May 2012

Rock & Jazz Clinic

Brush Workshop

Part 4: Rudiments

by Florian Alexandru-Zorn

Almost every drummer practices the rudiments—with sticks. If you’re serious about learning how to use brushes, why not also practice the rudiments with them? This article deals with just that. I guarantee that with some practice, you will be able to sweep (not hit) any rudimental solo using brushes.

In order to sweep all of the rudiments, you first have to understand the structure of each one. The basic building blocks of the rudiments involve double strokes, single strokes, flams, and drags, so we’ll focus our attention on those core elements.

In part three of this series (February 2012), we covered the linear motion, which is the best one to begin with when working on the rudiments. (Of course, you can sweep each rudiment with circular and half-circular motions too.) I suggest beginning your practice by sweeping with each hand on a different sound surface. This allows you to check the motion of the hands separately, to avoid mistakes. Advertisement

 

Be sure to check out the complete article in the May 2012 issue for additional insight and advice.