Snare solos..which rudiments are better for them?

K

Kapo_Polenton

New member
Gents.. I've seen the rudiments and i practice them.. I have seen rudiments used around the kit and try to practice those too. What I am havign a hard tme figuring out is which are the rudiments most used on the snare for drum solos by guys like Bonham, Paice, Peart etc..? Which ones are most suited to for snare action and then imbellishing around the kit and are there any resources that break down this concept? For some reason, the snare just eludes me.. the answer is probably all of them and buzz roll but I thought someone might be able to send me in the right direction.

Thanks
 
Well really you use all of them, but my personal fav is the six stroke roll (inverted they call it a paradiddle-diddle). I'll also do combinations of singles and double strokes and use flams for accents.
 
I tend to use buzz rolls that go into single strokes with the left hand accented. I also use a lot of rim shots as well. TBH, though, I don't really think about what I'm doing when I'm soloing or doing fills. I just do what sounds right :rolleyes:
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Gents.. I've seen the rudiments and i practice them.. I have seen rudiments used around the kit and try to practice those too. What I am havign a hard tme figuring out is which are the rudiments most used on the snare for drum solos by guys like Bonham, Paice, Peart etc..? Which ones are most suited to for snare action and then imbellishing around the kit and are there any resources that break down this concept? For some reason, the snare just eludes me.. the answer is probably all of them and buzz roll but I thought someone might be able to send me in the right direction.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Peart does a lot of single stroke rolls during solos. Bonham did a lot of press rolls. As far as rudiments, you only get out of them what you're willing to put into learning them efficiently. You will also get a lot out of independence exercises. Paradiddles and sixteenth note rudaments work well all around the kit. Try a paradiddle between your snare and floor tom and see what I mean. Then move it around the kit. Other things like swiss triplets and flam taps or flam accents work well.

Some of the more complicated rudiments won't even translate well to a lower tuned snare because of the response time. The tighter your snare is, then things like open rolls, 3's 5's 7 stroke rolls, inverted 3s 5s and 7s and the like, drags, and flams start showing detail in your playing.

An extreme example of the detail in this type of playing is in this performance where the drum is tuned so tight it no longer sounds like a regular snare, but you can hear the detail of every note the guy is playing and you can see his hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD3RLyK8xLM&NR=1
 
PhilGood said:
Try a paradiddle between your snare and floor tom and see what I mean. Then move it around the kit.
Click to expand...

That's great advice. Many drummers forget that a rudiment doesn't have to be played just with the hands, let alone on the same drum. You get your feet, or at least your bass drum into it and you're opening up a whole new world of possibilities.
 
Last edited:
hey guys, thanks for the advice.. I guess it really comes down to practicing the rudiments with accents and expressing yourself with them. right now I am working on my single and double stroke rolls and my parradiddles as well as using these in beats where possible and around the kit. I also was having a hell of a time making them sound decent till i finally got rid of the barrel tuned rock sounding snare and decided to tune it for some attack.. made a huge difference! I think i really need to work on control and force myself to do it in time. I thought there might be a trick or two but it comes down to listening i suppose and seeing which snare rudiments replicate the sounds you like. I remember seeing mico McBrain from Maiden discuss how he uses rudiments and man it was awesome. Love that guy! I don't want to be a drumgod but I definitely want to be proficient.. while I am at it, I should probably force my feet to do doubles and triples in time as well. Soo much to learn with this instrument eh?
 
PhilGood said:
Peart does a lot of single stroke rolls during solos. Bonham did a lot of press rolls. As far as rudiments, you only get out of them what you're willing to put into learning them efficiently. You will also get a lot out of independence exercises. Paradiddles and sixteenth note rudaments work well all around the kit. Try a paradiddle between your snare and floor tom and see what I mean. Then move it around the kit. Other things like swiss triplets and flam taps or flam accents work well.

Some of the more complicated rudiments won't even translate well to a lower tuned snare because of the response time. The tighter your snare is, then things like open rolls, 3's 5's 7 stroke rolls, inverted 3s 5s and 7s and the like, drags, and flams start showing detail in your playing.

An extreme example of the detail in this type of playing is in this performance where the drum is tuned so tight it no longer sounds like a regular snare, but you can hear the detail of every note the guy is playing and you can see his hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD3RLyK8xLM&NR=1
Click to expand...

Stuff like that video makes me never want to play again. :(
 
PhilGood said:
Don't worry about it. I finally heard some of your tracks. You're doing FINE!!!!:)
Click to expand...

Lol. Thanks a lot dude. I am trying to learn rudiments, and I'm finding that I already use a lot of them just by accident. I've never had a formal lesson or anything. I just try to do what sounds right. I don't want to be technically dumb though. I should know some of this stuff. :o
 
I'm assuming you're playing more in the classic rock genre. The one thing I think most drummers overlook nowadays in dynamic control and (how do I say this) stick placement. I highly recommend looking up Brooks Wackerman and hearing some of the more dynamic work he does (or did, specifically with Infectious Grooves and Suicidal Tendencies). I really don't do much aside from triplets and rolls when it comes to technique, but I also play mostly speed punk, so I use a lot of rapid, single stroke rolls. But I'm a little confused on what you mean by "snare drum solos"; I really don't do any snare solos, that is, I don't spend a lot of time just on my snare drum, but if you do, I can see how more intricate rolls are essential.
 
What I mean by snare drum solo is that usually live, when these guys take these extended solos, they work the rudiments all over the kit but use the snare as the primary "builder" in the solo. Its all rudiments so i was just wondering which ones are more useful for that and which sound a little odd... now I am going to listen to Greg L's playing because I have taken lessons for a bit but am also self taught and I want to see what other people are doing out there!
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Gents.. I've seen the rudiments and i practice them.. I have seen rudiments used around the kit and try to practice those too. What I am havign a hard tme figuring out is which are the rudiments most used on the snare for drum solos by guys like Bonham, Paice, Peart etc..? Which ones are most suited to for snare action and then imbellishing around the kit and are there any resources that break down this concept? For some reason, the snare just eludes me.. the answer is probably all of them and buzz roll but I thought someone might be able to send me in the right direction.

Thanks
Click to expand...
1. The single stroke roll
2. the double stroke roll
3. the flam

Actually, ALL of the rudiments are based on these.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top