This excerpt is taken from the complete article that appears in the Aril 2016 issue, which is available here.

Rock ‘N’ Jazz Clinic

Squashed Stickings

Getting Creative With Rolls

 
Finding creative ways to apply rudiments to the drumset can be a great way to discover new vocabulary. In this lesson, we’ll discuss what I call “squashed stickings.” A squashed sticking applies a specific roll to a steady subdivision but inverts it so that the accent starts the phrase. For example, if you invert a five-stroke roll sticking (RRLLR) to RLLRR, and repeat it over a measure of 16th notes, you get an odd five-note grouping over an even subdivision. The accents of the new sticking are five 16th notes apart, which creates an over-the-barline figure that resolves every five measures. We’ll explore this idea in the examples below, and we’ll challenge you further by applying the concept to two different note rates.

First, we’ll squash the five-stroke roll. Let’s invert the sticking and apply it to 16th notes. For all of the exercises in this lesson, keep quarter-note time with your hi-hat foot.

Check out a solo utilizing the squashed stickings, and an explanation of the exercises below.
 
James Murphy
 
For the complete lesson with transcriptions, check out the April 2016 issue, which is available here.