the proper sticking. In some cases, opposing sticking is added. When practicing these patterns, use a single drum or a pad, start slowly and build speed - hold - then slow back down. Then do the opposing sticking. It is highly recommended that you practice these patterns with a metronome.
When you have reached facility with each pattern on a single drum, begin to develop their use on the kit, practicing them around the various drums.
The 26 rudiments on this page are often identified as the Essential Rudiments of Drumming by the National Association of Rudimental Drummers. Over the years other rudiments have been developed, and have been added to the original 26. These rudiments are identified as the Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments."
learn them here.

the 26 rudiments of drumming are:
1. The Long Roll (or Double-Stroke Roll, or Buzz Roll)
2. The Five-Stroke Roll
3. The Seven-Stroke Roll
4. The Flam
5. The Flam Accent #1 (pattern #1)
6. The Flam Paradiddle
7. The Flamacue
8. The Ruff
9. The Single Drag
10. The Double Drag
11. The Double Paradiddle



12. The Single Ratamacue
13. The Triple Ratamacue
14. The Single-Stroke Roll
15. The Nine-Stroke Roll
16. The Ten-Stroke Roll
17. The Eleven-Stroke Roll
18. The Thirteen-Stroke Roll
19. The Fifteen-Stroke Roll
20. The Flam Tap (notation #1)
21. The Single Paradiddle
22. The Drag Paradiddle #1



23. Drag Paradiddle #2
24. The Flam Paradiddle-Diddle
25. The Ratatap
26. The Double Ratamacue

learn them here.

on ebay: 1960s rogers timbale twin

take a look at this 1960s rogers timbale twin. a unique set with a double bass drum.



now for sale on ebay.
from the description: "This classic set is in exceptional condition with little to no sign of wear The set for the collector who has it all. The Factory issued Black Diamond Pearl Finish is in Mint condition no fade or issues! Chrome components are all original and also in excellent condition. New remo heads all around except for the FT which has the two original heads further indicating this sets low amount use. A great set for latin Jazz players Louie Bellson meets Tito Puente."
go here. it's yours if you have US $1,299.00.

moeller technique for the heavy hitter

"if they tell you no pain no gain, shoot 'em." says jim chapin (82 years young!). this is a good stick technique video, explaining to loosen up and not squeeze your sticks.



the guy on the left in the video is dom famularo. watch jim chapin showing off and messing up here.
(via vic firth)

nice exercise to develop touch and control

Vyacheslav says: Here's an awesome exercise that I learned in my North Texas days. I swear it's the hardest "simplest" thing I have had to play. My drum teacher there, Jon Kutz, came as close to doing this "successfully" as anyone I've heard.

4/4 time signature. All sixteenth notes (16-sixteenth notes/1 measure or bar: 1e&a 2e&a 3e&a 4e&a, repeated once so it's played a total of two measures/bars). All on a snare drum, or better yet, a practice pad (so you can hear the differences in each stick sound).

Play the phrase above twice as stated (2 measures/bars). There are three different stickings to use (change stickings after each time through the 2 measures/bars).

Sticking # 1: Single Strokes (RLRL RLRL etc.)
Sticking # 2: Double Strokes (RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL etc.)
Sticking # 3: Paradiddles (RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL etc.)



Go back to single strokes after finishing the two bars of paradiddles, and just keep repeating the cycle over and over.

Sounds easy so far, right? Well, here comes the part that makes it tricky, and will have you pulling your hair out, but will also greatly improve your touch and control!

Try to make each sticking sound like single strokes! In other words, if I'm sitting right next to you and I have my eyes closed, I shouldn't be able to tell where you are in the cycle (which sticking you are playing). It will drive you nuts! Practice this at all volume levels and tempos, but it is most beneficial (and most difficult!) at softer volume levels and medium tempos.

I realize that singles, doubles and paradiddles are not supposed to sound the same because they are not "sticked" the same, but trying to make them sound the same and "phrase" them the same really helped improve my touch and control.

