The average drum student quickly encounters various patterns or figures, the so-called rudiments. Initially, there are single strokes played alternatingly with the left and right hand. Later, one encounters more complex rudiments, often derived from marching snare drumming, which are used on the drum kit, particularly in fills.

The original text of this post was created by my human intelligence in German. The translation was a collaboration between man and machine. The man was I and the machine was Google Translate.

This article discusses my current favorite rudiments and their applications on the drum kit. These rudiments are called ruffs and rolls and consist of a series of soft strokes followed by an accent. The hand playing the accent alternates. Ruffs consist of single strokes, while rolls include as many double strokes as possible. There are other names for these figures, for example, from this association. Vice-versa, other things are also referred to by people using these names. It’s somewhat confusing. In any case, I use them as I’ve picked them up, without claiming any certified correctness. A poster at the music school and my drum teacher were particularly influential in this regard. The more precise terms are $n$-stroke ruffs and rolls. I’m currently particularly interested in $n \in \lbrace 4,5,6 \rbrace $.

Why bother?

  1. They improve precision. When I practice ruffs and rolls, my entire drumming feels more precise. At least, that’s how it feels. I haven’t actually measured it.

  2. The 4-stroke ruff, in particular, allows me to refine the timing of eighth-note triplet combined with eighth-note rests. This is another one of my ultimate challenges, alongside the creep bass drum pattern, as discussed in the article All Limbs on Deck. Perhaps I should compile a nasty list of my ultimate challenges.

4-Stroke Ruff and Roll ($n=4$)

4-Stroke Ruff

The 4-stroke ruff alternates between an accented eighth note and a soft sixteenth-note triplet. After the accented beat on 1, the triplet begins with the same hand on 1 &.

In musical notation, this looks as follows, where $f$ denotes forte and means loud, while $pp$ denotes pianissimo and means very soft. I had to use this cumbersome notation because simple accents are ignored during playback.


Since triplet notes confused me at the beginning, here is another notation for the 4-stroke ruff, as also used in the triplet article.

Count     1     &     2     &     3     &     4     &
          1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Hand      R     R L R L     L R L R     R L R L     L R L 
Accent    >           >           >           >
Snare     o     o o o o     o o o o     o o o o     o o o

4-Stroke Roll

The only difference between a roll and a ruff is which hand plays when. With perfect playing, they sound identical. In the 4-stroke roll, the loud stroke is followed by a double stroke with the other hand.


Musical Application

I particularly like the combination of straight rhythms and Triplet fills. For instance, by using 4-stroke ruff and roll-like figures on the last eighth note of the measure.

There is the subtle hi-hat figure that at least our bassist knows how to appreciate. The rest of the band probably doesn’t even notice it. I found it on my favorite Youtube drums-lesson channels.


It can get even crazier. See the following bucket-of-fish-fill that starts on the 4 &. In this case, I play the crash cymbal on the next 1 with my left hand.


I haven't yet dared to use the bucket-of-fish fill in a song.

5-Stroke Ruff and Roll ($n=5$)

5-Stroke Ruff

The 5-stroke ruff alternates between an accented eighth note and four softer thirty-second notes. After the accented beat on the 1, the thirty-second note starts with the other hand on the 1 &. I usually practice 5-stroke ruffs noticeably slower. Probably because I’m old and slow.


I especially like that every second group of four is played starting with the left hand.

Until now, I’ve always started the straw-ber-ry tart with my right hand. That was really unusual at first.

5-Stroke Roll

As with $n=4$, the only difference between a roll and a ruff is the hand position. With perfect playing, they sound identical.


Making Music

I’m usually too slow for 5-stroke ruffs. I sometimes mess up rolls, hoping that the imprecision won’t be so noticeable because of the speed.

Because I really like a 5-stroke roll on the hi-hat followed by an accent on the snare, combined with 16th-note rhythms.


6-Stroke Rolls ($n=6$)

6-Stroke rolls are different. Following the 4- and 5-stroke ruffs and rolls, quintuplets should actually be included. My drum teacher said quintuplets are rather unusual. You can find her on YouTube. I’ve never really looked into quintuplets. What you also find under the term 6-stroke roll are six 16th-note sextuplets with an accent on the first and last notes.


I’ve been practicing 6-stroke rolls on and off for over a year now. At low speeds, it works reasonably well, thanks in part to the excellent explanatory video that I recently found on YouTube. However, when I try to play the following 6-stroke roll fill at a more or less normal speed, it often still sounds a bit bumpy.


It could also be something in between the sixteenth-note sextuplets and two sixteenth notes and four thirty-second notes that I’m creating. The latter would be


2 more short YouTube videos about the differences: