This fun bass exercise can be played with the snare and tenor exercises posted yesterday, or it can stand alone as a good splitting workout for five players. As the title indicates, there are 12 sections, and each has a specific focus:
Sections 1-2: Unison one-handed accented 8th notes. Focus on maintaining a clear distinction between accents and taps. Keep your taps controlled and close to the drum. Make sure your accents are strong, not wimpy. Matching stick heights and angles will help in staying together.
Sections 3-4: Unison alternating accented 16th notes. This should follow the exact same technique as sections 1-2, except the opposite hand is now “filling in” the 16th notes. All taps should be consistently at the same height and volume. Keep the accents strong and the taps consistently softer.
Sections 5-6: Split 8th note patterns. Focus on precise note placing. Mentally subdividing the beat is essential.
Sections 7-8: Split 16th note patterns. Make sure the 16th notes are placed exactly in time, so that the transitions from player to player are smooth.
Sections 9-10: Split 16th note triplet patterns. Once again, take care to maintain precise note spacing. Be careful not to “crush” or “stretch” the triplets.
Sections 11-12: Split 32nd note patterns. As the note speed increases, technique becomes even more important. Maintain control without becoming rigid. Stay relaxed without becoming sloppy. Take care to achieve clarity on every single note.
This exercise has gone through many tweaks and additions over the years. In its current version, I think it’s a great tool in the arsenal of any percussionist. When I first encountered this exercise, the first four sections were taught to me and the other students at Princeton High School (Princeton, Texas) by Rick Beckham. This covered the accented 8th notes off the right hand and left hand, plus the accented 16th notes off the right hand and left hand. He later added the next four sections (8th note flams leading with the right and left, plus the accented paradiddle patterns leading with the right and left).
The four main patterns—8th notes, 16th notes, flams, and paradiddles—are great for developing the control needed to distinguish accent and tap heights. I have used this core exercise with several different drum lines, and it has been quite effective.
Over time, I decided to expand the exercise. In personal practice, I used the basic accent structure on a number of different rudimental patterns. When teaching it to a full drum line, I decided that I wanted to write a mallet part that went through the circle of fifths, covering all 12 major keys.* I also wanted a bass drum part that worked split 16th note triplets and 32nd notes. So I picked two of my favorite rudimental patterns that worked with that rhythmic structure to add sections 9-10 and 11-12. In short, this exercise has something really useful for every section.
Since 12 sections are covered by going through the circle of fifths and the snare drum part is similar to the standard “Bucks” exercise, I decided to call the exercise “12 Bucks.” Here is the breakdown of the skills required for snare drum and tenors:
Sections 1-2: One-handed accented 8th notes. Focus on maintaining a clear distinction between accents and taps. Keep your taps low and controlled. Make sure your accents are strong, not wimpy. The tenor exercise is deliberately on one drum, so that the player can focus on the Y-axis motion and the fundamental accent/tap control.
Sections 3-4: Alternating accented 16th notes. This should follow the exact same technique as sections 1-2, except the opposite hand is now “filling in” the 16th notes. All taps should be consistently at the same height and volume. The tenors now move the accents to an adjacent drum. Keep the accents strong and the taps consistently softer.
Sections 5-6: Alternating 8th note flams. These sections are excellent for focusing on the three heights of accents, taps, and grace notes. The accents and taps should remain the same from the previous sections. The additional grace notes should be softer and lower than the taps. Once again, the tenors are deliberately on one drum in order to focus on the fundamentals of good flam technique.
Sections 7-8: 16th note paradiddles. These patterns get a bit trickier. Watch out for the sticking on measures 2 and 4! The key to these section is that they should sound the same as the 16th notes in sections 3-4. Do not let the “diddle” part of the paradiddles sound weaker or stronger than the singles you played in sections 3-4.
Sections 9-10: Single stroke fours and single stroke sevens. These rudimental patterns get your hands moving a bit quicker with the 16th note triplets. They also require more precise timing focus. Many drummers have a tendency to “cheat” the length of the initial 8th note by starting the triplet too soon. Of course, you should practice the whole exercise with a metronome, but this section would especially benefit from doing so.
Sections 11-12: “RLLL” quad groupings. Once again, the 16th notes patterns should sound the same as sections 3-4 and 7-8. Of course, these sections require more finger control in order to move each hand at the speed of 16th notes.
Tag ending: A final syncopated measure to cap off everything! Notice that the snare and tenor triplet rhythms are slightly different. The tenors start on the downbeat, while the snares conclude on the upbeat. Both parts should be played precisely in time in order to hear the tradeoff between sections.
Have fun learning these patterns. Once you have them down, be adventurous and create your own variations!
*[Yes, I know there are technically 15 keys, but I’m not going to get into that debate right now.]
Here is a fun exercise that will put your arms in a pretzel. I won’t claim that this exercise is the most essential (or even the most logical) exercise ever, but it covers a lot of paradiddle patterns around the tenors—and it’s just plain fun to play. Some of the patterns are easier, and some of them are harder. There is a continual contrast between standard patterns and not-so-standard patterns that makes the overall flow tricky to navigate. Have fun with “Paradiddle Pretzel”!
Last time, we looked at three levels of flam exercises. Here are three more, but these are considerably more advanced. They all follow the same accent “skeleton” from the previous set of flam exercises.
