STICKING METHODS: Rudimental, Natural/Straight, and Alternating

Sticking methods are directions for the efficient sequencing and coordination of hand-to-hand motions in drumming. They guide drummers in deciding which hand should “lead” a rhythmic phrasing considering the genre, tempo, and dynamics. There are three methods widely practiced for their successful sticking principles: rudimental, natural, and alternating.

RUDIMENTAL STICKING
19th-century military drummers, fifers, and buglers were responsible for all communications within camps, separate units, and battlefields. There could be no improvising. Beats, signals, and calls had to be accurate and consistently performed. Traditional American field drumming is a rudimental style because drum beats are composed and arranged based on a collection of lessons known as “rudiments.” Rudiments are short, memorable rhythmic patterns of accented and unaccented strokes arranged to a specified sticking sequence.

Rudimental lessons originated hundreds of years ago within European and American militaries. They are frequently named using onomatopoeias, which imitate the sounds they make when played. (e.g., paradiddle, ratamaque, pataflafla.) Rudiments served to narratively teach drummers the language and codes of communication and the musical rules and techniques required to play them. Narrative teaching uses no written notation. It is a one-to-one verbally shared experience requiring rote memorization.

We do not know the exact origin of every rudimental lesson. There is no complete and unbroken chain of written records before the late 18th century. However, during the 19th century, drum and fife tutorial books and several U.S. Military Camp Duty editions became widely available. By the early 20th century in the United States, the most well-known snare drum texts were The Drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide (1862), by George Bruce & Daniel Emmett; and Strube’s Drum and Fife Instructor (1869) by Gardiner A. Strube.

In 1933, the National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) adopted the 25 rudiments of Strube’s book and added the single stroke roll to compile what they called the “26 Standard Rudiments.” NARD created this list to ensure that snare drum competition would be adjudicated fairly because the same “standards” would apply to all performers.

The Strube exercises adopted by NARD are not a complete collection of all American rudimental lessons, nor are they described the same way by sources other than Strube. For example, the paradiddle, as written by Strube, contains just one accented note. There are two accents in a paradiddle in many earlier publications, including Charles Ashworth’s 1812 Camp Duty, A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating.¹

We will never know how many rudimental lessons were lost. However, in The Marching Drummer’s Companion by George Kusel, he collected descriptions of “The 49 Rudiments of Drumming” from primary source manuals published between 1810–1820.²

There are many “drum rudiments” circulating the world. In an interview in Percussive Notes (April 1996), percussion historian George Carroll estimates more than 200 rudiments. In addition to British and American rudiments, there are more unique contributions from French, Scottish, Swiss, and other European styles. That said, there are still only three basic stroke techniques: 1. single strokes, 2. double strokes, 3. coactive strokes (flams and drags.) Some believe that the unique nature of modern multiple-bounce press/buzz strokes may qualify as a 4th stroke technique. In 1984, The Percussive Arts Society logically divided an updated collection of “40 International Drum Rudiments” into groups as Rolls, Diddles, Flams, and Drags.

DOUBLE STROKE ROLLS, DIDDLES, AND DRAGS 

Each of these rudiments includes double strokes. Why not group all three under the single umbrella of doubles? Here is how they are different:

DOUBLE STROKE ROLLS are played in a hand-to-hand sequence with a specified musical time value to create the illusion of a long-held tone. The distinction between diddle strokes and double roll strokes is conceptual and based on the context of their use. All rudimental rolls are double strokes. They may commence or end on a downbeat, and they can lead with either hand.

DIDDLES are like roll stroke doubles, and they have designated time values such as 8ths, 16ths, and 32nds. Diddles facilitate lead hand changes. However, diddle rudiments (except for the paradiddle-diddle) do not pair with another diddle played by the alternate hand.

DRAGS The drag is a double-stroke grace note. Grace notes are ornamental embellishments closely connected to a stronger primary beat. In contrast to flam grace notes, drags are not played as close to the primary beat. They are played a little stronger than a flam grace note and from a slightly higher position.

FLAMS The flam rudiment is unique; it is a coordinated action of a strong primary stroke closely paired with a low grace note stroke. Flams may lead from the left hand or right hand.

NOTES
1. Ashworth, Charles S., and George P. Carroll. A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating (Williamsburg, VA: Geo. P. Carroll, 1966), 4.