Have fun!

never seen before: the all brass snare

belgian stave shell drums manufacturer lignum drums have added something special to their product line. they were wondering: how would a snare drum made entirely of brass (that’s shell, lugs, rods, hoops, nuts, strainer, snare wires) sound? the result: the all brass snare.



using a 3mm brass shell as the foundation and adding carefully designed brass fixtures, lignum drums have created a snare drum that surely must be the ultimate brass drum! more info here.

read our post on lignum stave shells here.

best rock drum performance albums

digital dreamdoor made a top 50 of the best rock drum performance albums:

1. Lateralus / Tool (Danny Carey)
2. Machine Head / Deep Purple (Ian Paice)
3. Quadrophenia / The Who (Keith Moon)
4. Awake / Dream Theater (Mike Portnoy)
5. Moving Pictures / Rush (Neil Peart)
6. Led Zeppelin II / Led Zeppelin (John Bonham)
7. Disraeli Gears / Cream (Ginger Baker)
8. Fragile / Yes (Bill Bruford)
9. Brain Salad Surgery / Emerson Lake & Palmer (Carl Palmer)
10. Outlandos D'Amour / The Police (Stewart Copeland)





11. Situation Dangerous / Bozzio Levin Stevens (Terry Bozzio)
12. Reinventing The Steel / Pantera (Vinnie Paul)
13. Red / King Crimson (Bill Bruford)
14. Physical Graffiti / Led Zeppelin (John Bonham)
15. BadMotorFinger / Soundgarden (Matt Cameron)
16. Frizzle Fry / Primus (Tim Alexander)
17. Are You Experienced / Jimi Hendrix Experience (Mitch Mitchell)
18. What If / Dixie Dregs (Rod Morgenstein)
19. Season In The Abyss / Slayer (Dave Lambardo)
20. Aenima / Tool (Danny Carey)
21. Iowa / Slipknot (Joey Jordison)
22. Angel Dust / Faith No More (Mike Bordin)
23. Crash / Dave Matthews Band (Carter Beauford)
24. Paranoid / Black Sabbath (Bill Ward)
25. 1984 / Van Halen (Alex Van Halen)
26. Scenes From A Memory / Dream Theater (Mike Portnoy)
27. Tarkus / Emerson Lake & Palmer (Carl Palmer)
28. Moon Babies / Planet X (Virgil Donati)
29. Toxicity / System Of A Down (John Dolmayan)
30. Apostrophe / Frank Zappa (Ralph Humphrey)
31. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway / Genesis (Phil Collins)





32. Relayer / Yes (Alan White)
33. De-Loused In The Comatorium / Mars Volta (Jon Theodore)
34. The Return / Vanilla Fudge (Carmine Appice)
35. Death Cult Armageddon / Dimmu Borgir (Nicholas Barker)
36. And Justice For All / Metallica (Lars Ulrich)
37. 2112 / Rush (Neil Peart)
38. Danger Money / UK (Terry Bozzio)
39. Leftoverture / Kansas (Phil Ehart)
40. Reign In Blood / Slayer (Dave Lombardo)
41. Late For The Future / Galactic (Stanton Moore)
42. Painkiller / Judas Priest (Scott Travis)
43. Led Zeppelin III / Led Zeppelin (John Bonham)





44. Night Of The Living Dregs / Dixie Dregs (Rod Morgenstein)
45. Demanufacture / Fear Factory (Ray Herrara)
46. Thirteenth Step / A Perfect Circle (Josh Freese)
47. Remission / Mastodon (Brann Dailor)
48. Fresh Cream / Cream (Ginger Baker)
49. V: The New Mythology Suite / Symphony X (Jason Rullo)
50. Blood Sugar Sex Magik / Red Hot Chili Peppers (Chad Smith)

dave weckl video

check out this dave weckl video from the ultimate drummers weekend dvd #10. it's quite impressive. i mean, it's not my style of music nor my style of playing, but what he does and how he does it, is just amazing.



dave weckl is one of the highest acclaimed jazz fusion drummers around. check out his website here.

stick twirling technique videos

looking for some stick twirls to add a little extra to your show? check out these stick twirling instruction videos by jason horsler.
he's showing the true twirl, the blackwell's twirl, the fake twirl, the letting it go, the stick on stick twirl (sticky sticks), some mixing it up's and close ups, and the jojo meyer grab.

on ebay: 1926 ludwig gold kick drum

take a look at this rare 1926 ludwig gold kick drum. now selling on ebay.



from the description:
"You are bidding on a Ludwig Gold kick drum built in 1926 with copper hardware in excellent condition. This is a highend drum Ludwig built in the 1920s. To help show what this kick drum is worth, the snare that matches this kick sold at the Chicago Vintage show for $9000."
so if you have a few pennies left, start bidding here.
End time: May-23-06 20:00:00 PDT

triple drum pedal

drum pedal manufacturer the duallist invented something new: the triple drum pedal. the duallist already invented the "duallist double pedal", check out this video if you don't know it. now they've come up with this revolutionary triple drum pedal.



