Paradiddles & Inversions and Paradiddle Variations & Inversions
Some Original Rudimental Exercises by Richard Wilson
Designed to Improve Paradiddles, Single, Double & Multiple Rebounds along with FlamTaps, Flam Accents and Swiss Triplets
The Lost Flam Rudiments
The reason I call this page of Flam Exercises the Lost Flam Rudiments is because they are no longer in print in any drum book. They were available previously in a drum Book called the Langey Tutor which is now out of print. The Langey Tutor was an Orchestral Snare Drum Book rather than a Military Marching oriented Drum Book. This Book was used by Murray Spivak and it had a discussion about Up and Down Strokes and the term FEINT, which I believe is an old French term, was used to describe what Murray taught as an UP STROKE. The UP STROKE is played from a starting position one inch above the drumhead and is produced by bending the wrist down and allowing the stick to tap and is then followed by raising the wrist to the desired height to create the follow through motion called the DOWN STROKE which creates a more forceful strike. The Lost Rudiments employ these UP & DOWN STROKES in their basic positions. A little analysis of all the Flam Rudiments in other Books will reveal that these Lost Rudiments are elements of all the other Flam Rudiments. The Lost Rudiments will teach you how to use UP & DOWN STROKES when playing FLAMS and applying these up & down motions to all the other common FLAM Rudiments will make them much easier to play. The Arrows and other graphics are there to help you visualize the UP & DOWN STROKES. The Single Handed Flam is used to teach the student how to make a DOWN STROKE. A DOWN STROKE is made by bending and raising the wrist hinge but allowing the stick to point at the head as you move up. when you reach the desired height you allow gravity to pull the wrist and forearm down and turn the wrist to redirect the sticks bead and energy back to the drumhead where it started. The Alternated Flam begins with an UP STROKE for the grace note and that UP STROKE becomes the DOWN STROKE for the next FLAM. This is the value of UP & DOWN STROKES, they reduce alternated Flams from four motions to two. If you use two motions instead of four you have just doubled your speed. The Feint and Flam and The Flam and Feint Rudiments use the UP & DOWN STROKES in basic combinations and help the hands and mind get control of these motions. Notice that the TaTlum only has a DOWN STROKE and no UP STROKE. the slur under the sticking that leads into the Flam is used to indicate a rebound that leads into the Flam. The Flam and Stroke Rudiment has two DOWN STROKES, one for the main attack of the Flam and a second one for the Accented Eighth note after the Flam. This rudiment is used to teach the student that DOWN STROKES can vary in force, as the accented note must be louder than the Flam but both employ a DOWN STROKE and also teaches that not all DOWN STROKES have an UP STROKE before them, sometimes just a motion up is used as the Flam has no note before it available to be an UP STROKE.