The first exercise utilizes rudiments often called triplet pataflaflas (though used as 16th notes in this exercise), flam tap paradiddles, and pataflaflas (that is, the regular kind). A regular pataflafla is a group of four notes with a flam on the first and last note, and a triplet pataflafla is a group of three notes with a flam on the first and last note. A flam tap paradiddle is a normal flam paradidle with a flam on the third note creating a flam tap on the “diddle” half of the paradiddle.
The second exercise is a true coordination challenge. Essentially, the exercise is the same as the Level 2 exercise from last time, but the flams now follow immediately after the accent. The rudiments all fall into the “unofficial hybrid” category, so their names vary from place to place. Some names commonly given to these rudiments are dachudas (or tuchadas) and inverted tap flams. (I’m unaware of a name for a paradiddle with a flam on the second note. If you have a name for it, I’d love to hear it. Please share it in the comments!)
The third exercise uses three fairly common rudiments—flam drags, flam ratamacues, and flam accents. However, the way these rudiments are combined make it difficult to take this exercise very fast. Only advanced players will be able to execute this exercise cleanly at tempos above the 132 bpm range.
Best wishes on learning these! As always, make your accents strong, and keep your grace notes low and controlled!
Three levels of snare exercises are presented here:
The first level focuses on basic flam rudiments—the flam, the flam tap, and the flam paradiddle. It’s a great exercise for younger players. Use the single flams to focus on great flam spacing, then utilize the same foundational motion to lead into the flam taps. (A flam and flam tap are very similar; simply add an extra note after the initial flam.) The transition between flam paradiddles is the same as the double in a flam tap, so each of the three rudiments build off of each other. The exercise is written in cut time to emphasize that it can be taken in a faster “two” feel once you feel comfortable with it. For young players, however, it would be better to start it in a slow 4/4. Once this exercise is solid, you can move on to the second level.
The second level exercise also utilizes flam taps and paradiddles, but flam accents are heavily incorporated in the first two measures. These three rudiments are the most common flam rudiments, and being able to play patterns like this is an important skill to achieve for any snare drummer or percussionist. (Note: This second exercise is not original with me. I played it regularly in my high school drum line under the instruction of Rick Beckham. It’s a really good exercise though, and it’s worth passing along.)
The third level exercise follows the same accent pattern as the previous exercise, but the coordinative complexity is increased. All of the flam rudiments are inverted lead-hand switch patterns. The flam taps are now inverted flam taps. The other patterns don’t have names that are universally agreed upon, but I like calling them inverted flam accents and inverted flam fours.
All of these exercises are good tests of flam coordination. As you practice them, always keep the grace notes low and close to the drum head. Make a distinction between accented and non-accented notes. As always, make sure your flams are consistent with proper spacing.
All this week, we are featuring percussion arrangements of Christmas and holiday music. These two performances by the drum line and percussion ensembles at the University of North Texas are from a December 2016 concert. Enjoy music from “The Nutcracker” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
When I was a freshman in high school, I told my drum line instructor, “I didn’t practice this week. I just didn’t feel like practicing.” He replied, “What do you mean you didn’t feel like practicing!? The only way to get better is to practice when you don’t feel like it!”
What Does It Mean “to Feel”?
My instructor’s mini-beratement led to an important shift in my thinking. As I looked around the world, he was obviously correct. If you examine the top experts in any field—whether music, sports, science, business, literature, or anything else—those who reach the top must Read more “What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Practicing”
This exercise has been tailored for different bass line sizes—2 players, 3 players, 4 players, or 5 players. (If you have a larger bass line, simply take the version for 5 players and have two players double one of the parts.)
It covers numerous combinations of sixteenth note triplet split patterns, a skill all bass lines must master. The constantly shifting patterns will keep everyone on their toes. I would recommend practicing each two-measure pattern (indicated by the double bar lines) separately at first. Play each two-measure pattern over and over until your whole section has it down. Once you have each pattern down smoothly, practice the entire exercise from start to finish.
When practicing, be careful to maintain correct note spacing. Usually players tend to err on the side of spacing the triplets too tightly (crushing them), and extra care must be taken to space each note evenly. Sometimes players overcompensate and spread the notes too widely, so be careful to avoid the opposite error as well. Use a metronome to help with pulse control. If possible, get someone with good timing to listen to the exercise and give feedback. If your line works it up, feel free to post a video and link to it in the comments section below.
This exercise is a lot of fun to play. It utilizes only four drums, so it can be played on quad-toms, quint-toms, or sex-toms. You especially need two things to play this exercise well:
Endurance. As a constant barrage of single strokes, you have to dig deep and keep pushing to the end in order to play this exercise without stopping or slowing down.
Fluidity of Movement. Practically every combination of drums is covered here without using crossovers or spock drums. It’s important that you take each pattern slowly until you have the spatial memory to know where you’re going from phrase to phrase. Focus on striking in the proper playing zones and maintaining consistent note spacing.
For added endurance and accuracy practice, play this exercise through 10 times, 20 times, etc. Keep building new goals, and push yourself to get to the next level.
This three-drum timpani exercise utilizes a common situation, in which you must quickly play all three drums. To avoid awkward crossover situations and to play the passage with a consistent sticking pattern, most timpanists choose to play a double split among the two drums. (Tenor drummers call these “sweeps.”)
This exercise works both the right hand and the left hand. The accents add an additional challenge. Make sure the accents are distinct, but never overplayed and harsh.
The notes in the exercise are based on an A diminished triad. Any other grouping of notes could certainly work for practicing the technical skills, but tuning the written notes is important.
As always, start slowly until you have the exercise sounding great. Then gradually build speed.
