12 Rudiments / 12 Hand
Motions: Complete Hand Technique and
the PAS 40 Rudiments
By Bill Bachman
I
n years of teaching drum- 2. Double Stroke Roll: covers the “alley-oop” technique, or the two suc-
lines and private lessons, cessive free stroke combination requiring more finger control for the
I’ve found that other than second and use of forearms at faster tempos.
rhythm and timing er-
rors, virtually every error or
shortcoming is due to a lack
of technical facility or an un-
derdeveloped (or undeveloped)
hand motion. Sometimes fixing
errors requires helping players 3. Triple Stroke Roll: covers the “alley-oop-oop” technique, or the three
to better understand how to successive free stroke combination requiring more finger control for the
coordinate the hand motions second and third strokes.
they already have developed,
but more often it’s a matter of
the players needing to build
the necessary technique/hand
motions.
The unique hand motions
necessary to play anything and
everything are all found in the
current 40 PAS rudiments, but is a list of 40 rudiments too intimidating
to the drummer who just wants good mechanics/technical facility? Fur- 4. Buzz Roll: covers the pressure into the head closed buzz hand motion.
thermore, for those who do have rudimental ambitions, do the current
40 PAS rudiments properly prepare drummers for the challenges that lay
ahead in the current musical climate? In this article and at my PASIC
clinic I plan to make my case for the 12 gateway rudiments and open
some discussions on updating the PAS rudiment list.
I believe I’ve effectively narrowed it down to 12 rudiments that con-
tain all of the techniques and hand motions necessary to play anything
and everything else (gateway rudiments). I prefer to look at the rudi- 5. Paradiddle: covers the upstroke/downstroke hand motion, plus the
ments in terms of the necessary hand motions for two reasons: (1) these diddle after an accent combination motion.
12 rudiments and their unique hand motions will quickly train players
with well-rounded hand technique and the physical tools they need to
play anything and everything else, and (2) focusing on only these 12
technically crucial rudiments makes the process of developing hand
technique much less daunting than dealing with all 40 PAS rudiments
and countless hybrids, especially to those who may desire technical facil-
ity more than becoming a rudimental master. Out of the current PAS 40
rudiments, the 12 rudiments and their key hand motions I chose are:
6. Six Stroke Roll: covers the non-diddled accent within roll motion as
1. Single Stroke Roll: covers the successive identical free strokes on a well as the downstroke/upstroke motions.
single hand motion.
percussive notes 30 SEPTEMBER 2012
7. Flam: covers the downstroke/upstroke motions, but more importantly
the Moeller “whip and flop” hand motion at faster tempos. bill bachman . Marching Clinic . Friday 12:00 p.m.
know today. Ancient snare drum music consisted of rudiments strung
together in a given order, much like a piano player learning the seven
notes in the key of C and only ever playing those seven notes in a given
8. Flam Accent: covers the downstroke/upstroke motions, plus the triple sequence. In recent decades, however, rudimental literature has become
beat after an accent combination motion. more advanced than ever as it borrows bits and pieces from hundreds of
rudiments and combines them into countless rhythmic combinations
and rudiment hybrids. So, the rudiments’ purpose has changed in this
modern era; they’re no longer the verbatim building blocks used to write
(or “assemble”) repertoire.
I believe that the top players in the world are playing more rudimen-
tally diverse and technically challenging music at a higher level than
ever, yet a high percentage don’t even know the PAS 40 rudiments. Fur-
thermore, in today’s rudimental climate, if all you knew were the PAS 40
9. Flam Tap: covers the intentional decrescendo bouncing triple beat rudiments, you’d know quite a few redundant and rarely (if ever) written
motion, or “no chop, flop, and drop.” rudiments while having huge gaps in what you need to make the cut.
I believe we could better serve this younger generation of rudimental
players by giving them an updated list of necessary tools, and an angle to
focus first and foremost on developing great mechanics through the 12
gateway rudiments.
Now let’s look at the rudiments from a drumset player’s perspective.