2. Kusel, George. The Marching Drummer’s Companion (Willow Grove, PA: George Kusel, 1970).

NATURAL STICKING
Edward B. Straight was a prominent Chicago drummer who wrote several books on “modern drumming.” In 1923 he published his most important and enduring work: The Straight System, The Natural Way to Play Drums. Straight’s strong influence in popularizing natural sticking is why it is often called “Straight Sticking.” In the opening pages of his book, he listed the following principles of natural sticking.¹

• Always commence every measure with your RIGHT hand.

• Always have your right hand come on the count ONE, TWO in every bar.

• Always play sixteenth notes SINGLE tap. RLRLRLRL.

• Always play the same beat the same way.

• Always flam (grace note) with your LEFT hand. (Except the hand-to-hand flams.)

• Always play the NATURAL WAY. (Never change hands.)

Straight further elaborated on the virtues of his Natural Way, writing: “Your rolls will be EXACTLY the right length, because most all of the rolls start and end on an eighth note, and with your right hand coming down on every eighth in the measure ... With this system, you will find that it is a very easy matter to play in rhythm as you control every count with your RIGHT hand ... This SYSTEM omits all the unnecessary hand-to-hand beats and hand-to-hand flams, which are so hard to execute at any reasonable TEMPO.”²

A potential downside of natural sticking is that strong hand dominance and practice mean the weak hand could remain weak. The antidote to that side effect is to invest time practicing natural sticking exercises with a left-hand lead. Continue to work on traditional rudiments and dedicate an extra portion of practice time to weak hand exercise.

In 1956, Earl Sturtze included a section about natural sticking in his book, The Sturtze Drum Instructor. Under the heading of “Which Stick To Strike,” he says, “To drum scientifically, a system of sticking must be employed. One must know when to strike with the right and when to strike with the left.”³

Sturtze describes sticking derived from “natural factors” as “orchestra drumming,” which he explained by writing: “In orchestra drumming the right-hand takes the lead and strikes on the first beat of the measure, and also on the first beat of each even group of notes... The numerical counts are the downbeats; the ‘ands’ are the upbeats.”⁴

SUMMARY OF THE NATURAL STICKING METHOD
Was Straight advocating for the end of rudimental sticking? The answer is no. Straight was intimately familiar with American rudimental drumming. He served an active role in preserving and standardizing that system, as evidenced through his contributions as a founding member of NARD. However, he considered rudimental drumming as military-style field drumming and that theatre, concert, and double-drumming required an alternative system.

“Double-drumming” was a term used during the early 20th century to describe a new class of drummers using bass drum foot pedals so that one drummer could simultaneously play the parts of two.

In addition to promoting his Natural Way system, Straight endorsed a controversial roll technique called the “press roll.” Nowadays, drummers accept the press roll as an essential drumming skill, but buzz rolls were criticized and resisted as a non-legitimate technique during Straight’s time. Straight wrote, “Your rolls must be closed up, then they are effective. No OPEN ROLLS in theatre work.”⁵

Does natural sticking dismiss modern drummers from the need to study and practice rudimental drumming? That answer depends on the individual. It is not essential to be a rudimental expert to play most music. According to Benjamin Podeminski, author of Podemski’s Standard Snare Drum Method, “The conductor and listener do not care how the instrumentalist executes various technical strokes as long as the proper result is achieved.”⁶

However, each traditional rudiment pattern learned requires the mastery of specific stroke techniques to be performed effectively. One of the great benefits of studying rudiments is the acquisition of new technical skills. Expanded technical skills through rudimental practice will improve a drummer’s ability to express musical ideas.

NOTES
1. Straight, Edward B. The Straight System of Modern Drumming – The Natural Way to Play Drums (Chicago: Straight, 1923), 5.

2. Ibid: 6.

3. Sturtze, Earl. The Sturtze Drum Instructor (Ivoryton: reissued by The Company of Fifers and Drummers, Orig. 1956), 29.

4. Ibid: 29.

5. Straight, Edward B. The Straight System of Modern Drumming – The Natural Way to Play Drums (Chicago: Straight, 1923), 6.

6. Podemski, Benjamin. Podemski’s Standard Snare Drum Method (New York: Mills, 1968), 18.

7. Goldenberg, Morris. Modern School For Snare Drum (New York: Chappell & Co. Inc., 1955), 72.

ALTERNATING STICKING
Alternating sticking is just exactly as the name implies: every stroke alternates hand-to-hand regardless of the rhythm. When playing the alternating sticking method, sometimes a rhythm will be played using a right-hand lead stroke, and later the same rhythm may repeat under a left-hand lead.

