Rudiment - The first principles of a subject.
When learning a pitched instrument such as guitar or piano, Scales and Arpeggios are learned as a foundation for your playing. These exercises introduce players to the basic mechanical motions used when playing there instrument, as well as theoretical elements such as Melody, Harmony and Rhythm.
With un tuned percussion instruments (this is the category the Drum Kit falls into) the elements of Melody and Harmony don't strictly apply, so the vast majority of your focus will be on the rhythmical element. Even though we've narrowed down the area of study, there is still a vast amount of material to be learned. How do you play different rhythms? What's the best way to hold your sticks? What order do you move your hands in to play different rhythms? In percussion instruments we learn Rudiments to answer many of these questions. Rudiments are ordered hand movements of varying rhythm and complexity, the basic aim of which is to develop hand technique whilst at the same time building co ordination and knowledge of rhythmic concepts. When perfected they open up a whole new world of ideas for your playing. It can't be stated enough how important Rudiments are in the development of your playing.
Whilst many players do get by quite successfully without studying this area, you will usually find those drummers ranked among the best spent hours upon hours perfecting their Rudiments.
As mentioned previously, knowing and being able to accurately use a variety of rudiments will also extend your playing vocabulary and allow you to write/play far more interesting patterns. For example, a fill incorporating Flams and Standard Triplets will be be more interesting than one built from Single Stroke Rolls. Or a groove built around a Paradiddle will be far more intricate than standard groove patterns.
A Rudiment is literally just a set of hand movements, for example the Single Stroke Roll is 'Right Left Right Left etc...' (usually abbreviated to 'R L R L'. Where R = Right and L = Left). It doesn't matter what drums/cymbals/percussion instruments you play this hand pattern on or at what speed. This means that for each rudiment there are a very large amounts of variations on it. For example, we could play the single stroke roll all on the snare as eighth notes, we could leave the left hand on the snare and move the right hand around the kit as sixteenth notes, we could add kicks on all quarter note counts, We could... I'll stop now, but hopefully you see my point!
All Rudiment based lessons on this site are split into different areas of study. Firstly we cover the basic sticking. Here you will learn the hand movements needed to play the pattern, usually as quarter note, eighth notes and sixteenth notes. We then add feet into the Rudiment. This is a very important step as it will greatly improve full body independence and co ordination, It's great for building natural timing as well. Next we cover orchestrations. This means changing the Rudiment from being just on the snare to using all parts of the kit in various combinations. Again, this is great for independence and co ordination (particularly when feet are added in). It will also give you lots of ideas of how to use the Rudiment in grooves and fills. Finally we look at practical use. Here I will give advice on how to take the Rudiment from being just something you use for practice to an awesome groove/fill creating tool. In all lessons you are encouraged to be creative and develop your own ideas.
Throughout all exercises a metronome should be used. You will hear this a lot through your drumming career, and for good reason. Playing with a metronome is absolutely vital for developing your natural sense of timing and for making sure you are playing your exercises in a strict rhythm. You will be encouraged to use the 'Two Minute Rule' practice technique in all lessons.
Whilst working on rudiments, and the same rule applies to any exercise, always keep an eye on your technique. If your technique isn't up to scratch you will be limiting the progress you can make and even worse, there is a chance of causing yourself fairly serious muscular injuries if you keep using bad technique over time. There are many videos online explaining how to hold you sticks, how to sit at the kit and how to move your limbs. If you aren't sure, it is always a good idea to visit a teacher and have them analyse your playing.
The more you practice your rudiments the better, but if you can average around 20 minutes a day you will notice some huge improvements in your playing quite quickly. If you use the 'Two Minute Rule' you will find most days you end up spending way more time on these exercises due to the focussed nature of this practice concept.
In summary rudiments are important and awesome because they:
- Improve playing speed.
- Improve independence and co ordination.
- Increase musicality of your playing.
- Increase knowledge of your instrument.
We recommend you start your rudiment experience with our Single Stroke Roll lesson series.
