Full Down Tap Up

Here is a copy of the UMass Drumline’s Full-Down-Tap-Up exercise (pdf). It’s used to build a uniform technique by identifying & combining the 4 stroke-types: Full, Down, Tap, and Up-stroke.

Audio Recording of FDTU

Full Stroke

A full stroke starts in the “up position,” with the bead of your stick or mallet 15 inches above the surface of the drum or keyboard. The stroke is initiated downward (do not “prep” by lifting the stick up higher). The stroke starts at 15 inches, moves downward, strikes the drum head or keyboard bar, and rebounds back to 15 inches.

Down Stroke

A down stroke also starts in the “up position,” with the bead of your stick or mallet 15 inches above the playing surface. Like the full stroke, the down stroke is initiated downward (without a “prep”). The down stroke starts at 15 inches, moves downward, strikes the playing surface, and rebounds to 3 inches above the playing surface. This requires you to “catch the rebound” after striking the surface and forcing the stick or mallet to stop at 3 inches.

Tap Stroke

A tap stroke starts in the “down position,” with the bead of your stick or mallet 3 inches above the playing surface. Like the full stroke, the down stroke is initiated downward (without a “prep”). The down stroke starts at 3 inches, moves downward, strikes the playing surface, and rebounds back to 3 inches. A tap stroke can be considered a full stroke played at 3 inches.

Up Stroke

An up stroke starts in the “down position” as well, with the bead of your stick or mallet 3 inches above the playing surface. Like the other strokes, the down stroke is initiated downward (without a “prep”). The down stroke starts at 3 inches, moves downward, strikes the playing surface, and rebounds all the way up to 15 inches. The challenge with an up stroke is to use the energy of a 3-inch attack to rebound to 15 inches. The rebound of an up stroke may require a bit of lift to help the stick rebound to the up position.

Put Them Together

The Full Down Tap Up exercise combines these 4 stroke types into an exercise. Practice it VERY SLOWLY (72-88 beats per minute) identifying each note’s stroke type.