DrumFaster

Roll rudiments · 13 of 40

Thirteen Stroke Roll

Six doubles into the accent.

RRLLRRLLRRLLR

Big letter = full stroke · filled = accent. Notation reads as on a practice-pad sheet: accents marked >, slashed small notes are grace notes, z on the stem is a buzz. R rings higher than L, so you can hear the hands.

80BPM

What it is

Six doubles into an accent: a beat and a half of sixteenth-note roll. Same lead every time in the traditional form.

How to practise it

  1. Feel the accent arriving on the "and" of the second beat.
  2. Long rolls expose uneven doubles. Record it and listen for the hand that is louder.
  3. Start where every stroke is deliberate, around 60–80 BPM, and only speed up when it feels boring. When it is clean, take it to the tempo trainer and let trainer mode climb from where you are.

Take it further

More roll rudiments

Singles, doubles and buzzes, and the numbered rolls built from them. Rolls are where hand control and evenness come from.