The first stage to learning the Flam Paradiddle is taught here - much the same way that the Single Paradiddle was introduced in Lesson Three. Remember that the student was shown first how to LIFT the grace note on alternating flams. NOW the student must learn to control a grace note that is NOT lifted, but simply dropped from a low height. The first Downstroke Flam and upstroke on the opposite hand is introduced in a quick exercise. The Rudimental Etude does NOT include this new concept.
Students learn to flow from one drum to the next using the upstroke of the paradiddle.
Musical devices such as rim clicks, stick clicks and upbeat accompaniments make this a fun ensemble to play at a first concert or contest. The Flam Paradiddle is completed by adding the final two taps. The complexity of new rhythm combinations as well as new note values makes for a difficult written test at the end of Section Two. As we move out of the first half of the book, emphasis is placed upon longer etudes that require a stronger commitment to individual practice. A student will learn to listen for 4 bar phrases and relate the presentation and recapitulation of the initial theme.