pressed roll

[brandrum]

what exactly is a pressed roll? and steve are you sending me a video for christmas [img]wink.gif[/img]

[Nikk]

The term "pressed roll" could be misleading. It actually should be dubbed "multiple-bounce concert roll." The word "press" connotates thoughts of tension and such. In fact, successful concert roll execution will only occur when the player frees himself of all tension (in forearms, wrists, and fingers.) The actual act involves three strokes per hand (for the most part,) in an alternating fashion. The initial stroke in each group of three is executed by the drummer, while the remaining two are the products of rebound. The eventual sonic success of the concert roll will depend heavily on the player's ability to really zero in on the aural qualities of each hand's bounces. Practice each hand separately. Try to be sure that the rebounding strokes of each hand match the dynamic of the initial stroke. This may be done via upstrokes (lifting the back of the stick as the rebounding stroke occurs.) Don't lock the wrists!! Think waves. Practice this on a drum as opposed to a practice pad. Doing so will give you a sense of how to pulse your rolls in order to make them sound nice, (ie- at what speed of roll does the drum "sing?") The roll should sound like a piece of silk being torn slowly, so says George Lawrence Stone. I probably answered this question with a million things you didn't even ask, but oh well...my heart is in the right place.

[XNavyDrummer]

Years ago when teaching at the Armed Forces School of Music, I compared notes on the "press" or "buzz" roll with another teacher there. He also taught a version of the roll with about three hits for each hand. I taught it as more of a "press and release" technique where the goal is to get the longest and "fattest" buzz in each hand while "pulsing" the roll very slowly. We did a little experiment where we recorded each other's press roll on a muted snare drum with the snares off. Then we slowed the recording way down and counted the actual number of strokes for each hand. His total was 3 to 4 strikes per hand, while during my roll there were 6 to 7 strikes per hand. The more strikes per hand, I think, results in a smoother roll with less work.

[chris perra]

hi brandrum,
a pressed roll is acheived by playing singles with your wrists, and changing the grip and movement of your wrists and hands to create a press or buzz stroke. for me, what i was taught, was, if you bounce 3 times per hand that would be an orchesteral roll.

if you bounce as many times smoothly as you can with each hand that would be a pressed roll or buzz roll.

squeezing with your pointer finger and thumb will choke off the bounce, locking your wrist a bit and pushing down on the drum so the stick does multiple bounces sort of like a rattle will give you a buzz roll.

keep in mind, the timing and stick height of the wrist movements will determine if it sounds even. the other thing is you wrists have to be going at a fast pace to achieve a good roll.

if you go too slow it gets choppy and you can hear the induviduall strokes. you will probably get different answers as far as the names of things. but most drummers will consider a roll that is all filled in and smooth as a press roll.

one of my old teachers could do a buzz using 3, 4,5,6,7,8 strokes exactly with each hand while buzzing. i personally think he was insane and had too much time on his hands.

i only learned 2,3, and a buzz. but if you are a serious classical, orchesteral player different grades of buzzes are really usefull to create different shades and nuances. good luck

chris perra

[Nikk]

"locking your wrist a bit and pushing down on the drum so the stick does multiple bounces sort of like a rattle will give you a buzz roll."

No, this will actually give you a feeble sounding, sixth-grade attempt at a concert roll. Do not lock the wrists. Don't think of digging the sticks into the head. Instead, think of applying more pressure with the fingers.

[chris perra]

it's a combination of squeezing your fingers to apply pressure with your fingers and a bit of locked pressure with your wrists, if your wrists are snapping up like normal hits you don't get a press roll. varying the pressure with the fingers and wrists will give you different degrees of buzzing.

chris perra