? about rolls

[LJMZK]

so I am sitting here practicing with a side player (husband) and we are going through the whole medley and during a slow air I do a roll.....

well crappiness ensued and....

My husband showed me how he does a roll.... i think he called it single stroke (whatever) ... I was wondering if this was the same for tenor. He said I was using way to much arm and needed to use almost all wrist. Now I figure he is prolly right, but being my husband it would be more fun for me if he was wrong.

So, do tenor do them same mechanical style of rolls, or is there another way that works better?

[janelleTG]

Hi LJ, Funny i had this discussion with a my tutor very recently. When I said my rolls weren't very good, he replied "your rolls are crap" and the reason, because I do not use enough wrist with my left hand, I use too much arm. (Sorry, your hubby is right, according to this tutor ) The exercises I was given, were basically to play singles slowly without using my arms just wrist and slowly speed them up (single stroke roll). Also to do a lot of snare exercises with snare sticks using matched grip, to strengthen my left wrist .
I have discovered that i also have to go back and do them again with the tenor sticks, otherwise you can become too dependant on the extra bounce achieved off the drum pad with the snare sticks. Hope this helps.

[Bashful]

Hey Janelle. I was given the "your rolls are crap" comment too at one time.

What the problem was, was that I was just playing single beats in time with the rolls the side drummers were doing. My teacher/instructor told me to play them the way I played them when I was a side drummer: with the "buzzes". Tried that new tack and it sounded better. Because if you play them as single beats really fast, one beat out of time screws up the whole roll and sounds bad. I also find that you have more control if you buzz the rolls.

Hope that helps.

Later,

B

[Celtic Mitch]

Lina is absolutely correct. The single beat method would apply more to timpany style drumming. Start out practicing your Momma Dadda's. That is right right left left...slowly and evenly until you are able to speed up then turn them into a buzz sound. That isi the only true way you are going to get a decent sounding roll. Also, don't press your sticks into the head of the drum; they will come out sounding dead if you do.

[Pete Walen]

The mallet style (weight, density of core, firmness of head/bead, length of shaft, and balance) will have a significant part of the roll technique that will work best for a tenor drummer, or section.

The second major factor, is the tension/dimension of the drum and the drumhead. A larger head (16, 18 or 20 inch for example) on a deeper shell (16 inches, for example) will have significantly different physical results when striking a drumhead multiple times in quick succession than a smaller drum, say 14 inches in diameter by 12 inches deep.

The third major factor is the style of grip employed, and the technique used to strike the drum itself.

Now, the point of a roll, on any drum, is to sustain sound. In old drum music, it is not uncommon to see a roll designated as such by a note with a trill mark over it - the same trill mark flutes and other such wind instruments have. This was a wiggly line for the duration of the note, typically ending at the next indicated marking - be it a note or a rest. OVer the wiggly line would be a "Tr" or "Trill" (depending on the amount of space available it seems.)

What does this have to do with anything?

Simple. A Roll is a Trill is a way of extending and sustaining sound in a controlled manner.

Tympani technique *may* work depending on the size of the drum, the tension on the heads, the mallets in question and the technique/grip/control of the player. When I played tenor, I used both a single-stroke roll and a tap-bounce roll, depending on the sound that was desired.

Right now, I have one tenor drum play single stroke rolls in the set on the larger drum, tuned lower, less tension on the head, less natural rebound.

To the question of "which approach is right?" the answer is, it depends on who you ask, and what sound do you want to produce.

[LJMZK]

ok........ a lot of help here....

Thanks all gonna work on my wrist action along with other things...

Pete... funny how you mention Flute since I have played flute for too many years I don't want to admit

Thanks again

Lena J

[BARR_R]

Originally Posted by LJMZK

Pete... funny how you mention Flute since I have played flute for too many years I don't want to admit

Thanks again

Lena J

Lena maybe you just finish this and tell us the one time in band camp.......................Well you can tell the rest!

[Robbie.Crow]

[Bashful]

Originally Posted by LJMZK

Pete... funny how you mention Flute since I have played flute for too many years I don't want to admit

Gee, Lena, guess we have another thing in common, besides having the same name and being tenor drummers.

@ Pete, thanks for your input. I guess the way I execute rolls is based on the way I was taught and the side drumming background I have.

Later,

B

[LJMZK]

Originally Posted by BARR_R

Lena maybe you just finish this and tell us the one time in band camp.......................Well you can tell the rest!

haha Ryan......... one time at band camp there was a crazy drummer who had this great practice pad and one evening he told me a story.........

must I go on?

Lina.... sheesh well guess great minds do alilke

Lena J