Drum rudiment

The first recorded instance of rudimental fife and drum refers to the Swiss military at the battle of Sempach in 1386.[5] Initially, Swiss rudiments were very influential to the French system, which in turn was the basis for many other rudimental systems. Switzerland produced two distinct rudimental cultures, the wider Swiss Ordonnanz Trommel practiced in Zurich, Valais, and Geneva, and the Basel version or Basler Trommeln.[6]

The Basler Trommeln rudiments, in contrast to the Swiss Ordonnanz Trommel, are much more widely known and practiced outside of Switzerland due to Fritz Berger's publications, Das Basler Trommeln, Werden und Wesen[7] and Instructor for Basle Drumming,[8] and travels to the United States in the 1930s. His student Alphonse Grieder continued to promote Basel style drumming in North America for many years, despite having little credibility with Swiss drummers.[6] The two Swiss systems differ in several ways, including that Basel drumming rudiments draw heavily from the French system while Swiss rudiments are indigenous, and that Basel drumming was notated in a set of symbols until the 20th century (Berger devised his own notation system for export that was much more legible) while Swiss rudiments were written in standard notation centuries earlier. Swiss Ordonnanz rudiments are nearly unknown outside of Switzerland, while Basel rudiments are featured (after the 1930s) in other systems around the world, such as the Scottish, American, and Hybrid. The Top Secret Drum Corps is a prominent organization from Basel Switzerland that utilizes traditional Basel rudimental drumming along with other rudimental influences.

French rudiments were influenced by the Swiss and then later contributed back to the specific Basel culture in a two-way exchange. Thoinot Arbeau's Orchesographie of 1588 is commonly cited as one of the first "rudimental" texts, though its actual use of notation is limited.[9] French professional drummers became part of the king's honor guard in the 17th and 18th centuries. The craft was improved during the reign of Napoleon I. The French dance known as Le Rigodon is one of the cornerstones of modern rudimental drumming.[10]

At least 5 French military manuals appeared between 1870 and 1900, beginning with Félix Carnaud's École du Tambour[11] from 1870 and N. Pita's Methode de Tambour from 1885,[12] followed closely and expanded upon by H. Broutin (1889), Théophile Dureau (1895), and E. Reveillé (1897). Robert Tourte's Méthode de Tambour et Caisse Claire d'Orchestre[13] was published in 1946 and combined a selection of 34 rudiments and the classic French military calls with studies of common orchestral excerpts such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade and Maurice Ravel's Bolero. The French system is complex and expansive, rivaled in scope only by the Swiss, American, and Scottish systems. Between 30 and 34 rudiments have normally been taught from the mid-20th century onward,[14][15] from a historical catalog of over 70 rudiment variations.

Spain used its own rudimental system, documented as far back as 1761, with Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros publication of Toques de Guerra. Composed mostly of single strokes, the system is extremely simple.[16]

German speaking regions of Europe had developed their own unique rudimental system by the late 18th century, as evidenced by Wittwe's 1777 publication Kurze Anweisung zum Trommel-Spiel[17] The system was dominated by the right hand and featured only a few standard rudiments, such as the druckruf and doppelwirbel.[18]

The military tradition of the Netherlands has a distinct rudimental system. Drummers are known to have participated in military functions from possibly as far back as 1570. Military units paid the drummers from their own commanders' budget until 1688 when the military began paying musicians directly.[19] The rudimental term "Tattoo," a term for a meeting of drum corps and a signal from the standard camp duty, derives from the Dutch "Taptoe" Tamboers. Manuals go back at least as far as 1809 with the publication of Over Het Tromslaan - Met Marschen En Andere Muziekstukken Voor Den Trom[20] which indicates some basic rolls and a few military signals. Marsen en Signalen voor de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Armee by Jacob Rauscher was published in 1815 and shows about nine basic rudiments. Several manuals are known from the late 1800s and early 1900s, such as Voorschrift voor den seargent of korporaaltamboer of 1893, Tamboers- and Hoornblazersschool of 1896, and Tamboers- and Hoornblazersschool from 1901. The system was simplified and many embellishments removed in the 1930s.[21] The system was again refined following WWII in 1945 and 1946. Now, only the Dutch Marines continue the official military tradition actively, along with a few civilian groups. There are currently only about sixteen Dutch rudiments.