a little explanation from their site: "As well as providing all of the great functions of the Duallist DOUBLE pedal you get a left foot pedal linked to a third beater. This enables you to play fast bass drum rolls as well as using the left foot to punctuate the right foot rhythm. The right foot can play single pedal patterns with just one beater and then kick into double mode for great double beater patterns - all with one foot. Then you can add in a left foot pattern in triple mode for mind-blowing bass drum rhythms."
read more here.

monolithic maple shell snares from taye

we've already talked about the stave shell drums from lignum (read the post here). now taye takes it a step further, introducing the monolithic sugar maple shell snare:



a solid shell construction, not stave block, not steam bent, not ply wood, not glued, not seamed, but painstakingly hollowed out of a piece sugar maple log. if you want one, ask your mommy for help. the solid maple shell 14x7 with wood hoops, shown above, costs $ 2,600.00.

from their website: "Solid Maple Shell Snare drum is a monolithic shell construction lathed in one piece from hand-selected North American Sugar Maple log - no seams, no staves, and no plys. Wood Hoop Snare Drum models are fitted with Taye’s 14-ply Sugar Maple hoops, hand finished in 100% tung nut oil, newly engineered articulated hoop claws with resonance control spacers to allow quick head change."

available in 14x7, 14x6 and 14x5, and if you ask nicely you can have 'em with steel hoops too.

gigpig, the smallest drum kit ever

a rather bizarre instrument, this gigpig from sweden. it's a extra small drum kit, build around a concept that says "make a great sounding drum set that is self-contained and easily portable". the result is the gigpig:



from their website: "Each GigPig drum set is a finely crafted instrument consisting of specially sized resonance chambers inside a birch cabinet. The chambers are sized to provide the optimum tone for each drum.

Maple shells are seated into receiving grooves on the box. The grooves are precisely cut for each size of drum. Quality heads are then installed with heavy duty 2.3 mm chromed steel hoops.

The bass drum and high hat pedals are attached directly to the box - as are all mechanisms. The pedals are cleverly hinged so that they can be quickly folded up and out of the way for easy transport.



The 8" snare drum hosts an amazingly large sound thanks to it's deep, oversized resonance chamber - which passes from top to bottom of the cabinet. The batter head is mounted on top while the resonant head and snare wires are mounted on the bottom of the box.

We assure you that you've never heard an 8" snare drum sound this big before."

read more here.
watch jason mcelveen show off on a gigpig here.

glow in the dark drumsticks

swiss drumsticks manufacturer agner added uv-reflecting drumsticks to its range.



so if you want to add a little extra to your show, you can pick a couple of these agner glow in the dark drumsticks. they come in white, yellow and orange. once you've charged them with any light source, they will glow for about 20 or 30 minutes.

cool handmade beaters

bigfoot kickbeaters make some fine beaters.



they sell handturned maple beaters and these ultra cool, handfinished beaters made from solid epoxy resin. your bass drum needs one.



on top of that, they make hi-hat clutch tops and customised snares. go here!

lignum drums: stave shell

lignum drums is a small belgian manufacturer of stave shell drums. although most drums are made using plywood shells, it has long been recognised that ‘solid wood’ drums are far superior.



lignum drums offer the finest quality stave shell drums in many hardwoods (maple, birch, walnut, sycamore…), so if you are looking for the ultimate drumset that gives you the truest possible sound, in sizes that you choose, try lignum.



make sure to check out the lignum drums website where you can find all info on the making of and the personal approach.

pro-mark sends you to simon phillips

win a trip for two to see simon phillips and toto in concert. get your bags packed and your passport ready. pro-mark sends you and a guest to a toto concert somewhere in the world. where? it's going to be a surprise!



to enter, purchase any pro-mark first-quality product between april 10th, 2006 and july 15th, 2006. this is a worldwide contest. it is not limited to residents of the united states. all details here.

get drumsticks with your name on

you're not lars ulrich, but you're dreaming of drumsticks with your name?



vic firth introduces their player labels drumsticks. you can choose from 9 models and there are 3 differents fonts to choose from. no, you can't have your real signature on those drumsticks. you're not lars ulrich, are you?

on ebay: 1964 ludwig silver sparkle

check out this beautiful 1964 ludwig silver sparkle drumkit.
"Bass drum, snare, mounted tom, and floor tom; with vintage cymbal stand, vintage Ludwig snare stand, Speed King bass drum pedal, and Hi Hat stand, complete with 4 cymbals. Ready to play right out of the box. The set blends perfectly with a doghouse bass and tenor sax in classic jazz situations, and does pretty well against a steel guitar."
for sale on ebay. here.
End time: May-07-06 20:58:43 PDT