Supplement 16D: Flam | Part 3 of 4

The flam is a two-note figure: a principal (accented) note preceded by a grace (unaccented) note, tapped as close to the principal note as possible — let the stick drop to the head rather than lifting it before the stroke. Depending on the sticking, either note may use a Moeller or wrist prep upstroke motion, and applied accents still require the proper prep motion. All of the 2-, 3- and 4-stroke motions covered so far now apply to these and later rudiments. Supplement 16D presents three flam rudiments: the flam itself (hand-to-hand/alternating), the flam tap (a 3-stroke motion with each hand), and the flam accent (a 4-stroke motion with each hand). Focus on placing the grace note just before the principal note and keeping it low.