Double Drag Tap
Learn How To Play The Double Drag Tap Drum Rudiment!
In this free drum lesson, Lionel Duperron teaches you how to play the double drag tap and how to apply to drum beats and drum fills. The double drag tap is another cool pattern from the drag family of drum rudiments. The main sticking pattern for the double drag tap is quite similar to one of the patterns from the flam family of drum rudiments – the Swiss army triplet.
If you put the two drum rudiments side-by-side you can see that just like the Swiss army triplet, the double drag tap has a double stroke followed by one single stroke. This is their only similarity. The double drag tap naturally alternates within itself and has two sets of grace notes, while the Swiss army triplet has only one grace note and does not alternate.
With an underlying rhythm played with doubles, singles, and drags, it’s very important you check the free drum lessons on those drum rudiments and take the time to learn how to play them accurately. Studying the basic strokes that take part in the structure of any of the drum rudiments will make it a lot easier for you to master them.
Practice with a metronome. When you feel you’re able to play the double drag tap with consistency and control, you can begin practicing the following drum beats and drum fills.
Exercise #1 has the double drag tap spread between the snare drum and the hi-hat. The drags are kept on the hi-hat while the taps are played on the snare drum. The double drag tap is actually offset by one triplet. Instead of having it start on count 1, Lionel began playing it on the “trip” of count 1. The tap that belongs to the double drag tap on count 4 is actually count 1 of the next bar.
On exercise #2 the double drag tap is played as 8th notes. Any of the 40 drum rudiments has a fundamental note value with which they are presented to students. That doesn’t mean you’ll have to play them solely with that note. Think about it for a second. Do you only play the single stroke roll as 16th notes? No, you don’t. So, for this exercise, Lionel decided to mess around with the note value.
There are two double drag taps in the following drum beat. The first one is played with the grace notes on the bow of the ride cymbal, the primary strokes on the hi-hat and the tap on the snare drum.
The second double drag tap has the drags split between the hi-hat and the ride cymbal, much like the first double drag tap. The biggest difference is the tap, which is played on the open hi-hat on the “and” of count 3. Don’t forget to close the hi-hat on count 4. Add the bass drum on counts 1 and 3, and on the “and” of count 4, to complete this pattern.
The next exercise has the double drag tap applied to a one bar 12/8 time signature drum fill. The drags are all performed on the snare drum, as do some of the taps. The taps on the “let” of counts 2 and 4 are played between the hi-tom and floor tom as unison strokes.
Just like we saw on exercise #2, the double drag taps in this next 12/8 time signature drum fill are offset by one 8th note triplet. The drags on counts 1 and 3 are performed on the hi-tom, while the drags on counts 2 and 4 are played on the snare. The tap strokes are once again played as unison strokes - between the snare and bass drum on counts 1 and 3, and between the hi-hat and snare drum on counts 2 and 4. Don’t forget to close the hi-hat on the “trip” of those same counts. The closing of the hi-hat must occur at the exact same time as you play the primary stroke of the drags on the “let” of counts 2 and 4.
Applying drum rudiments to the drum set is not the same as practicing them on a single surface. The mechanics needed to perform drum rudiments with great quality around the various surfaces of the drum set, go beyond those of the practice pad or the snare drum. Practicing the drum beats and drum fills provided on this website for all of the 40 drum rudiments will take your rudimental skills even further.
There are more drag based drum rudiments for you to learn. After you’re done with the double drag tap, be sure to check the free drum lessons on the lesson 25 and single dragadiddle drum rudiments.
Drag Based Rudiments |
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| Drag Ruff | Single Dragadiddle | Single Ratamacue |
| Single Drag Tap | Dragadiddle #1 | Double Ratamacue |
| Double Drag Tap | Dragadiddle #2 | Triple Ratamacue |
| Lesson 25 | ||