(Before we start, it should be noted that whilst rudiments are useful and important, it's not vital to master each and every one before you consider yourself a "good" drummer, so don't worry about it too much if you take a while getting to grips with them, or if some of them escape you completely.)
Rudiments are the patterns which you play on the drums. They're the building blocks that beats and fills are made up of, to put it simply. Think of the most common drum fill, for example: four beats on the snare, four on the high tom, four on the second tom, and four on the floor tom. This is a pattern of singles. If you're ever having difficulty with a fill or a beat, breaking it down into its rudiment pattern often makes it easier.
It's widely contested as to how many rudiments there actually are, but for now we'll say 40 (you'll see why soon). Some are individual, whilst some are variations of similar patterns. We'll start by having a look at some of the most simple/important ones in this video with Deep Purple's Ian Paice.
(Although watch his hands on the singles: you should try to avoid holding your fifth finger out like this as it's important for added control and speed - not that Paice needs more of that, mind you.)
Not only are rudiments good for helping you warm up, or think up new beats and fills, but like Paice says in the video; they're great for working out your hand and wrist muscles.
Most beginner books will include rudiments for you to practice, but it's often to difficult to know if you're keeping a steady speed, or if your beats are sounding even, so Vic Firth had the clever idea of an online rudiment bank (which contains - you guessed it - 40 rudiments for you to practice). This is an excellent tool, and something you might want to work into your practice routine at an early stage. Just click on whatever rudiment you want to learn, and it'll give you the basic pattern, an exercise, examples and a helpful video too.
Trust me, learning rudiments won't happen over night, but as time goes by you will notice the difference in your playing. If you're just starting out, try not to worry on how fast you can play them; the important thing is playing them well. You just need to be patient.
It's widely contested as to how many rudiments there actually are, but for now we'll say 40 (you'll see why soon). Some are individual, whilst some are variations of similar patterns. We'll start by having a look at some of the most simple/important ones in this video with Deep Purple's Ian Paice.
(Although watch his hands on the singles: you should try to avoid holding your fifth finger out like this as it's important for added control and speed - not that Paice needs more of that, mind you.)
Not only are rudiments good for helping you warm up, or think up new beats and fills, but like Paice says in the video; they're great for working out your hand and wrist muscles.
Most beginner books will include rudiments for you to practice, but it's often to difficult to know if you're keeping a steady speed, or if your beats are sounding even, so Vic Firth had the clever idea of an online rudiment bank (which contains - you guessed it - 40 rudiments for you to practice). This is an excellent tool, and something you might want to work into your practice routine at an early stage. Just click on whatever rudiment you want to learn, and it'll give you the basic pattern, an exercise, examples and a helpful video too.
Trust me, learning rudiments won't happen over night, but as time goes by you will notice the difference in your playing. If you're just starting out, try not to worry on how fast you can play them; the important thing is playing them well. You just need to be patient.
