Getting BIG Rock Flams

In this video I mention a small contrast between the drum set and the style of a marching drum flam. Focusing really on a simple way of getting your disciplined rudiment to 'sound like you mean it' when playing the drum set.

The general idea of a flam is when one stick hits the drum right before the other upon attacking the same beat. In fact they sound like when you say the "Fl" part of the word flams. (a sort of onomatopoeia)

They are used in most styles, and in rock they are a great extra voice and texture to your fills and sometimes groove.

I had been playing drumset for probably 4 years before I tried out for high school drumline. When I showed up to tryouts, one of the senior drummers saw me practicing a flam exercise on a pad and right a way criticized it. I had been taught decent stick control at the time, but what I was doing was lifting both of my arms way up and coming down on the pad with equal intensity in both. Like I was use to on the kit. Still young.

I was teased a bit. Those were great if you were John Bottom, maybe. But I was going to be playing a really tightly tuned drum that exposed your every attack, not to mention playing with 3-5 others, the same thing at the same time in unison.

It wasn't before too long that I learned to keep the left stick about a half an inch off the drum head and bring the right hand all the way back without lifting my arm and then viza versa when doing a right hand flam.

So here's a video to demonstrate a bit of the two, and you'll feel comforted to know that you can have BIG rocking flams like Dave Grohl and then also flams that won't be having your drum instructor telling you to hit the ground for 25+ push-ups.... That's what I had to do anyway..

At the end of the day it just comes down to having great stick control and knowing the context of what you're playing..