the blush da sticking:

[vadrum]

okay, im sure i will catch a lot of flack for this.

i consistently see the blush da (or buzz da) lick explained as a swiss army triplet w/ a double stroke for the middle note of the triplet.

here's the thing.

the swiss army triplet sticking is rLLR where r = r grace note, thus a left handed flam. so, w/ the L hand flam the R hand falls first.

now, ive seen the blush da lick explained as rL RR L w/ the right hand falling first for what is a very open L handed flam (again i say this because ive always seen the lick played where the R hand hits first).

so, if the sticking were a swiss army triplet and the second note of the triplet is played w/ the R hand, then the sticking would be lRRL and the flam is reversed w/ the L hand falling first. therefore, i wish to present a stance that the sticking for the blush da lick is not a true swiss army triplet but 1/2 of the alternating flam accents ( lRLR rLRL) with a double stroke for the second note (rL RR L). please debate.....just be gentle as im old and sensitive :)

[jeffwj]

Good point. I guess we pretty much think of it as a Swiss triplet with a the second note doubled. But when we put it on the set, we alter the flam to make the rhythm stand out. Maybe we do it to solidify the rhythm since the main note of the flam is usually on the snare drum.

Jeff

[HardcoreLogo]

I've allways known the blush da as a swiss army sticking, like your first example( I guess your a lefty), the second note of the swiss triplet( in your case, the second left) would be a double stroke. I really have only used the right hand lead as I am a right handed drummer.I can do them left, but not as strong......so for me the sticking would be
Swiss Triplet lR R L

Blushda lR (RR) L

I have never seen them any other way, but I know guys like Steve Holmes can just kill these things, and invert them and blah blah blah

[vadrum]

i just found it odd that it was always described as a swiss army triplet. i can understand simply because once you get the sticking up to speed it feels like a swiss army triplet. in general the stickings are the same so the feel would be the same.

and if you play the left hand first, then definitely it would be a swiss army triplet. ive only seen the lick demonstrated twice (at least recently) and both times they led w/ the RH so i just assumed that was the defacto standard for that lick (at least as far as instruction).

anyway, just thought i would test my theory amongst my peers before i go whining about it all the time :)

thanks for the responses.

[jeffwj]

For those not familiar with the lick, here is a link to a Steve Holmes video. He does a great job in explaining the Bushda. It is the 1st lesson in the video catagory.

http://www.houseofdrumming.com/bio-test.htm

Jeff

[Wavelength]

I developed my blushda like so:

1) Play L r L L r L L r L L r L ... on the snare.
2) Add the flam before the first Left: rL r L rL r L rL r L rL r L
3) Double the middle right: rL rr L rL rr L rL rr L rL rr L.
4) Get it up to speed on the snare, and then try playing the grace note on different parts of the kit.

[HardcoreLogo]

I developed my blushda like so:

1) Play L r L L r L L r L L r L ... on the snare.
2) Add the flam before the first Left: rL r L rL r L rL r L rL r L
3) Double the middle right: rL rr L rL rr L rL rr L rL rr L.
4) Get it up to speed on the snare, and then try playing the grace note on different parts of the kit.

Humm.... I always seen it as a right hand lead.....it seems you guys play a left lead, and it's not a swiss triplet at all, just a left handed triplet with a flam, over and over................I use , as I said before, the swiss triplet sticking(lRRL), only right hand lead, thats how I learned, so I just double stroke the second right............where did you guys learn yours, and why the left lead?

[jeffwj]

Humm.... I always seen it as a right hand lead.....it seems you guys play a left lead, and it's not a swiss triplet at all, just a left handed triplet with a flam, over and over................I use , as I said before, the swiss triplet sticking(lRRL), only right hand lead, thats how I learned, so I just double stroke the second right............where did you guys learn yours, and why the left lead?

I learned it from the Steve Holmes website that I mentioned in the above post.

[brittc89]

left hand lead flam triplets, double stroke over that center right hand stroke.
RL RRL

[Wavelength]

I use the Swiss triplet sticking lR R L --- I just double the second right. Where did you learn yours, and why the left hand lead?