For years I’ve been on a campaign to help drumset players understand
the ultimate value of rudiments: the mechanics/hand motions contained
within that can be used by individual hands completely outside of a
rudiment’s context. Other than the idea of orchestrating the rudiments
10. Inverted Flam Tap: covers the Moeller “whip and stop” downstroke around the kit, most don’t see the value in them. (For example, I prob-
hand motion. ably wouldn’t bother learning inverted flam taps, since I’ll probably never
play them orchestrated around the drumset, BUT, if I can play inverted
flam taps, then look at how useful the individual hand motion will be
on the drumset!) Many are intimidated by the whopping list of 40 rudi-
ments and then an endless list of “hybrids” (many of which are way more
necessary or helpful to know than the rudiments in the 40) and don’t
know where to start or simply don’t bother with the rudiments. Rather
than burden drumset players who aren’t particularly interested in rudi-
mental mastery with such a long list, why not focus on the 12 gateway
11. Drag: covers the free stroke rebound into a finger-control diddle mo- rudiments that equip a drummer with the mechanics necessary to play
tion at faster tempos. everything else?
So what are the options? We certainly don’t want to negate tradition;
preserving the history of our art form is certainly of great importance.
Maybe there could be a separate list of the 12 gateway rudiments? May-
be the 12 gateway rudiments could be highlighted as such on the list of
PAS rudiments? Maybe we could keep the current 40 rudiments and
expand into an even bigger (and potentially even more overwhelming)
list? Maybe it makes sense to make a totally new list and preserve the 40
12. Dragadiddle: covers the accented diddle played with a free stroke and much like we still know the 13 or 26 NARD rudiments? I’m sure there
downstroke combination. (On a side note, the dragadiddle is the only will be many opinions, and I hope a great discussion will ensue, but no
rudiment in the PAS 40 that features an accented diddle followed by a matter what I feel, it’s time to modernize in order to better serve percus-
low tap. Personally, I would prefer a “drag accent” much like the flam ac- sionists of all levels and focus within the realm of percussion.
cent to teach this hand motion rather than a hybrid of an accented drag In conclusion, the 12 gateway rudiments with their key hand motions
and a paradiddle.) are ultimately a means to an end—great hands that can play anything! I
hope that many of you will be able to make it to my PASIC clinic; my
goal is to help players and teachers learn how to get better results faster,
and open some discussions on the rudiment list and rudimental pedago-
gy in order to farther the art form and better serve the next generation.
I plan to dissect and break down these 12 gateway rudiments to dem-
onstrate the key hand motions within, look at their application outside
of the rudimental context, study the “four basic strokes” (full/down/tap/
Let’s briefly look into the history of the rudiments in America. In up) and the four accent/tap scenarios (most of which require techniques
1933 the National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) was beyond the four basic strokes such as Moeller whip techniques and
formed and standardized the essential 13 rudiments, later expanding “floppy” rebound techniques), and review the current 40 PAS rudiments
it to 26. Then in 1984 the list expanded to the 40 PAS rudiments we and the pedagogical benefits of the 12 key rudiments.
percussive notes 31 SEPTEMBER 2012
Happy drumming, and I hope to see you there!
Bill Bachman studied percussion performance at the University of
North Texas and is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Bill has
played with and instructed many award-winning marching percussion
groups including the UNT drumline, Cadets, Bluecoats, Blue Knights,
and Carolina Crown. He is the author of Row-Loff ’s instructional books
Rudimental Logic, Quad Logic, and Bass Logic, and is a columnist for
Modern Drummer magazine, who published his most recent book, Stick
Technique, the Essential Guide for the Modern Drummer. Bill designed
Vic Firth’s Heavy Hitter Pad series, his Vic Firth signature “Billy Club”
drumstick for tenor drummers, and the Remote Speedy Hat, which al-
leviates the need to cross over to play the hi-hats. Bill teaches worldwide
through live Internet feeds via Skype, as well as at Lone Star Percussion
in Dallas. For more information visit www.billbachman.net. PN
Additional marching
sessions
Marching Percussion Festival
Thursday 9:00 a.m.
Small Ensemble Competition
Thursday 5:00 p.m.
Marching Percussion Individuals
Thursday 5:00 p.m.
Sandi Rennick and the Santa Clara Vanguard Front Ensemble
Clinic/Performance
Saturday 12:00 p.m.
Paul Rennick and the Santa Clara Vanguard Percussion Section
Clinic/Performance
Saturday 4:00 p.m.
percussive notes 32 SEPTEMBER 2012
percussive notes 33 SEPTEMBER 2012
