Drum rudiment
A drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns in drumming, a form of percussion music. Drum rudiments form the foundation for more extended and complex patterns.
The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associated with various forms of field drumming, where the snare drum plays a prominent role. In this context "rudiment" means not only "basic", but also fundamental. This tradition of drumming originates in military drumming and it is a central component of martial music.Definition
A drum rudiment is defined by the Encyclopedia Rudimentia as a short pattern of strokes, using John Pratt's logic that "the rudiments of drumming are strokes," in reference to the four basic drum strokes.
Rudimental drumming lacks an agreed formal definition among groups dedicated to drumming or percussion.
Camp Duty Update defines a drum rudiment as an excerpt from a military call with a definite rhythm, definite sticking, definite dynamic structure, and a defined nomenclature.
The Percussive Arts Society defines it as a particular method for learning the drums—beginning with rudiments, and gradually building up speed and complexity through practicing those rudiments.
RudimentalDrumming.com defines it as "the study of coordination."History
The origin of snare drum rudiments can be traced back to fourteenth century Swiss mercenaries armed with long polearms. The use of pikes in close formation required a great deal of coordination. The sound of the tabor was used to set the tempo and communicate commands with distinct drumming patterns. These drumming patterns became the basis of the snare drum rudiments.Swiss
The earliest instance of rudimental fife and drum is often cited as the Swiss military at the battle of Sempach in 1386. There is evidence, however, that the Swiss were already using drums in battle in 1315 at the Battle of Morgarten. Initially, Swiss rudiments were very influential to the French system, which in turn was the basis for many other rudimental systems. Switzerland produced two distinct rudimental cultures, the wider Swiss Ordonnanz Trommel practiced in Zurich, Valais, and Geneva, and the Basel version or Basler Trommeln.
The Basler Trommeln rudiments, in contrast to the Swiss Ordonnanz Trommel, are much more widely known and practiced outside of Switzerland due to Fritz Berger's publications, Das Basler Trommeln, Werden und Wesen and Instructor for Basle Drumming, and travels to the United States in the 1930s. His student Alfons Grieder continued to promote Basel style drumming in North America for many years. The two Swiss systems differ in several ways, including that Basel drumming rudiments draw heavily from the French system while Swiss rudiments are indigenous, and that Basel drumming was notated in a set of symbols until the 20th century while Swiss rudiments were written in standard notation centuries earlier. Swiss Ordonnanz rudiments are nearly unknown outside of Switzerland, while Basel rudiments are featured in other systems around the world, such as the Scottish, American, and Hybrid. The Top Secret Drum Corps is a prominent organization from Basel, Switzerland that utilizes traditional Basel rudimental drumming along with other rudimental influences.French
French rudiments were influenced by the Swiss and then later contributed back to the specific Basel culture in a two-way exchange. Thoinot Arbeau's Orchesographie of 1588 is commonly cited as one of the first "rudimental" texts, though its actual use of notation is limited. French professional drummers became part of the king's honor guard in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1754 published Instruction pour les Tambours, which was one of the earliest military drum manuals to codify a specific national duty in legible drum notation. The craft was improved during the reign of Napoleon I. The French dance known as Le Rigodon is one of the cornerstones of modern rudimental drumming. Kastner's Manuel Général de Musique Militaire a L’Usage des Armées Françaises from 1848 details the rudimental signals starting as far back as the 17th century and works up through the variations to his contemporary mid-19th century usage, showing that the complexity of French drumming increased significantly over time.
At least 5 French military manuals appeared between 1870 and 1900, beginning with Félix Carnaud's École du Tambour from 1870 and N. Pita's Methode de Tambour from 1885, followed closely and expanded upon by H. Broutin, Théophile Dureau, and E. Reveillé.
