What’s Are Drags?

Rudiments are an important part of a drummer’s skill set. By studying rudiments we learn how to fine tune our technique right down to our fingertips. This has a huge impact on your drumming skills overall, so it’s something we should practice regularly. Sometimes the most difficult thing about rudiments isn’t learning to play them on a practice pad, but learning how to apply it to your drumming in musical ways. The Drag is an interesting rudiment that is widely used in music. You can add it to a groove or a fill to give it some added character. Make sure you’ve learned about Buzz Strokes before you tackle this lesson. You will need that technique in order to play the Drag.

Today we’ll be learning the this rudiment in a simple way. I’ll start off by breaking down the technique so that you know how to play it correctly. After we’ve practiced it a little together, I’ll show you a couple of interesting exercises to get you thinking about how you can add the drag into your grooves and fills. This will give you the ability to add a little character to otherwise simple rhythms.

Download the PDF: The Drag Rudiment

Download the PDF and practice all of the exercises to get the most out of this staple rudiment. Master every exercise to build a vocabulary of fills using the Drag.

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  Drag Rudiment

• This is how a drag is notated. 2 grace notes tied to a normal note head. In the play-alongs we will be taking turns.

  

• Drags can be added to a groove to give it more character. In this example the drag is added to the Bass Drum on beat 3. Since the right hand is playing the cymbals, these will always be played as right-handed drags.

  

• PDF Fill #1: Notice that the drag is added to beat 3. Since it falls on the beat, it should be played as a right handed drag.

  

• When a drag is added to a note off the beat, as in this example (3"and"), it should always be played as a left handed drag.