Drum roll please! I’ve always wanted to say that. Mostly because drum rolls are one of my favorite types of rudiments. They are one of the most recognizable things you could play on drums or percussion, and it’s how we achieve a sustained sound. Since there are so many types of drum rolls, let’s get into the possibilities.
A drum roll is produced when a drummer makes a sustained sound from either alternating strokes, double strokes, or multiple bounce strokes. This sustain can be produced within a set rhythmic space or more open to interpretation without a rigid timing structure.
This article explains the fundamental techniques of drum rolls as well as how to apply them to different instruments. It includes exercises to develop different types of rolls and ways to a fluency for identifying the rhythmic structure of a roll when it’s not explicit in the sheet music.
First, I want to tell you the secret.
Drum Roll Secrets
The secret to playing a drum roll is all about controlling the drum stick by the way you pinch the fulcrum. This means drummers need to develop the ability to adjust their grip and stroke technique to let the stick rebound, or not, for both multiple bounce and double stroke rolls.
As you pinch the stick to play a multiple bounce roll, you will get more bounces out of the stroke as you press the tip into the drum head. Some drummers call this type of roll a press roll for this reason. It’s also called a buzz roll because of the sound it generates from the multiple bounces.
Gripping The Drumstick to Play a Roll
The fulcrum is established by the thumb and index finger. This is the case for most grips, but we will discuss rolls in the context of American grip for this article.
Related: Drum Techniques and Rudiments – A Guide to Great Hands
Since drum rolls are interjected into patterns and phrases, it’s important to be aware of the tension and release of the grip. The tension of the grip used to play a controlled stroke is more balanced among the fingers, while the tension to play a buzz stroke is focused more on the fulcrum.
At slower speeds, both buzz and double-stroke rolls require a looser fulcrum, while faster speeds require a tighter fulcrum. Additionally, faster speeds with a tighter fulcrum are assisted by less wrist turn and more forearm movement.
The Most Important Exercises
It’s important to train your grip to release the tension without hesitation because you can otherwise hurt your hands or arms. Your grip and technique can be trained through exercises like accent to tap (bucks).
This is an exercise that alternates between controlled and rebound strokes and will fast track your rudimental drumming development. Make sure you play it slowly to ensure you can relax your hand for the rebound stroke tap.
Play the rebound stroke at about three to six inches from the drum, depending on how high you play the controlled stroke. The accent is produced by the controlled stroke, which is prepared immediately after the rebound (tap) stroke.
The other exercise that’s non-negotiable for drummers who are serious is rebound strokes. This is perhaps the exercise you should before bucks, but it just ended up second in this article because of my train of thought on grip.
Types of Drum Rolls
The names of the different types of drum rolls are simple. They describe the concept of the roll based on the kinds of strokes used to produce it.
Single Stroke Drum Roll
A single stroke roll is produced by playing a single rebound stroke in each hand, alternating at high speeds. These rolls can be metered or unmetered, meaning that they can be played with perfect subdivisions of the beat or not.
Mallet instruments, timpani, and cymbals are a few of the percussion instruments that use single-stroke rolls a lot. The single stroke works well on these instruments because it allows the sustain from one strike to continue a little longer before another strike interrupts the vibrations creating sounds.
If double strokes are used on these instruments, the second stroke stops the sustain created by the first stroke, creating a short sustain and then a long sustain. Although this could sound cool if it’s what you want to do musically, it’s usually not the goal of a roll — to prolong a sustain as seamlessly as possible.
For the same reason explained above, single-stroke rolls sound good on toms. Double-stroke rolls sound good, too, especially on toms with a more dampened drumhead. But the larger diameter drums with more resonance can get messy with double strokes.
Double Stroke Roll
Double-stroke rolls are produced by playing two consecutive rebound strokes in one hand before playing two more with the other. Like the single-stroke roll, this type of drum roll can be played with a metered roll structure (or skeleton) or more openly and free.
Most double-stroke rolls simply double the roll structure of the roll. For example if you play sixteenth notes with alternating sticking, turning your strokes into doubles turns the rhythm into thirty-second notes.
The rhythm of the drum roll if you take away the double strokes (or multiple bounce strokes) is often called the drum roll structure. This will be explained with examples in the section below on Drum Roll lengths.
Multiple Bounce Drum Roll – Buzz
As you pinch the stick to play a multiple bounce roll, you will get more bounces out of the stroke as you press the tip into the drum head. Some drummers call this type of roll a press roll, as I mentioned above.
Drum Roll Lengths (stroke counts)
Drum rolls are often named by the amount of strokes used to play the roll and the release — the final single stroke to end the roll. Although these stroke counts can be played over various rhythmic structures, creating different durations, the “lengths” are relative to the tempo.
Sometimes a seven-stroke will support the sustain the music needs, but a five-stroke roll works better if the tempo is faster. In other words, a song could be slower and require more strokes to establish the sustain needed for a part. If the tempo is changed by the producer or arranger, you may need to play fewer strokes to generate sustain for the same note length.