By contrast, when a particular rhythm repeats, it is always played the same way using natural sticking. Natural sticking is a reliable method and is nearly always the right choice for either binary or ternary meters, if not already specified as rudimental sticking.

However, any measure between two points in time is divisible by any number. Alternating sticking is the go-to option for playing odd meters, mixed combinations of meters, and artificial note groupings. Alternating sticking is often the best way to play fast rhythms when there may not be enough time between beats to follow natural sticking or rudimental sticking conventions.

RUFFS • SHORT SINGLE STROKE ROLLS
Historically, the rudimental names “drag” and “ruff” have frequently been interchanged. George Bruce included a three-stroke rudiment in The Drummers’ and Fifers’ Guide (1862) and called it the “tap ruff,” which he notated as three single alternating strokes with the third one accented.¹

Charles Ashworth’s 1812 book on drumming includes the identical three-beat pattern that Bruce named the “tap ruff.” However, Ashworth gave it no name; he labeled it “Quick Like A Drag.”²

In 1853, George Klinehanse replicated Ashworth’s rudiments in his Manual of Instruction for Drummers. Klinehanse labeled Ashworth’s three-stroke rudiment “Ruff.”³ Elias Howe’s Drum and Fife Instructor (1862) describes a four-stroke single rudiment that he called a “Rough.”⁴ 

The National Association of Rudimental Drummers list of “26 Standard Rudiments” (1933) identifies rudiment number 8 as the “Ruff,” written with a double-stroke grace note on the left hand, followed by a primary stroke on the right hand. 

In 1942, Buddy Rich and Henry Adler wrote, “All short, single-stroke rolls are known as ruffs.”⁵ According to them, a three-stroke ruff is three single alternating strokes, but if played using a double-stroke grace note slightly ahead of a single accent stroke, it is called a “half drag.” Whether we agree with Rich and Adler’s terminology or not, mastering the skill of short single-stroke groupings is fundamental to good drumming. They are an excellent platform for hand speed and control.

All single-stroke rolls are alternating. However, some short single-stroke rhythms benefit by using the rules of Straight’s natural sticking.

The three, four, and seven-stroke ruffs are among the most universally known and commonly played short single-stroke patterns. Alternating sticking allows the accents to migrate (grid style) naturally. Ruffs have found renewed popularity among hybrid rudiment enthusiasts. However, the word “single” or “singled” is used rather than ruff (e.g., single-3, single-5, and single-9.)

NOTES
1. Bruce, Geo B., and Dan D. Emmett. The drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide (New York: Wm. A. Pond & Co., 1862).

2. Ashworth, Charles S., and George P. Carroll. A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating (Williamsburg, VA: Geo. P. Carroll, 1966).

3. Klinehanse, George D. The Manual of Instruction for Drummers (Washington D.C.: G.D. Klinehanse, 1853)

4. Howe, Elias. Howe’s United States Regulation Drum and Fife Instructor, for the Use of the Army and Navy (Boston: Howe, 1861). 

5. Rich, Buddy and Adler, Henry. Buddy Rich’s Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments (New York: Amsco Publications, 1942).

BOOK LAUNCH: "The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming"

I am delighted to announce the publication of my new book, The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming.

The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming is a coffee table book for people who keep a practice pad and a pair of drumsticks at their coffee table. It is a snare drum method book interwoven with a historical context of how the American snare drum style originated and evolved. Contained within, the drummer will find many practical skills-building exercises and etudes accompanied by thorough narrative explanations of techniques and their theory.

The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming is now available in paperback from Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578958597?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860&fbclid=IwAR0RlqJv_4jbsjVWB46RGGC2-LbvOerzSG_oAnVgRi0T_H5MwBlUYQxXTks

Excerpts from the book. 

PREFACE:

Heritage is experiences, knowledge, and culture, given meaning and value by past generations and inherited by those in the present. Tradition is the way heritage is honored, practiced, and preserved. Traditions are malleable and fluid. Every new generation or group of enthusiasts who celebrate a tradition will imprint on it their unique interpretation. Traditions evolve and change, but as long as they are observed and practiced, the heritage survives.

Our present-day snare drumming traditions originated from Swiss Mercenary Regiments during the late medieval age. Through their successful service to many foreign states, Swiss fighters popularized the fife & drum’s military use throughout Europe. America’s snare drum heritage is from Europe (broadly) and Britain (predominantly.) The first United States Colonial Army copied much of its fife & drum repertoire directly from the British military. Since Independence, traditional American drumming has undergone many changes to make it modern and unique. The tradition evolves, but its heritage remains strong.

