The power of the single and double stroke

This week I want to talk about two fundamental movements for the drummer.  While analyzing the basic 26 American Corps Drum Rudiments I noticed that the stickings fall into four basic styles: flams, roughs, single strokes and double strokes.  Let’s put aside the flams and roughs for a moment and focus on the two very basic stickings: the single stroke and the double stroke.

The singles stroke is your typical RLRLRL…pattern.  When you let the sticks bounce this soon becomes your basic drum roll.  This is the predominant sticking when playing sixteenths, be it on the hi-hat for funk-based stuff or around the kit for a fill.

The double stroke is the RRLLRRLL…pattern, and consequently my favorite type of sticking because it gives the illusion of a single roll with one hand, say on the snare, while you move the other hand around the kit.

When analyzing the rudiments you will find that most of them are based on either one of these stickings, and some, like your paradiddles use both. 

The late Joe Morello new the importance of these two movements around the kit and often used a simple exercise with them to promote his “Master Studies” books.  The exercise goes like this.  Play four bars of single strokes(RLRL), than four bars of doubles (RRLL), and then four bars of single paradiddles (RLRR, LRLL).  You can increase to eight, sixteen or twenty-four bars of each per your liking.  Use a metronome to stay honest and increase your speed gradually without any spaces in between stickings.  For you double bass enthusiast out there the same exercises can be done with a double bass drum pedal or dual bass drums.  Either way you will be amazed at how quickly your skill sets will improve through the use of this exercise.

These movements are not just stickings, but rather a way to unlock complicated drum parts you may encounter.  Because most drumming will fall under one of these movements you can use that knowledge to figure out how your favorite drummer is moving around the kit.  Is he playing that fill hand to hand (LRLR) or with double strokes (RRLL)?  I often analyze new grooves by trying both movements and soon find that one produces an easier flow for the song, and surprisingly that is the right way the original guy played the part.

There are reasons that the rudiments are built around these two movements and with proper practice and insight they can help you unlock any complicated drum part.

Drum on!