The following drum roll stroke counts are based on double-stroke rolls. Multiple bounce rolls use the same naming convention, even though the amount of times the stick bounces cannot be counted. Just count the multiple bounces in one hand like two strokes, and this will make sense.
Five-Stroke Roll
The five-stroke roll is double right, double left, and a single right handed release. You could start the five-stroke roll, or any of these rolls, with either hand. For the following examples, however, we will use right hand lead.
Notice in the examples below that the five-stroke roll can fit into a sixteenth note subdivision of the beat in several different ways. Count the roll structure before playing the roll structure. Then, play the roll.
Example 1
The first measure shows the check pattern (roll rhythmic structure). The second measure shows a common notation for rolls. And the third measure shows the exact rhythm you hear when the second measure is played with double-stroke rolls.
Example 2
With each drum, it’s important to pay attention to the stickings. Although there are no set rules about it, you still want to train your hands to respond the same way in similar situations. Otherwise your lack of discipline can become a distraction.
Seven Stroke Drum Roll
The conceptual approach of the seven-stroke roll and the rest of the rolls on this list is the same as the five-stroke roll. I like to think of the seven stroke as fitting perfectly into a beat subdivided by triplet eighths.
If you want to release a seven-stroke roll with a particular hand, start the roll with the opposite hand.
Example 1
The seven stroke roll has a simple check pattern to remember because it’s four sixteenth notes. Although it’s not shown here, you could also use triplets for a seven stroke roll structure if you need to take up the space of a quarter not at faster tempos. Likewise, you could use sextuplets for the roll structure if you need to fill the space of an eighth note with a seven-stroke roll.
Example 2
Nine-Stroke Drum Roll
The nine-stroke roll will fill a beat with a sixteenth-note roll structure. This is an important fact to know because rolls are often not notated as double strokes on a roll structure.
You will see a quarter note with three slashes on the stem, referring to the thirty-second note rhythm produced by the roll. Like learning the sounds of letters to immediately identify words, knowing the roll structure for each note duration is crucial to being a good percussionist.
Example 1
Example 2
Eleven-Stroke Drum Roll
Drum rolls don’t always start on the downbeats. The examples below include some different possibilities for eleven-stroke rolls.
Example 1
Example 2
Thirteen-Stroke Drum Roll
At this point, the concept should be well understood. That’s why one of the following examples includes a musical phrase that uses thirteen-stroke rolls to establish a theme.
Example 1
Example 2
Long Drum Roll
A long roll is typically played for a formatta, which is a hold with a cued release.
Tap Rolls
Tap rolls start with a tap. Sometimes, however, the roll starts with an accent. Perhaps some percussionists call them accent rolls, but my drum teachers called them tap rolls.
The example below includes a variety of roll lengths with taps and accents that initiate the phrases.
Drum Roll Exercises
These exercises come from my many years in drumline. They are all played with double stroke rolls, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t play the exercises with buzz rolls.
Single-Stroke Drum Roll Exercises
The single-stroke roll exercises are designed to work the chops. So, although these exercises should be played accurately, they are also to be played at faster tempos.
Make sure you stay relaxed at the faster tempos. Becoming too tense will not only hurt your arms, hands, or fingers, you can lose valuable rebound energy in each stroke.
Singles are about playing really faster rebound strokes. Relax and keep your wrists moving with the sticks. Playing the rolls with lower stick heights at faster tempos helps to develop speed, too.
Double-Stroke Roll Exercises
Like the single strokes, the double-stroke rolls are rebound strokes — two in each hand. The faster you play, however, the more your grip will adjust to better use the rebound from the drumhead. Refer to the section at the beginning of this article titled “Gripping Your Drumstick.”
Basic Double-Stroke Roll Exercise
Tap Double-Stroke Roll Exercise
Triplet Subdivision Double-Stroke Roll Exercise
When in Doubt, Roll!
Every musician has been in a situation where they lose the timing or their place in the music. For percussionists and drummers, we have a trick that works on drums and cymbals.
When in doubt, roll! Play a roll on the drums or cymbals long enough to listen to the music and find your place. Then, enter the music in a confident and musical way that hides your mistake.
This trick can be especially helpful when playing a solo or trading fours other instrumentalists. Plus, the skill extends beyond just rolls. You can use space like a roll or several accents that are repeated over and over until you find the time again.
Final Thoughts
Drum rolls are incredibly important to learn and know with fluency. The system I’ve explained in this article includes identifying the roll structure of a note value so that you always know how to play a drum roll in time.
Like anything in music, once you learn the rules you relax a bit and begin to sing on your instrument. I know it’s something this article talks much about, but counting and singing your parts are two ways to internalize music notation and become more fluent on your instrument.
Rolls are sustains, so singing the articulations — the lengths of the note values — is crucial to having a command of your instrument.