In this Dragadiddle orchestration concept you will be playing the rudiment as straight sixteenth notes that move around the kit in blocks of four notes. In this case, that movement will happen whenever a grace note is played. Remember, a grace note doesn't count in terms of counting note values and that principal will be applied when counting groupings too, so each grace note will be played on the same part of the kit as the other four notes in the block. The jumps between parts of the kit will be particularly tricky in this rudiment because of the grace notes. Take your time with each exercise and only start pushing up the tempo when you are comfortable with the movements. The two minute rule (linked below) is particularly useful for exercises like this.
Remember, you hands will always be playing a Dragadiddle in all exercises on this page. I have included feet in all exercises, it may be worth removing them whilst you are learning the orchestration then adding them back in later. Experiment with using different feet patterns from our previous lessons.
At the bottom of the page you will find a collection of links to lessons you may find helpful whilst learning these exercises.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
TASKS
- Using the 2 minute rule, get all exercises up to a tempo of at least 120bpm with good hand technique.
- Create your own feet patterns for the exercises.
- Play all 6 exercises as a continuous 6 bar pattern, then repeat.
- Experiment with using the given parts as fills.