I learned mine from the Gregg Bissonette DVD. The main problem with the lR rr L sticking is that you have to work with THREE consecutive strokes with the right hand and two consecutive strokes on DIFFERENT SURFACES with the left -- not only that, but the first stroke of the right triple and the left double are accented and the rest are quiet strokes! In faster speeds it's going to cause some problems, since the lick tends to open up in a way that all the strokes become evenly spaced. This would require ridiculous amounts of endurance, speed and control, making the lick quite unusable in most situations.

The benefits of the rL rr L sticking are as follows:

1) The lick consists of just singles and doubles, which are far easier to play than triple strokes.
2) Dynamic separation: LEFTs are always loud, RIGHTs are always softer. No need to worry about stopping the accented strokes to play soft strokes.
3) There's more time to move the right hand grace note around the kit, because the previous accent is played with the left hand. Variations become far easier to play.

[HardcoreLogo]

I learned it from the Steve Holmes website that I mentioned in the above post.

Exactly.........he is playing a right handed swiss triplet.....(lR (RR) L) ...........so if you play it like him, you play it like me, thats how I do it, the other way seems awkward. I'm confused.... are you agreeing with me, or saying you play it like the other guys, because if thats the case, your video contradicts the left handed approch.........

[HardcoreLogo]

I learned mine from the Gregg Bissonette DVD. The main problem with the lR rr L sticking is that you have to work with THREE consecutive strokes with the right hand and two consecutive strokes on DIFFERENT SURFACES with the left -- not only that, but the first stroke of the right triple and the left double are accented and the rest are quiet strokes! In faster speeds it's going to cause some problems, since the lick tends to open up in a way that all the strokes become evenly spaced. This would require ridiculous amounts of endurance, speed and control, making the lick quite unusable in most situations.

The benefits of the rL rr L sticking are as follows:

1) The lick consists of just singles and doubles, which are far easier to play than triple strokes.
2) Dynamic separation: LEFTs are always loud, RIGHTs are always softer. No need to worry about stopping the accented strokes to play soft strokes.
3) There's more time to move the right hand grace note around the kit, because the previous accent is played with the left hand. Variations become far easier to play.

Watch the Steve Holmes video.........he plays it the same way I do(or should I say, I try to play it like him), and it seems quite usable.......as I said, I play it that way, and have no major problems with endurance or speed....I mean, how fast do you need it?Dynamicly, the flam at the begining is accented, the rest are not,play em' as quiet as you want,,,,,

[vadrum]

Exactly.........he is playing a right handed swiss triplet.....(lR (RR) L) ...........so if you play it like him, you play it like me, thats how I do it, the other way seems awkward. I'm confused.... are you agreeing with me, or saying you play it like the other guys, because if thats the case, your video contradicts the left handed approch.........

um....you need to watch the video again. when he breaks it down he states "the right hand falls first." IF THE RH FALLS FIRST THEN IT IS A LH FLAM. therefore his sticking is rLRL (1/2 of the flam accent as stated b4), this video only serves to illustrate my point. if you explain this technique as a swiss army triplet you are only confusing the issue.

[HardcoreLogo]

Well, I'll be........he does play the right first.......I've allways heard it explained as a swiss triplet, so thats how I have been playing it, in that case, you are correct in saying it's not really a swiss triplet..........I guess it threw me off because the first right is not played soft like a grace note, but rather sounds and looks like the right hand is the principle when played up to speed..........I was allways told "Just play a swiss triplet with the middle note doubled" so thats what I had allways assumed it was. Yes, now I see what you mean.........interesting though.......

[vadrum]

its just weird how its explained as a swiss triplet.

[HardcoreLogo]

Ya, I just went up to my kit and played it with the right first, and it does have a slightly different, fuller characteristic........well, the cool thing is now I have two different licks.lol
Ya, it is missleading to call it a "swiss triplet".........

[mikeybbdrummin]

I have seen it on Gregg Bissonettes dvd. He does it a little different. Has the same sound though. Gregg also mention in his dvd that he talked w/Steve Smith and Vinnie Coliauta about the Tony lick.