Ten Stroke uses breakdowns of the ten stroke roll to test your application of fulcrum pressure when quick upstrokes are demanded of the rudimental content. Tap-fives require a repetitious application of fulcrum pressure and rapid upstrokes; this exercise breaks up the monotony by varying the demands (taps, doubles, accents) that surround the upstrokes and downstrokes.
I pulled this exercise off the cutting room floor of the NC State Drumline exercise packet… I recently found a very early handwritten draft that included several exercises which, despite not making the cut, are actually quite versatile and worthy of study. This exercise was a complement to the series of “Tap Five,” “Six Stroke,” “Six Stroke Slurred,” and “Seven Stroke,” which use each roll rudiment as a means to explore roll fundamentals, beyond simply building an individual x-stroke roll rudiment.
