The Top 15 Drum Rudiments For Beginners

What are the best drum rudiments to learn for beginners?  With 40 drum rudiments to choose from, where should a young drummer start?  I’ve always been someone who tries to break things down so that practical application is achieved.  In my years of playing, I’ve found these 15 drum rudiments to be of the utmost importance.  Now, I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t learn all 40, but in the beginning focus on these 15.  They’ll really set the tone and help build a strong foundation for your playing.  I’ve included the video so you can see how each rudiment is played.  So let’s begin!

1. Single Stroke Roll

The single stroke roll is the gold standard of drum rudiments.  It is the simplest in its execution, but among the most difficult to play clean and fast.

2. Long Buzz Roll

The long roll is the quintessential drum rudiment.  Try to work on this until you get very fine, clean sounding strokes.

3. 5-Stroke Roll

The 5-stroke roll is a great rudiment for short quick bursts of speed when mastered.

4. 6-Stroke Roll 

The 6-stroke roll, or better known as the paradiddle diddle is one of my favorite rudiments to use around the drums for speed.  there are several stickings that can be used, but I prefer the one below.

5. 7-Stroke Roll

The 7-Stroke Roll is a nifty rudiment that once mastered can have a really nice affect on your playing.

6. 9-Stroke Roll

The 9-Stroke Roll is used all the time in modern music.  It's a core rudiment and highly effective when played clean.

7. Paradiddle

Everyone's favorite rudiment, and one of the best.  The signature RLRR LRLL sticking makes it flow like water at speed.

8. Double Paradiddle

Similar to the paradiddle, the double paradiddle ads an additional 2 notes to give it a more robust feel.  

9. Ruff

The ruff uses grace notes to achieve its unique accented sound.  I use these all the time in my playing.

10. Flam

One of the king's of drum rudiments.  The flam is essential to your playing, and can be tricky to perfect.

11. Flam Accent

The flam accent has a lovely triplet flow to it.  It's an excellent drum rudiment to practice warming up. Can also be referred to as the "flam triplet." 

12. Flam Paradiddle

Once you are comfortable playing the flam, and the paradiddle-you can combine the two to make this drum rudiment.

13. Triple Ratamacue

Ratamacues are neat little drum rudiments that are great for finesse playing and leading into solos.

14. Single Ratamacue

The single ratamacue is essential to your playing.  Work on getting the grace notes clean.

15. Flam Tap

The flam tap is tricky to play, but feels awesome once you work it up to speed.

So there you have it folks, my 15 top drum rudiments for beginners.  Remember to tune into the video to watch the execution of each drum rudiment.  If you wish to take your hands to the next level I have 2 books, Beginner Hands and Fast Hands that are great tools to build your chops.  In addition, my signature Freddy Charles Practice Pad is the perfect tool to get your hands in order.