Two roll exercises for you

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
Hello again!

A friend of mine was asking about my roll technique and if I had any easy drill-type exercises to work on them. Putting my time in with drum corps when I was a wee lad has probably filled my head with more drills than I need, so I had to remember a couple of good ones that I still sorta' work on today. And both are designed so you can start playing them and never stop. Once it's kinda' ingrained and you know you're doing it right, you could literally sit in front of your tv and just drill these for several hours.

For the 16th note example, you do get a 3-count break between running it, or you could just go right back into the 16th note check pattern and start again. The 12/8 triplet one is written so you never stop. Every where you see a slash through a note, is where you're going to diddle that note. Both exercises are pretty straightforward, and I'll bet there are a few of you here who've probably already played these if you ever played in a drum line. But they're great chop builder exercises if you want to try them to help get your hands in shape and build up your rolls, and they're easy - it ain't brain-surgery which makes them cool for just drilling on (I like simple).

Of course, if you've never done this before, start slow, and work on even-ness of stroke. If you're having a hard time with the diddles, then just accent everywhere you see one first. Get into the rhythm first, then go for the diddles later. No shame in walking before running (or crawling before walking) so start where you're at and just build it up. If you experience pain, stop and go have a drink and then come back to it after you feel better. I hope you guys try it. Let me know how it goes!
 

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Looks interesting - I'll give it a go. Have done similar exercises before though.
Bo, thanks for sharing!
 
Looks like a great exercise and like you said it could well be a good one for practicing accents instead (as well as the diddles)
 
Never seen it written but I played into the first one about a year ago just messing around with double strokes and have been using it ever since. Makes me think I might have a clue about what I am doing!

Going to work on your triplet version now too. Thanks.!
 
Good timing.

I've just began working on my triplet rolls recently. I ran across some videos and was also checking out some things from the Alan Dawson book which all led me to to the triplet rolls. I guess I must have been subconsciously telling myself something.

That's something I would really like to work up to speed. Thanks for sharing.
 
Excellent! Thanks for taking a look!

I wasn't kidding about playing these for hours. I remember when I auditioned for the Velvet Knights snare line back in the early 80s (after I had done my first year with the Anaheim Kingsmen), the triplet exercise was literally played while we marched around the track on the outside of the football field. There were 12 of us and I smartly took the inside track. It was such a weeding-out process, we must've done 20 laps or so before we stopped, and we ended much faster than we started! That kinda' taught me a lesson - my hands could keep up, but being shorter than everybody else just wasn't going to get me in the snare line.

But when I say "put the time in" I literally mean hours. These days I might be spending about an hour on the pad a day, which probably only keeps me where I'm at. When I was learning how to play, I'd spend hours working on stuff, which is why being young is the time to learn. By the time I got to college, it was so hard to continue to put in the time when you start working to make money and all the other studies - you really want to get your basics down so they're second-nature by the time you're older. I think all of us adults agree, you can get there if you start at whatever age, it's just more difficult because you have more responsibilities other than drumming. Another reason why I'm so thankful for the parents I have - they've put up with an awful lot!

I'll post up a cool accent exercise that was used by the Bayonne Bridgemen back in the day, and all it is is a 16th note accent pattern first, then you put diddles where the accents are. Stay tuned!
 
These are great. I agree, the exercises with patterns you can easily commit to memory are the best. You can just 'shed these all night long in front of the TV or whatever.
 
What tempos are you working these at? Thanks Denis

You know, all these years of playing them I never did sit with a metronome! I know I like to play them super-slow since its used to get my hands in order. So I would suppose anywhere from 80 to 180 bpm. I've never started exercises like these as fast as I can go, I just gradually get faster as the time passes.
 
Hi Bo
I have recently been using very similar drills on the pad for warmup and when I can't get to the set! Using them as hand conditioners! I found this to be very effective. Single stroke, doubles, buzzes. Different strokes( finger,wrist,arm and combinations). Different grips(French,American, match. etc...).
Slow...quarter note = 54
Fast....quarter note

I also listen and observe strokes very closely for sound and motion.

