Rudiments are to drumming what scales are to piano: small, repeatable sticking patterns that turn into fills, grooves, and solos once they're automatic. The Percussive Arts Society standardized forty of them, in the four families below. You don't need all forty at once — start with the single stroke roll, double stroke roll, and single paradiddle, then work outward. A practice pad and a metronome are all you need.
Roll Rudiments
Fifteen rudiments built from single strokes, multiple-bounce strokes, and double strokes. The double-stroke family — the “numbered” rolls — is named for the total stroke count, roll plus release.
Alternating strokes — R L R L — perfectly even in volume and spacing. Every fill and every fast run around the kit traces back to this motion.
Four alternating strokes phrased as a triplet flowing into a downbeat — R L R L. The classic figure for punctuating the end of a fill.
Seven alternating strokes — a sextuplet flowing into a downbeat. The single stroke four’s bigger sibling, filling a whole beat before it lands.
The buzz roll: each stroke is pressed into the head so the stick bounces many times, and the alternating buzzes overlap into one continuous sound.
Three strokes per hand in triplet time — R R R L L L. Builds the controlled multi-rebound behind fast open rolls.
Two even strokes per hand — R R L L. The parent of every numbered roll below; the second note of each pair must match the first, not collapse.
Two diddles and an accented release — R R L L R. The shortest numbered roll; the lead alternates so both hands learn to start it.
A diddled middle framed by two accented singles — R L L R R L. A kit favorite because the accents fall naturally on strong beats.
Three diddles resolving onto an accent — R R L L R R L. Classically starts on an upbeat and lands on the following downbeat.
Four diddles capped by an accent — two full beats of roll before the release. The workhorse concert roll.
Four diddles plus two accented singles — R R L L R R L L R L. The double accent at the end gives it its skipping character.
Five diddles resolving to an accent — R R L L R R L L R R L. The odd length flips the lead each repeat, keeping both hands honest.
Six diddles and the release — three full beats of roll landing accented on beat four.
Seven diddles into the accent — a bar-length roll that releases on the final upbeat.
Eight diddles — two beats of roll at doubled density — released onto an accented downbeat. The longest of the standard rolls.
Diddle Rudiments
The paradiddle family: singles and doubles mixed inside one phrase. The diddle placement flips or holds the lead hand, which is what makes these patterns so useful for moving accents around the kit.
The essential single–double hybrid — R L R R, L R L L — accent on the first note. The diddle flips the lead every group, so accents alternate hands automatically.
Four singles and a diddle — R L R L R R — six notes that sit perfectly inside triplet meters and 6/8 grooves.
Six singles and a diddle — an eight-note paradiddle spanning two full beats. A great drill for carrying an accent across a longer phrase.
A paradiddle with a second diddle — R L R R L L. Unlike the single paradiddle it does not flip the lead, so practice it starting from both hands.
Flam Rudiments
Eleven rudiments decorated with a single grace note. The grace is played low and soft an instant before the main stroke — one thick sound, never two equal notes.
The grace note itself: a soft tap crushed in just before an accented full stroke. Two notes, one fat sound — the basis of the whole family.
A flam launching each triplet, then two singles — flam-R L R, flam-L R L. The lead alternates every beat.
A flammed diddle — the flam plus a tap from the same hand: flam-R R, flam-L L.
Four sixteenths and a flammed downbeat, with the accent tucked onto the second note — the off-axis accent is the whole point.
A paradiddle with a flam on the accented first note — flam-R L R R, flam-L R L L.
An inverted flam paradiddle — the diddle comes first: flam-R R L R. Keeping the flammed double clean is the challenge.
The paradiddle-diddle with a flammed lead note — flam-R L R R L L — six notes per beat with the flam alternating hands.
“Pa-ta-fla-fla”: flams on the first and fourth sixteenths of every group — flam-R L R flam-L — so two flams land back to back across each join.
A flammed diddle plus one single in triplet time — flam-R R L. Sounds like the flam accent but stays under one lead hand, which is why it moves faster.
A flam tap turned inside out: the tap comes just before the next flam on the same hand — flam-R L, flam-L R — so the diddle straddles the flam instead of following it.
A flam accent whose middle note becomes a drag — flam-R, L-L, R inside each triplet. The drag is written out so you can hear it.
Drag Rudiments
Ten rudiments decorated with a two-note grace — the drag (or ruff). The two grace notes are played as a soft diddle by the opposite hand, crushed in just before the main stroke.
The two-note grace itself: a soft diddle crushed in before an accented stroke — ll-R, rr-L. Also called the ruff.
A drag answered by an accented tap on the opposite hand — drag-R, accent L.
Two drags before the accented tap — drag-R, drag-R, accent L.
Named for a page in the 1870 Strube drum manual: a drag into two singles with the accent on the last — drag-R L, accent R.
A paradiddle whose first note is doubled into a drag by the same hand — RR L R R. Unlike a true drag, the double is metered, not crushed.
An accented stroke, then a dragged paradiddle — R, drag-R L R R.
An accented stroke and two drags feeding the paradiddle — R, drag-R, drag-R L R R.
“Ra-ta-ma-cue”: a dragged triplet resolving onto an accented downbeat — drag-R L R, accent L.
A drag stacked in front of the single ratamacue — drag-R, drag-R L R, accent L.
Three drags before the release — drag-R, drag-R, drag-R L R, accent L. The longest of the drag rudiments.