Think Like A Drummer – The Half Drag Rudiment

Posted on by

One of the biggest things I noticed when I started this journey is that a lot of drum libraries include an articulation called a “half drag” or a “ruff”.  These would sound good at some tempos and at others not so good. Since I did not “Think Like a Drummer” at that point, I had no idea what a drag articulation was and avoided it altogether.  

When you first start to think like a drummer you will start to notice things that are happening within the drum pattern.  The pattern within the pattern so to speak. The hi-hats for instance not only have a rhythm that gets played, but also a pattern of velocity.   

I often get asked why we don’t include a drag articulation in our libraries. The answer to that is simple. Before I give the answer away, let's take a look at what a drag rudiment is.

A drag is two grace notes followed by a tap which is usually accented.  This means that a drag has a mathematical note value. A drag can be two 16th notes taps followed by an accented note, or two 32nd note taps followed by an accented note, etc.  

This is why we don’t include drags in our libraries.  If you start to think like a drummer, you will start to see your drum virtual instrument not as a plugin, but as your drummer.  

In this tutorial, you will learn how to program a 16th note drag, a 32nd note drag, and a drag that is across multiple kit pieces.

To watch this video, make sure you listen in a well-treated room or quality headphones as some things we discuss are subtle.

Posted in Drum Programming, Rudiments, Tutorial and tagged , , .