I find this type of drill good for touch and power...fulcrum develop. Find it effective to work the drill with just fulcrum...no other fingers.

Denis
 
I do appreciate everyone trying them. I figured it would be a nice brain-less way of putting in the time since that's what's really needed here. People just have to drill drill drill - it's like in "The Karate Kid" - wax on - wax off!
 
Those exercises are excellent, thank you very much Bo! They come very welcomed, I'm practicing Dave Dicenso's Universal Rhythms and there's out loud counting of diddles which I've had troubles with. The measure with accents every third 16th note and diddles in between is great for practicing counting loud accents and soft diddles!
And Denisri's tip for fulcrum development is killer. Just tried it, 4 bars of it fingers extended and 4 bars normal, it definitely informs the hands a lot about stick trajectory!

If one practices three hours of pure rudiments a day, how many years to reach drum corps level of articulation (on a kit?)
 
Those exercises are excellent, thank you very much Bo! They come very welcomed, I'm practicing Dave Dicenso's Universal Rhythms and there's out loud counting of diddles which I've had troubles with. The measure with accents every third 16th note and diddles in between is great for practicing counting loud accents and soft diddles!
And Denisri's tip for fulcrum development is killer. Just tried it, 4 bars of it fingers extended and 4 bars normal, it definitely informs the hands a lot about stick trajectory!

If one practices three hours of pure rudiments a day, how many years to reach drum corps level of articulation (on a kit?)

Imagine actually being in a drum corps and putting in 10 hours everyday. That's what we did when summer hit and we did "10 to 10's" meaning starting at 10am and wrapping it up at 10pm!
 
10 to 10? wow that's intense.

The triplet figure with the middle triplet accented kicked my butt. I did it to a metronome at 50 bpm and the sound of the accented middle triplet just kept throwing me off. I worked it for like 45 minutes and was just starting to wrap my brain around it when I had to stop. Thanks Bo. I'll be doing that one until it doesn't throw me off anymore
 
Bo, were you with the Bridgemen in 82'? Do you know how the single left in the solo was achieved? I think it was black market.
 
Bo, were you with the Bridgemen in 82'? Do you know how the single left in the solo was achieved? I think it was black market.

Ah, no (I wish). I was in the Anaheim Kingsmen in '82 as a bass drummer. But I've been aware of the Bayonne Bridgemen since 1978 and have always been a fan. Apparently, I think they were doing that left-hand thing since 1980 up through 1983. From what I understand, it was just a finger control thing - they'd do four 16ths with the index finger, then switch to the middle finger to keep the stick going. That corps was the most entertaining thing I'd ever seen.
 
10 to 10? wow that's intense.

Yeah, back then we had some serious 'tough guy' thing going on. I'm not even sure if modern corps work their kids as hard these days, but the day was planned out with exercising, then ensemble exercises, then marching, then music, then running the show, etc.,....then you'd hit the road and sleep on gym floors..you'd wake up in a new city and after a while you wouldn't know (or care) where you were! It's amazing people actually paid to do this activity, looking back on it ;)
 
Bo, were you with the Bridgemen in 82'? Do you know how the single left in the solo was achieved? I think it was black market.

Ah, no (I wish). I was in the Anaheim Kingsmen in '82 as a bass drummer. But I've been aware of the Bayonne Bridgemen since 1978 and have always been a fan. Apparently, I think they were doing that left-hand thing since 1980 up through 1983. From what I understand, it was just a finger control thing - they'd do four 16ths with the index finger, then switch to the middle finger to keep the stick going. That corps was the most entertaining thing I'd ever seen.

Both Pat Petrillo and Tommy Igoe marched in the 82 Bridgemen line. I think TI shows the left-hand 16th note thing from "Black Market Juggler" in one of his videos.
 
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