In the 20th century, published his Méthode de Tambour in 1901. Robert Tourte's Méthode de Tambour et Caisse Claire d'Orchestre was published in 1946 and combined a selection of 34 rudiments and the classic French military calls with studies of common orchestral excerpts such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade and Maurice Ravel's Bolero. The French system is complex and expansive, rivaled in scope only by the Swiss, American, and Scottish systems. Between 30 and 34 rudiments have normally been taught from the mid-20th century onward, from a historical catalog of over 70 rudiment variations.Spanish
Spain used its own rudimental system, documented as far back as 1761, with publication of Toques de Guerra. Composed mostly of single strokes, the system is extremely simple with only around eight to ten named patterns.Italian
The Italian peninsula was home to fife and drum traditions as far back as the 1400s. During the 19th century, at least 3 distinct styles of drumming were practiced: Austrian style drumming in the northern regions adjacent to the Austrian Empire, a central Italian style in Sardinia, Piedmont, and the Papal States, and a southern style in Naples and Sicily. With the unification of the Kingdom of Italy in the 1870s, the central Italian style was adopted over the Austrian or Sicilian as the official pan-Italian rudimental system.German
German speaking regions of Europe, often referred to historically as Prussian, had developed their own unique rudimental system by the late 18th century, as evidenced by Wittwe's 1777 publication Kurze Anweisung zum Trommel-Spiel The system was dominated by the right hand and featured only about 14 standard rudiments, such as the druckruf and doppelwirbel. The Prussian drumming style was distinct from the regional rudimental practices of Bavaria, despite Bavaria being a part of modern Germany. It also did not apply in Hannover – which was effectively part of the British Empire for a significant period and thus used British drumming idioms.Swedish
Sweden had drummers on military payrolls as early as 1528. The Swedish rudimental style has some unique features and rhythmic interpretations, however it draws significant influence from both French and Prussian sources. The first written manual dates from 1836 with little variation in style until the 20th century. After the 1960s the drum parts in standard military music became simplified compared to their earlier incarnations.Dutch
The military tradition of the Netherlands has a distinct rudimental system. Drummers are known to have participated in military functions from possibly as far back as 1570. Military units paid the drummers from their own commanders' budget until 1688 when the military began paying musicians directly. The rudimental term "Tattoo," a term for a meeting of drum corps and a signal from the standard camp duty, derives from the Dutch "Taptoe" Tamboers. Manuals go back at least as far as 1809 with the publication of Over Het Tromslaan – Met Marschen En Andere Muziekstukken Voor Den Trom which indicates some basic rolls and a few military signals. Marsen en Signalen voor de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Armee by was published in 1815 and shows about nine basic rudiments. Several manuals are known from the late 1800s and early 1900s, such as Voorschrift voor den seargent of korporaaltamboer of 1893, Tamboers- and Hoornblazersschool of 1896, and Tamboers- and Hoornblazersschool from 1901. The system was simplified and many embellishments removed in the 1930s. The system was again refined following WWII in 1945 and 1946. Now, only the Dutch Marines continue the official military tradition actively, along with a few civilian groups. There are currently only about 14 Dutch rudiments.Russian
Russian drumming was originally brought in from abroad specifically to emulate the drumming of other nations. Dutch drumming was used verbatim in the 17th century. This gave way to a more distinct Russian style in the 18th century under Peter I. Imperial Russian military units stopped using drummers around 1909 but the USSR reintroduced drumming to the military in the 1920s. Russia actually has no names or specific sticking for rudimental patterns but a selection of rolls and ruffs of various lengths are present in military music. Youth Pioneer groups use simplified military signals, though the rudiments taught in these groups use American terms.British
British rudimental manuals with decipherable rudiments date back as far as 1634 with the publication of Thomas Fisher's Warlike Directions or the Soldiers Practice which shows at least 4 ruff-based rudiments. A more thorough manual appeared in 1760, Spencer's The Drummer's Instructor. British military drumming had already been exported to the American Colonies by the time of the American Revolution in the 1770s. The anonymously authored Young Drummers Assistant was published around 1780 and was an influential book on both sides of the Atlantic. The British system was further refined for the 19th century by Samuel Potter in 1817 with his book The Art of Beating the Drum. In the 18th century, drummers uniforms were reverse color from the rest of their military unit, but after the War of 1812, and coincidentally during Samuel Potter's service, their uniforms were switched to the standard color scheme so as not to stand out in battle. Samuel's son, Henry Potter, a noted instrument maker, would later publish an updated drum manual called Authorised Sergeant Drummers' Manual. In 1887, the War Office published Drum and Flute Duty for the Infantry Branch of the Army which is one of only a few pre-20th century publications to feature the 17 stroke roll. In modern times, every infantry battalion in the British military has a rudimental Corps of Drums except for Irish, Scottish, and Rifle Battalions which feature Pipe Bands and their associated style of Scottish drumming.