Drum lesson - How to Play an Open Roll

One of the key tools in a drummer’s toolbox is the roll. A roll is the way to get a long note out of an instrument that can play only short notes, and you produce a roll by playing lots of short notes really fast, all in a row. Here’s how you do it.

Open Roll Basics

Open rolls are typically used in rudimental drumming, although you’ll often use variations of open rolls when you play fills around the drumset. Think of an open roll as starting with a group of sixteenth notes. When you play each hand twice in the same space (instead of RLRL, you play RRLLRRLL), you’re playing double-stroke thirty-second notes—which is all an open roll really is.

One way to think of a roll is to think of the individual sixteenth notes, but play two strokes (on the same hand) for each sixteenth note. For example, where you’d play two sixteenths and an eighth (RLR), you’d double up on the sixteenths to play four thirty-seconds and an eighth (RRLLR), like this:

Turn sixteenth notes into a roll by playing each sixteenth note “two for one” with the same hand.

Although some instructors will say you should bounce your double strokes (called a “bounce roll”), this is not really an open roll. A true open roll is created by playing each stroke separately, in a controlled fashion. So when you play RRLL, you actually play two rights, followed by two lefts. This will produce a very clean, very distinct, very controlled sound.

To be fair, the faster you play an open roll, the more tempting it is to bounce your sticks to keep up. At very fast tempos, this is acceptable—and perhaps the only way to play the roll. However, you should always practice your rolls from slow to fast, and at the slower tempos, take care to play each note without bouncing.

Open rolls are designated by the number of strokes in the rolls. The name is always an odd number because the final single stroke at the end of the roll is counted as part of the roll. Thus, a roll with four thirty-second notes and a final tap is called a five-stroke roll. The figure that follows shows the different open rolls—how they’re commonly written and how they’re actually played.

Open-stroke rolls

The Five-Stroke Roll

The five-stroke roll is one of the most common open rolls. A five-stroke roll fits in the space of a single eighth note and can start on the downbeat, on the upbeat, or (for a syncopated effect) on either the “e” or “ah” between the beat. Sticking is either RRLLR or LLRRL, and the final tap is often accented.

The Seven-Stroke Roll

The seven-stroke roll is a sixteenth note longer than the five-stroke roll. It typically starts on the “e” after the beat, although this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. More often than not, sticking is LLRRLLR, although you’ll sometimes see the alternate RRLLRRL sticking.

The Nine-Stroke Roll

The nine-stroke roll takes up an entire beat. It usually starts on one beat and ends on the next, although it can also be syncopated to start on the “and” after the beat and carry through to the next “and.” Either RRLLRRLLR or LLRRLLRRL is acceptable.

The Eleven-Stroke Roll

The 11-stroke roll is a sixteenth note longer than the nine-stroke roll and typically starts on the “ah” after the beat, carrying through to the second downbeat. Sticking is normally LLRRLLRRLLR, although the reverse sticking is also acceptable.

The Thirteen-Stroke Roll

In terms of length, you can think of a 13-stroke roll as kind of like a five-plus-nine. It almost always starts on the downbeat or the “and,” carrying forward for one and a half beats. Sticking can be either RRLLRRLLRRLLR or LLRRLLRRLLRRL.

The Fifteen-Stroke Roll

If the 13-stroke roll is like a five-plus-nine, then the 15-stroke roll is like a seven-plus-nine. You’ll typically start this puppy on the “e” after the beat and carry forward to the second downbeat. More often than not, sticking is LLRRLLRRLLRRLLR, although the reverse sticking is acceptable.

The Seventeen-Stroke Roll

This is a two-beat roll, notated by a half note connected to a final note. It’s typically started and ended on a downbeat, with either RRLLRRLLRRLLRRLLR or LLRRLLRRLLRRLLRRL sticking.

It takes time and practice, but once you get the open roll down, your playing will really start to take off!

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