In all of our learning, we (hopefully) concentrate of the creative use (and sound) of flams. However, in our desire to play the “perfect” open and fat flam sound, we often ignore the (also unique) sound of “flat flams.” These are two different sounds, and can be used differently. Playing two limbs in true unison is a deceptively hard thing to accomplish, but a very worthwhile exercise and sound on the drumset. This month we will share Joe Morello’s exercise on playing flat flams from his ground breaking book Master Studies. After working on Joe’s approach with eighth notes and triplets, you could even expand on his approach by creating your own flat flam exercise with sixteenth notes in one hand. Flat Flams The term “flat flam” is used here to describe both sticks hitting exactly together. These exercises are most effective when played on two different surfaces. They could […]

May 2023 Issue