The drag ruff is a foundational rudiment that is required to play several more advanced patterns. It's fairly basic on it's own, but is still usable in a wide variety of drumming styles. The drag is perfect for ghost notes within drum beats, or as a lead in for simple drum fills. Here is how the rudiment is written in drum notation:
As you can see, the drag looks somewhat similar to a flam. The difference is that instead of playing one note quieter note, here you play two. To achieve this, you simply allow the stick to bounce lightly for the second drag stroke. Watch the training video to see and hear this being played.
Here is a simple drum fill that includes a drag being played on the hi-hats:
Exercise three includes a drag being played within the context of a drum fill:
Once you are done with this lesson, you can move on to the single drag tap.
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