British rudimental manuals with decipherable rudiments date back as far as 1634 with the publication of Thomas Fisher's Warlike Directions or the Soldiers Practice which shows at least 4 ruff-based rudiments.[22] A more thorough manual appeared in 1760, Spencer's The Drummer's Instructor.[23] British military drumming had already been exported to the American Colonies by the time of the American Revolution in the 1770s. The anonymously authored Young Drummers Assistant[24] was published around 1780 and was an influential book on both sides of the Atlantic. The British system was further refined for the 19th century by Samuel Potter in 1817 with his book The Art of Beating the Drum.[25] In the 18th century, drummers uniforms were reverse color from the rest of their military unit, but after the War of 1812, and coincidentally during Samuel Potter's service, their uniforms were switched to the standard color scheme so as not to stand out in battle. In modern times, every infantry battalion in the British military has a rudimental Corps of Drums except for Irish, Scottish, and Rifle Battalions which feature Pipe Bands and their associated style of Scottish drumming.[26]

Scottish Pipe bands, in their modern form, were created by the British Army around 1830.[27] British regiments made up of Scottish clansmen married rudimental drumming with the Highland bagpipes and kilts in order to retain their independent culture. The drum rudiments were modified from British and European sources to fit with the piping idioms that had been in place for several hundred years prior. Pipe bands, and their stylistically unique drummers, saw their first widespread use during the Crimean War.[28] They continued to be an active part of battle until World War I, after which they assumed a ceremonial role.

Many attempts at formalizing a standard list of American snare drum rudiments have been made. The first publication to formally organize American drumming was by Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben at Valley Forge. He included camp duty signals in his general manual on military practices for George Washington’s troops, the “blue book” written in 1778-79, though the drum parts were listed in prose.[29] The first America rudimental manual to have prescribed rudimental exercises in notation was A Revolutionary War Drummers Book, also from 1778, which displayed 20 exercises that can be taken as rudiments as well as "drum beatings" such as the piece Valley Forg [sic].[30] This was followed by Ben Clark's manual[31] on military drumming in 1797[32] and David Hazeltine's book Instructor in Martial Music in 1810.[33] Charles Stewart Ashworth was the first person to actually label short drum exercises as "Rudiments" in 1812.[34]

Several more manuals of note were printed between 1812 and 1860, including those by Charles Robbins (1812), Rumrille and Holton (1817), Alvan Robinson (1818), Levi Lovering (1819), and George Klinehanse (1853).

A number of manuals next appeared during the American Civil War, including those by Elias Howe (1861), Keach, Burditt, and Cassidy (1861), Bruce and Emmett (1862), H.C. Hart (1862), William Nevins (1864). Adjutant-General Samuel Cooper's general military manual of 1861 also contained a small section on rudimental drumming, but in a very simplified form.[35]

Gardiner A. Strube published his influential distillation of Civil War practices in 1870. Between the Civil War and the 20th century, Fifes and Drums were phased out in favor of bugles for official signals, though military music continued to be taught and practiced for ceremonial purposes.[4] John Philip Sousa produced a manual in 1886 that would later be revised several times by the U.S. Army. Walter Smith also produced a manual in 1897[36] for the Army and Navy, though he was a bandleader in the Marines. In 1912, just 42 years after Strube's Lessons, Harry Bower, in his book The Harry A. Bower System for Drums Bells Xylophone and Tympani, calls the military rudiments "ancient," "old fashioned," and "old style beats, rolls, and flourishes," to be played only when emulating a military sound.[37] The Bower book offers several competing versions of many rudiments taken from multiple competing 19th century manuals.

During World War I, V.F. Safranek published a manual in 1916 (based on Smith's 1897 work), while Carl E. Gardner released another in 1918. Sanford Moeller put a list in his 1925 book, which is one of the few books here intended for civilian drummers. The Moeller method advocated for a return to the "ancient" traditions of military drumming technique and rudiments.[38]

The National Association of Rudimental Drummers, an organization established to promote rudimental drumming that included George Lawrence Stone and William F. Ludwig, Sr., organized a list of 13 essential rudiments and second set of 13 additional rudiments to form the Standard NARD 26 in 1933. This was largely based on Strube's 25 rudiments from 1870, with a single addition, the single stroke roll.

During World War II, the War Department used a manual from 1940, TM 20-250 Field Music Technical Manual, that clearly echoes Smith and Safranek, though it lists no author. The Marine Corps had a competing manual, essentially mirroring Sousa but updated in 1942, Manual for Drummers, Trumpeters, and Fifers.

Later in the 20th century there were several notable variations and extensions of rudimental drumming from teachers like Charles Wilcoxon, author of All-American Drummer and Modern Rudimental Swing Solos, and Alan Dawson, whose "Rudimental Ritual" was popular at Berklee College of Music in the 1970s.[39]

Drum Corps International was founded in 1971 bringing together drum corps from around North America to compete, some of which had been in existence since the 1930s or 1940s (though many others were formed as late as the mid-1960s).[40] From the outset, the drummers steadily expanded the rudimental vocabulary from the traditional American military and NARD repertoire to include Swiss rudiments as well as Hybrid rudiments that combined elements of multiple unrelated rudiments into new, more complex patterns.

