5/8 flam accents

Page of rudimental patterns in 5/8, based on a flam accent #1. We've just extended it a couple of notes. You could connect some of these with a whole lot of rudiments: flam drags, pataflaflas, flamadiddles, flamacues. Do these along with my 5/8 control pages from last year. 

Pretty straightforward. If you use a metronome, put it on the 1, or the 1 every two bars, or on the 1/3 or 1/4 of the 5/8, or set it for quarter notes in 5/4, resolving with the 1s in unison every two bars. I guess if you should be doing that, you don't need me to tell you...

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Alternating flam rudiments tree

Just a little throwaway graphic illustrating the connectedness of flam rudiments. People think of them as “omg a bunch of different things”, but they use very similar motions.

The key rudiment here is the Flam Accent #1— you get the others after it by just doubling one note, and playing with the rhythm. The pattern named Unnamed Awesome Rudiment is now named Unnamed Awesome Rudiment, or UAR. I like it better than the other 16th note flam rudiments— Windmills are easy but dull, Flamadiddles are just loathsome. UARs are difficult but hip.

Variations on Stone flam patterns — triplets and 16ths

Lately I've been doing a lot with modulating between triplets and 16th notes, using similar stickings/coordination patterns. I've observed that it's a thing with Elvin Jones's drumming that he will play similar things in either a triplet or 16th note rhythm, or with a pull towards one rhythm or the other, and this is a way of working with that idea. These exercises are mostly based on patterns found in Stick Control; the stickings in each measure are almost the same as the other, except there has been one note added to make the 16th notes.

Also reverse the stickings, starting the patterns with the left hand. As a general rule, it's a good idea to play them twice as long left hand lead.

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Much more to do with 5/4

If you've been using the pages o' coordination we've been doing around here, you're going to like what Sam Nadel has been posting recently— a whole bunch of stuff on playing in 5/4. He doesn't have his labels going, so I can't send you to everything with one link (Sam!); but here's what he's got for us recently. You'll want to page through his archives, too, because there's a lot of good stuff in there. Hit the links to read his explanation and download the pages:

Rolling triplets in 5/4 — Accented triplets in 5/4, based on an exercise from Ted Reed. 

Reed converted to 5/4, with Dawson interpretations — Five pages, and just what it sounds like. 

Jazz ostinato in 5/4 — With left hand coordination. 

Paradiddle warm-up — Not in 5, but a nice daily-user: paradiddles in all inversions, with flams on each note of the pattern. 

Between this and all of the stuff we've been posting, your 5/4 should be pretty cooking by now. If you've been neglecting it, well, time to get on it, kids!