Why do we practice scales, arpeggios, and rudiments?
Why do we learn scales and rudiments in percussion and music in general?
Much of classical music is just an arrangement of patterns, scales, arpeggios, and 7th chords! If a student knows all of these patterns and what their purpose is harmonically, they have the technical ability to play any pattern that music may throw at them. It will also make them a better sight-reader because they will be reading combinations of notes, not individual notes! Think of it like language. You learn your alphabet first, then you slowly learn to recognize that different combinations of letters form words. Eventually your fluency grows until you can instantly read words without thinking about it.
Alphabet Example:
C-A-T individual letters. When combined, it is cat….a common pet! I bet you can’t even read C-A-T without thinking cat. This exact same phenomenon occurs when you become fluent in scales and arpeggios!
Musical Example:
In the first measure, if a student learns to recognize the stepwise motion in their schooling, they will immediately see a D major scale! Rather than having to see 9 individual notes, their brain recognizes the scalar pattern they have practiced and they are done learning the measure very quickly. The same goes for measure two. After a quick glance, a student who knows the value of their scales and arpeggios instantly sees a D major arpeggio! If you can show a student the value and the “why” they should practice scales and arpeggios, it pays huge dividends when they go to learn a piece of music. Understanding leads to enjoyment!
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Snare Drum Rudiments Example:
Rudiments are the snare drum’s version of common sticking patterns that drummers and percussionists encounter every day. There are the standard 40 rudiments and hundreds of hybrid and modern rudiments to choose from. If you are lost teaching rudiments, just remember, they are just like scales! Students are learning to recognize sticking patterns AND the hand motions that go with that pattern.
For Example:
When my students see this, their eyes typically show a mixture of confusion and self doubt. How do I play that? How fast is it? Why are the stickings so crazy? I added visual separation with lines between the three different rudiments in this passage. Instead of seeing 2 beats of 32nd notes and feeling overwhelmed, I show my students that this passage is really just two back to back paradiddle-diddles with a 5-stroke roll at the end. I can even say “Paradiddle-diddle paradiddle-diddle five stroke roll” and most students I teach can play that by just hearing me speak it!
The power of patterns and rudimental knowledge is essential! If you are ever unsure of what the purpose of a rudiment is, just remember they are all stick combinations and coordination. For example, if you were to play flam taps, with one stick on your drum pad and one stick on your knee, you would quickly realize flam taps are nothing more than overlapping triple strokes. This gives you more confidence when you teach youngsters triple strokes, because you can show them the value of learning them! With good triple strokes, you will eventually have good flam taps! Everything is related, and connecting rudiments into the music makes it easier for the students to use the patterns they know to overcome the music they do not know. Take your students on a rudimental scavenger hunt next time they are playing a solo, you will find patterns everywhere. Everything complex builds off of these fundamentals. If students buy into the fundamentals and practice them consistently, they will have a lot of musical success!