All Rudiments Vs Important Rudiments

[Aviator42009]

Alright so recently I decided to start practicing each rudiment, so two weeks ago I downloaded an app with all 40 on it, and have been practicing them everyday since. What I do is take a couple of minutes on each, working on both my hands and feet.

Practicing like this eats up a lot of time, so I want to make sure if what I'm doing is truly worth it. Would I benefit more from just practicing the important rudiments (Single Stroke, Double Stroke, Paradiddles, ect) then going through each individually? Narrowing down what I have to practice would give me more time for the each of the rudiments, perhaps even 4x longer on each one.

Now If I do go with the "Only Important" approach, which rudiments do you think are the most important? Also, keep in mind If I cut out the other rudiments, I would review them every now and then just to brush up on my technicality.

[Dagon2000]

Go with the commonly used rudiments for now. You can get into the others later. Practice diddles, flams, drags, SSR, DSR.

Then again...practice never hurts so if you enjoy practicing all of them, keep it up. You'll be that much better in the end.

[drummer]

Now If I do go with the "Only Important" approach, which rudiments do you think are the most important?

IMO, single stroke roll, double stroke roll, paradiddle combinations (inverted, etc.) and flams. Master these (literally master them) and you will be amazed at just how far those few take you.

[slinglander]

IMO, single stroke roll, double stroke roll, paradiddle combinations (inverted, etc.) and flams. Master these (literally master them) and you will be amazed at just how far those few take you.

+1
IMO Speed for all will depend on speed and execution of the single and double stroke rolls, so don't expect to fly thru paradiddles if you can't do the same on double stroke rolls.

[Aviator42009]

Alright I think I'll spend a while mastering singles, doubles, all four diddle combos, flams, drags, and probably work on accents too. I'll probably throw some others In there once in a while and come up with my own combos, then once they are where I want them I'll move on.

Another question - Is it alright if pretty much all my rudiment/technical practice is done hitting a mattress? It's a lot less obnoxious than a pad, but if it's necessary for my technique I'll use one.

[MR. G]

mattress is definitely out...can't think of a single one manufactured today that would suffice....unless mattress is a brand name for some kind of practice pad.

[Drumbledore]

Go with the commonly used rudiments for now. You can get into the others later. Practice diddles, flams, drags, SSR, DSR.

Then again...practice never hurts so if you enjoy practicing all of them, keep it up. You'll be that much better in the end.

Add triplets and five stroke rolls to that lot too, you'll be surprised how quickly they'll not only help strengthen your left side but also the triplet will help you with the "single stroke four", the "single stroke seven" and the collection of ratamacues, plus having the five stroke roll mastered will later on introduce you to the family of numbered-roll rudiments.....six stroke, seven stroke, nine stroke etc.

[Tin Toad]

i kind of rotate them around . most days Ill do a bunch of diddles and single stroke rolls. than Ill pick 3 or 4 others and by the end of the week ive usually done all the rudi's and it gives a change up to my rudiment routine daily to keep it a little more interesting.

[Dad3353]

+1 for Tin Toad, above. Every day, a set of 'basic' rudiments, plus a selection from the rest. Change the selection every day. That way you cover the essentials, but maintain contact with the more sophisticated techniques.
Ideal for practice is a snare, failing that a practice pad, failing that a cushion. A mattress..? Why not, better than nothing, but takes up more space than a cushion or pad..! A hard-back book can be used, too.
Incidently, rudiments are excellent for the feet, too, especially if you use (or will later use...) a double pedal. The rolls will be slower, but the principles involved are equally useful for all 4 members.
Hope this helps...

[almostmatt1]

I myself have only really started practicing rudiments properly recently. Iv only been doing single stroke rolls, double stroke rolls, and paradiddles so far. Half an hour of single stroke rolls on the bus on the way to school, half an hour of double stroke rolls at school untill the bell goes in the morning, and half an hour of paradiddles on the bus on the way home.
Then i normally play drums as soon as i get home. Also, no matter what im listening to, odds are im tapping my feet to it.
Only have been doing that for a month. I am absolutely shocked at the differences its had already.

[Russ]

All rudiments are necessary rudiments imo. The more you skip, the less variety you'll have in your solos and playing. If you choose not to learn rudiments, you become further and further behind- as a result other drummers competing for the same gig you are have the edge and will get it.

[Aviator42009]

All rudiments are necessary rudiments imo. The more you skip, the less variety you'll have in your solos and playing. If you choose not to learn rudiments, you become further and further behind- as a result other drummers competing for the same gig you are have the edge and will get it.

The point of this thread was asking whether I should spend more time on what are considered the "Main Rudiments" which most of the others are branched off of or spend even time on each individual rudiment.

What I've decided to do is take the most important, spend around 2 minutes (Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) doing each one starting with my right, then 2 minutes left, 2 minutes right with feet, 2 minutes left with feet. Then take the rest of the rudiments and do the same thing, except just play them a few times instead of two whole minutes. Takes a very long time to do every mourning, but I'm sure its worth it.

And about needing to know every rudiment for optimum creativity: If you've mastered flams and paradiddles, playing a flam paradiddle will be completely natural. Most of the rudiments are like this if you have some creativity, which is why theres a lot of people who don't bother with all the rudiments.