As my students hear all of the time, rudiments are SO important to our development as percussionists, because they help us develop control over so many different combinations of stickings and types of strokes (full, up, down, and tap), and we use these skills not just in rudimental and concert snare drumming, but really in all areas of percussion.

With this in mind, and knowing that many students are stuck at home right now with sticks and a pad, I’m happy to share with you all the Rudiment Challenge that I have designed and use in lessons and group classes with students of all levels. This challenge includes all Diddle Rudiments, Flam Rudiments, and Drag Rudiments.

I won’t try to reinvent the wheel, so please head over to the Percussive Arts Society’s International Drum Rudiments page for a listing of all of the rudiments, as well as high-quality recordings of each one.

Instructions and Tips for using the Rudiment Challenge:

There are 4 columns on the Rudiment Challenge that correspond with 4 Levels: 1, 2, 3, and 4. The challenge is designed so that beginners and students with less rudimental experience will be able to achieve Level 1 tempos, and Level 4 tempos are what I expect from advanced high school and college students. (Levels 2 and 3 are evenly distributed in between, and intermediate students typically achieve these tempos). The numbers that correspond with each level are the tempos on your metronome. (Correct stickings, strokes, and stick heights must be maintained at every level!)
All rudiments should be played at the same rhythmic value as notated on the PAS Rudiment page (i.e. Single Paradiddles are notated as 16th notes, so the tempo markings are written assuming the paradiddles are played as 16th notes). (For simplicity’s sake, I kept the tempos for Double Paradiddles and Paradiddle-Diddles the same as Single Paradiddles, even though they are in groups of 6 rather than 4 - the 16th note stays the same speed!)
While some of the rudiments are listed in order, many are not - this is on purpose!! What I’ve done is group rudiments together based on similarities between rudiments, so I think it’s easier to work in the order of the rudiment challenge, rather than in the numerical order of the rudiments. For example, Flam Taps (#22), Swiss Army Triplets (#28), and Single Flammed Mill (#25) all start with a flam followed by a single stroke on the same hand as the flam, so it makes sense to me to work on this 3 rudiments consecutively.

I usually use this Rudiment Challenge in conjunction with private or group instruction, paying a great deal of attention to each student’s technique, strokes, and stick heights. While in-person private or group instruction is not feasible at the present, I hope that this resource is useful to percussion students and instructors! Please send me an email at karlyn.vina@gmail.com with any questions or feedback!