In 1984, a Percussive Arts Society committee led by Jay Wanamaker reorganized, and reinterpreted, the NARD 26 and added another 14 to form the current 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments.[41]

In the 21st century there are four principal rudimental drumming cultures: Swiss Basler Trommeln, Scottish pipe drumming, Anglo-American ancient drumming, and American modern drumming (or DCI hybrid drumming).[42] Other organized rudimental cultures include the French, Dutch, German, and Swiss (non-Basel, poorly understood outside of Switzerland) systems, which are still studied on a small scale in their home countries.[4] There is also a distinct historic Spanish rudimental culture, though this system is no longer widely used.[43]

Recently, the International Association of Traditional Drummers (IATD) has been working to once again promote the 26 NARD rudiments of 1933 (1870 Strube list of 25 plus 1). One of the chief issues the IATD has with the PAS 40 is the "Swiss influence,"[44] though only 8 of the extra 14 rudiments that do not appear in the Standard 26 are foreign or not found in American military manuals prior to Strube. Of those 8 non-traditional rudiments, only about 4 are actually of Swiss origin.[45]

There is a movement in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, led by Claus Hessler and Percussion Creativ,[46] to revise rudimental practices and combine the French and Basel systems with some of the modern American rudiments into a single Rudimental Codex[47] of 42 rudiments. The Rudimental Codex has been submitted to UNESCO as an intangible World Heritage Site.[48]

A stroke performs a single percussive note. There are four basic single strokes.

A double stroke consists of two single strokes played by the same hand (either RR or LL).

A diddle is a double stroke played at the current prevailing speed of the piece. For example, if a sixteenth-note passage is being played then any diddles in that passage would consist of sixteenth notes.

A paradiddle consists of two single strokes followed by a double stroke, i.e., RLRR or LRLL.[49] When multiple paradiddles are played in succession, the first note always alternates between right and left. Therefore, a single paradiddle is often used to switch the "lead hand" in drumming music.

A drag is a double stroke played at twice the speed of the context in which it is placed. For example, if a sixteenth-note passage is being played then any drags in that passage would consist of thirty-second notes. Drags can also be notated as grace notes, in which case the spacing between the notes can be interpreted by the player. On timpani, drags are often played with alternating sticking[50] (rlR or lrL).[51] The exception being extremely slow tempos where the standard double stroke sticking of a drag can be applied more cleanly.[52]

Historically, the modern Drag was known as a Ruff (or Rough) if played closed and a Half Drag when played open.[53] Ruff can also refer to a single stroked set of grace notes preceding a regular note. In American playing the 3 Stroke Ruff has 2 single stroked grace notes before the primary or full note and a 4 Stroke Ruff has 3 singles before the primary note. Other rudimental systems have differing sticking methods and names for similar notation figures. The term Ruff is now antiquated and close to obsolescence in America in that the 3 Stroke Ruff and 4 Stroke Ruff are not officially listed on the NARD or PAS rudiment sheets and the term Drag has eclipsed Ruff (or Rough) for the double stroked rudiments, in both open or closed execution, according to the current PAS standard terminology.[54]

A flam consists of two single strokes played by alternating hands (RL or LR). The first stroke is a quieter grace note followed by a louder primary stroke on the opposite hand. The two notes are played almost simultaneously, and are intended to sound like a single, broader note.[49] The temporal distance between the grace note and the primary note can vary depending on the style and context of the piece being played.

Drum rolls are various techniques employed to produce a sustained, continuous sound.

The single-stroke roll consists of alternating sticking (i.e., RLRL, etc.) of indeterminate speed and length.

Name	Notation	Example	Description
Single stroke roll			Evenly-spaced notes played with alternating sticking. Though usually played fast, even half notes with alternating sticking would be considered a single stroke roll.
Single stroke four			Four notes played with alternating sticking, usually as a triplet followed by an eighth note (as in the picture) or as three grace notes before a downbeat (like a ruff)
Single stroke seven			Seven notes played with alternating sticking, usually as sextuplet followed by a quarter note

There are 10 official variants of the double-stroke roll.[49]

Name	Notation	Example	Description
Double stroke open roll (long roll)			Like the single-stroke roll, usually played fast, but even when played slowly, alternating diddles are considered a double stroke roll. Played so each individual note can be heard distinctly.
Five stroke roll			Two diddles followed by an accented note
Six stroke roll			Unlike most other double stroke rudiments, the six stroke roll begins with an accented single note. It is followed by two diddles and another accented note.
Seven stroke roll			Three diddles followed by an accented note
Nine stroke roll			Four diddles followed by an accented note
Ten stroke roll			Four diddles followed by two accented notes
Eleven stroke roll			Five diddles followed by an accented note
Thirteen stroke roll			Six diddles followed by an accented note
Fifteen stroke roll			Seven diddles followed by an accented note
Seventeen stroke roll			Eight diddles followed by an accented note

In 1984, the Percussive Arts Society added 14 more rudiments to extend the list to the current 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments. The ordering was completely changed during this last re-organization.