Page 16 - 2017-BMR-September

Mind the Ornaments: Setting Your Students Up for Audition Success with Flams, Ruffs and Rolls

the concept of FIGURE 1:
keeping the
snares constantly
vibrating. I use
the following
exercise to teach
this concept of
overlap (see Fig. 1.)

Try to let the
buzzes overlap slightly, especially on the slower subdivisions. Make all of the bounces within each buzz stroke as similar
in volume and stick height as possible. Many young players make the first strike of the buzz too loud and high off the
drum, which makes it difficult to create an even roll that is free from “bumps” (keep it low).
Another important factor in determining the sound
FIGURE 2:
quality of a buzz roll is the speed of the subdivision that
forms the base rhythm (or check pattern) of a roll. Take
a look at the following example (Fig. 2) at this tempo
(quarter note = 100).

Many of our students will almost always default to
a sixteenth-note subdivision on buzz rolls, but at this FIGURE 3:
tempo this is not preferred (see Fig. 3).

At this tempo (Q=100) and dynamic (forte), a
sixteenth-note subdivision works reasonably well, but
may not be the best choice. The body of sound in each
roll could benefit from adding one more stroke, as seen
FIGURE 4:
in the following check pattern (see Fig. 4):

Using the three and five note groups of buzzes seen
in the example above will have two benefits. First, the
rolls will gain energy and vibrancy with the additional
strokes, and the students’ buzzes will not have to be quite as long as they would be with two and four note groups.
Secondly, the fact that there are an odd number of notes in the subdivision can help to create the illusion of a long tone,
due to the fact that one hand is not playing exactly half of the subdivision. Our brains are always searching for patterns,
and if one hand is slightly louder than the other in an even-numbered subdivision it may be easier to hear the unevenness
due to the fact that it creates a familiar rhythm (such as two eighth notes) compared to the unfamiliar rhythm created by
half of an odd-numbered subdivision (such as the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of a five-let).

Bandmasters Review • September 2017 14 Texas Bandmasters Association