Ed Flack, 2021

Sample Pages

DRUM ROLLS, SKELETAL PATTERNS

The beat of a single tap is fundamentally the only note a snare drum can produce. The tap and other strokes’ limitation is that a single snare drum beat’s sound cannot be “held.” To play extended beat values (i.e., to hold the sound), drummers must use the roll. The drum roll, also known as the “drummer’s long tone,” is a deliberately timed series of single strokes, double strokes, or pressed buzz strokes.

Roll Timing: Drum rolls can be played by rapidly alternating single strokes in a timed series, by doubling stroke taps, or by pressing strokes to create multiple bounces. The various techniques of alternating and controlling roll strokes are essential. Still, the necessary condition common to all roll methods is timing. Timing in music means that beats or rhythmic patterns synchronize to a musical composition’s pulse and tempo.

Roll Naming: The traditional way of naming drum rolls is to identify them by the number of “strokes” that it takes to play a roll in a given count of time. This naming convention was established hundreds of years ago by drummers who used rope-tensioned drums. Double stroke rolls were played as two deliberate down-up motions on the one hand and then the other. The number of roll beats sounded was equal to the number of individual hand motions, or “strokes” required to play the roll.

The tension of a calfskin drum head is subject to the ever-changing conditions of temperature and humidity. Bouncing the stick was not a consistently reliable roll technique before the introduction of mylar plastic heads. Research of American and British drum method books published between 1780 to 1886 reveals no evidence that the concept of stick bounce or “rebound” was introduced to explain the roll technique. (See Roll History)

To deal with slack calfskin head tension due to humidity, drummers would place drums next to campfires or hot stoves. By the 1920s, when electricity became more widely available in the United States, drummers could use electric heaters installed inside drum shells to dry the heads.

Modern drummers learn to play rolls using rebound double strokes. A rebound double produces two beats from one down-and-up hand motion. A downward hand motion plays the first beat, and the second beat generates from the rebound energy of the first. The number of strokes still dictates the names of bounced rolls, but the thing counted is the number of beats sounded and not the number of hand motions used.

Skeletal Pattern: The number of individual down-and-up hand motions is the underlying framework of a roll played using rebound double strokes. The framework of hand motion is also called the “skeletal pattern” of the roll.1 Studying the skeletal patterns of rolls is useful for understanding roll counts and timing.

“Nowadays, many traditional style drummers fit rope drums with plastic rather than calfskin heads. This has made it possible for rebound techniques to be routinely used on rope drums. Among the most hard-core of traditional style players, calfskin is still the preferred way to fit a rope drum, and bouncing the sticks to play rolls is considered cheating.” James Clark.2

NOTES

 1. Coffin, James. The Performing Percussionist (Oskaloosa: C.L. Barnhouse Co., 1972), 24.

 2. Clark, James. Connecticut’s Fife & Drum Tradition (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2011), 120.

DRUM ROLLS, TAP-RATE

The sound of a single drum tap is what it is. It cannot be “held,” nor can it be cut short. The only component of drum rolls that can lengthen or shorten is the interval of time between each tap.

The range of tap-to-tap time intervals between a relaxed and open-sounding double-stroke roll and a fast closed-sounding double-stroke roll is relatively limited. Tempo, coupled with timing, creates the conditions where the space between roll taps reaches the point where our ears perceive the drum roll sound. If the interval is too long, we no longer recognize them as roll sounds.

The number of roll strokes played in a given count of time is determined by tempo. Faster tempos = less time between pulse beats, resulting in a roll with fewer taps per beat. Slower tempos = more time between pulse beats, allowing a roll with more taps per beat.

The inverse relationship between the number of individual roll taps sounded per beat and the number of beats per minute is the “tap-rate.” To calculate tap-rates use this formula: the beats per minute x taps per beat = tap-rate.

The following examples explore the tap rates of duple pulse rolls and triple pulse rolls played at different tempos.

At a tempo of 80 bpm, a 32nd note triple pulse roll has 12 taps per dotted quarter note. The tap-rate is 80 bpm X 12 taps per beat = 960 taps per minute.

At a 120 bpm tempo, a duple pulse roll played as 32nd note double strokes have eight taps per quarter note. The tap-rate is 120 bpm X 8 taps per beat = 960 taps per minute.

As we can see, even though each roll’s tempo and duration differ, the tap-rate and the actual hand speed required to generate each is the same.