Drum Rudiments for Beginners: Start with These 3 Patterns

Drum rudiments are recurring stroke patterns you can practice and use in music. Begin with the single stroke roll, double stroke open roll and single paradiddle. Together, they introduce alternating hands, repeated hands and changes of leading hand.

You can work on them on a practice pad or snare drum. If you are using your hands on a soft surface, focus on timing and order. Stick rebound needs practice with sticks on a suitable playing surface.

The guided rudiment routine plays these three patterns in sequence.

Read the sticking

R means right hand and L means left hand. Each letter below represents one stroke. Keep the spaces between strokes even, including where a hand repeats.

These three starting patterns appear in the Percussive Arts Society’s International Drum Rudiments, which contains a broader set of 40 rudiments.

1. Single stroke roll

Alternate right and left continuously:

R L R L R L R L

Start with eighth notes. Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & and play one stroke per syllable.

Listen for a steady stream of sound. If one hand is louder, keep the tempo comfortable and bring the volumes closer together. Avoid compensating by forcing the other hand to hit harder.

Play four bars, then stop for a counted bar. Begin again with your left hand. Notice whether that changes your spacing.

2. Double stroke open roll

Play two strokes with the right hand, then two with the left:

R R L L R R L L

Keep the same eighth-note count. A double occupies two separate positions in that count. Leave the full space between them.

At this starting speed, make each stroke deliberate. Listen to the second stroke of each pair: it should not disappear or arrive too early. Faster double-stroke technique introduces further control of rebound, which you can develop after the slow pattern is reliable.

If the hand change is the difficult part, repeat four strokes at a time: R R L L. Then join two groups without a gap.

3. Single paradiddle

Combine two alternating strokes with a double, then mirror the pattern:

R L R R L R L L

Work on the first four strokes, then the second four. Join them into an eight-stroke cycle and count eighth notes aloud.

Aim for even strokes at first. You can add accents later, once the hand order remains steady through repeated cycles.

For a closer look at the doubled strokes and the change of lead, use the paradiddle guide.

Keep the beat steady when the subdivision changes

The guided routine uses two bars of eighth notes followed by two bars of sixteenths in each round. At the same BPM, that doubles the number of strokes per beat.

For single strokes, the count changes like this:

Eighths:     1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Hands:      R L R L R L R L

Sixteenths:  1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
Hands:      R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L

Keep counting the same four numbered beats. Lower the BPM if the sixteenths make you tighten up or lose the order.

With several rounds selected, the player completes those rounds of singles before moving to doubles, then paradiddles. Choose one round while you learn the sequence.

Use the routine with a clear listening goal

On your first pass, listen to the audio and watch the hands. On the next pass, play along and focus on one issue: even volume, the second stroke of a double, or the transition between subdivisions.

Repeat the same setting while that issue improves. Changing the BPM and the pattern at the same time makes it harder to hear what changed.

The player provides a model to follow. It does not measure the accuracy of your playing when its audio finishes.

Bring a rudiment into a fill

Keep a simple groove for three bars. In bar four, replace the final beat with four alternating sixteenth-note snare strokes. Return to the groove on the next 1.

You have now placed a short single-stroke pattern in musical time. Keep that return steady before experimenting with doubles or paradiddles around the kit.

Start one guided rudiment round, then try the beginner drum-fill practice.