Single Drag Tap

What the single drag tap is

A drag on the beat followed by a plain tap on the offbeat, then the same thing led by the other hand. It is the first rudiment where a drag has to land in time rather than being played as a decoration, so count the eighth notes and make the main stroke — not the grace notes — arrive on the beat. Keep the tap quiet; if it matches the drag stroke, the pattern loses its shape.

How to practise it

• This is the first rudiment where a drag has to land in time rather than decorate. Count the eighth notes and put the main stroke on the beat.
• Keep the tap quiet — if it matches the drag stroke the pattern loses its shape completely.
• Play it as drag-then-tap slowly, then speed up only when the grace notes stay tucked in tight.
• Practise leading with both hands; the drag family gets uncomfortable fast on the weaker side.

Where it leads

The single drag tap belongs to the drag rudiments family, and it feeds directly into the double drag tap, Lesson 25 and the ratamacues. Get it even at a slow tempo before you move on — every rudiment built on top of it inherits whatever unevenness you leave here.

Reading the notation above

Both hands play the snare drum, so every notehead sits in the third space of the staff and the sticking letters underneath tell you which hand plays which note. Capital letters are full strokes; small letters are grace notes. The small noteheads with a slash through the stem are the grace notes of the ornament — they are played almost simultaneously with the note that follows, not as separate beats. The > marks above the staff are accents: hit those notes harder. Full details in the drum notation guide.