Help with Buzz Rolls

[drum4fun]

I am revisiting buzz rolls with my music teacher since my buzz rolls are not as even and smooth as they should be. Do you have any recommendations and suggestions for playing buzz rolls? I thought it would be good to ask for suggestions here since I have gotten many helpful insights in the past from HODers. Thank you.

[Dazzler]

Hey Drum4Fun, here is the way I teach my students to do a buzz roll:

Firstly, this requires a lightness of touch and sensitivity in the fingers/fulcrum as we aim to get each hand even.

Start with buzzing the stick in your RH and try to make it buzz for as long as possible on it's own. If you press into the drum to hard, you will get a short, harsh buzz. Too soft and the stick won't buzz, it will just bounce. Once you're happy with the (long) length of your buzz, do the same with your LH and aim to get a nice, long, smooth buzz.

We then have to get that hands working together, so SLOWLY, go from hand to hand, aiming to get each hand to buzz for as long as they can. USE YOUR EARS and match the sound and length of each roll. You don't necessarily have to go very fast with each hand as you'll find that you are able to get a long, even buzz roll by listening to each hand so they are even.

Once you are happy that each hand is working well and that you have blended your long buzzes so that it is producing a long, even, smooth roll, you should be aware that we always roll IN TIME. Try experimenting with 16s if you want to roll faster or triplets for example. Stick a metronome on and go from 16s to triplets, always ensuring that each hand is buzzing the sticks nicely and you are achieving length.

Please note that you are ALWAYS making adjustments when doing a buzz roll as we use our ears to ensure that it is a long, EVEN, smooth roll. If one hand is 'digging in' to the drum and is louder than the other, then loosen the fulcrum and make adjustments, so you are matching the sound and length of the buzz to the other hand.

Hope this all makes sense and have fun. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Henry II]

Originally posted by drum4fun:
I am revisiting buzz rolls with my music teacher since my buzz rolls are not as even and smooth as they should be. Do you have any recommendations and suggestions for playing buzz rolls? I thought it would be good to ask for suggestions here since I have gotten many helpful insights in the past from HODers. Thank you.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">A buzz roll should be executed with the same technique as an open (double stroke) roll except you are slightly squeezing the sticks and pressing them into the drumhead slightly.

You should practice all of your rudiments using the open-closed-open method. Start out VERY slowly, gradually increase speed. You should (eventually) be able to proceed seemlessly from a double stroke to a buzz roll (hold it for about a minute) and back to a double stroke roll. Then slow it down gradually to the starting tempo.

[img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[XNavyDrummer]

Hi drum4fun,

Similar to Daz, I have my students practice one hand at a time. The goal is to have a big full sounding buzz in each hand. The grip changes from a very hard press into the head at the beginning of the buzz (the middle finger really slams it into the head) and ends up with the stick almost falling out of the hand at the end of the buzz (moving towards the Weckl triangle grip).

This can give you 6 to 7 "strokes" per hand.

Good luck,

Andy

[DPFRD]

I was taught the one hand buzz as long as possible method of buzz's first, but just this year, in school, I got with another proffessor who has a completely different take on it.

At first he won't let you refer to them as buzz rolls. It has to be multiple bounce. His method is like a triple stroke, but dropped. He says it makes the sound of the drum come, because trying to get to many bounces (buzzes) you end up deading some of the tone in the head.

I didn't like the method at first, but after I got it down, I really made a difference in my orchesteral rolling. This is especially good for loud dynamics.

[drum4fun]

Thank you Dazzler, Henry II, Andy, and DeeP_FRieD for your helpful suggestions. I really appreciate them. HOD is awesome!