The 40 Drum Rudiments: The Complete List
Reference · The PAS 40 · Updated 2026-08-16
There are 40 drum rudiments in the official Percussive Arts Society list, split into four families: 15 roll, 4 diddle, 11 flam and 10 drag. This page prints all 40 in one table with the official number, the family, the sticking and the subdivision each is usually counted in.
Nothing is behind a filter. Below the list you get the family math, the 26 versus 40 history, how to read a sticking, and what each family trains. Where notation genuinely varies between traditions, this page describes the structure rather than pretending there is one settled answer.
All 40 drum rudiments in one table
No. is the official PAS number, which is how teachers and method books refer to each rudiment. Sticking uses R for a right-hand stroke and L for a left-hand stroke, with a slash separating the right-lead and left-lead forms. Counted in is the subdivision the rudiment is most commonly practiced against, not a rule. Several drag rudiments are notated differently by different traditions, so those rows describe the structure rather than committing to one bar of notation.
| No. | Rudiment | Family | Sticking | Counted in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Single Stroke Roll | Roll | R L R L R L R L | 16th notes (any even subdivision) |
| 2 | Single Stroke Four | Roll | R L R L, accent on the 4th | Sextuplet grouping |
| 3 | Single Stroke Seven | Roll | R L R L R L R, accent on the 7th | Sextuplets plus accent |
| 4 | Multiple Bounce Roll | Roll | R L R L with several bounces inside each stroke | Hand rate in 8ths or 16ths |
| 5 | Triple Stroke Roll | Roll | R R R L L L | Triplets or sextuplets |
| 6 | Double Stroke Open Roll | Roll | R R L L | 16th notes |
| 7 | Five Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R (2 doubles, accented single) | 16ths or sextuplets |
| 8 | Six Stroke Roll | