A flam is two notes played by both hands so close together that they sound like one thick stroke. The lead hand plays a quiet grace note just before the main hand's full stroke — close enough that you hear "fl-AM" rather than two distinct hits.
Two things make a flam work: height and timing. The lead hand starts low (about two inches from the head); the main hand starts high (six inches or more). Both come down at almost the same instant — the lead hand lands first only because it has less distance to travel. The volume difference is automatic if the heights are right.
The lead hand alternates: a right flam is grace L + main R (the L is the grace because the R is louder); a left flam is grace R + main L. After each flam, your hands are pre-positioned for the next one — the hand that just played the main stroke is now high and ready to be the next main note.
Reading the Notation
The notation below uses real grace notes — the tiny slashed note before each main note is the grace. A lowercase l or r under the grace tells you which hand plays it; the uppercase R or L under the main note is the loud hand. The grace is not on the metronome click — the main note is. Don't try to play the grace "on time"; play it just before time, leaning into the main stroke.
Exercises
Eight R-flams across two bars, one per beat. The little slashed grace (with a lowercase l below) is the left hand starting low and arriving a fraction before the main right (the accented R). Tempo is slow on purpose: the hands need time to set their heights between flams. Listen for 'fl-AM · fl-AM · fl-AM · fl-AM', never 'L-R · L-R'. If you hear two equal notes, your grace is too loud — drop the left hand lower.
The lead hand alternates: R-flam (grace l, main R) on beats 1 and 3, L-flam (grace r, main L) on beats 2 and 4. After each main stroke the hand stays high — it's already in position to be the next grace's main. The other hand (which just played a grace) is low and ready to be the next grace. Setup is automatic if you don't fight it. Both flams should sound identical in shape; if your L-flam is wider or sloppier, isolate it (back to Ex 1 with the lead reversed) until it matches.
Eight flams per bar — every 8th note flammed, lead hand alternating R-L-R-L. This is the flam stream: a thick, fat texture used in marching band and orchestral writing. The metronome click feels slow but the hands are working — every 8th has a grace tucked in front of it. Slow tempo on purpose: the limit is how cleanly you can re-set heights between consecutive flams. If a grace starts to disappear or the alternation slips, drop to ♩=50 and rebuild.
Flam on every quarter, single 8th between: flamR-R · flamL-L · flamR-R · flamL-L. The flam lands on the click; the unaccented same-hand single fills the &. This is a classic flam-tap-shaped pattern — see how the second R is the tap off the rebound from the flam's main note. Lead alternates each beat, so each hand plays one flam-and-tap pair before handing over. This exercise prepares you directly for the next lesson.