Double Stroke Roll

A double stroke (open) roll consists of alternating double strokes on each hand. A double stroke occurs when the stick bounces twice per stroke instead of once. Also called a rudimental-style roll. This style of roll is a direct carryover from the techniques employed on the skin head, gut snare drums of European and colonial American military heritage. These early drums' slow response required a very open technique for creating the sustained tone of a roll.

Open or double stroke rolls are for marches at the discretion of the conductor or marching band music notated with 32nd note slashes.

To work up to the double stroke roll, start by playing the above exercise at 90 beats per minute for two minutes every day. At the end of the exercise, switch to the left-hand lead and play for another two minutes. Make sure you are listening for clarity and evenness between hands. After you feel comfortable with this tempo, bump up the metronome 10 beats per minute during your next practice session. Remember, some speeds will take longer than others to master; it will not all be the same.

At a slow tempo, these eighth notes will be tap strokes. However, when we gradually speed up the exercise, these tap strokes will naturally turn into double strokes.

As these exercises are practiced at a slow tempo, the double right and double left strokes will be performed as tap strokes. As the tempo increases, the double right and double left strokes will convert to a double stroke.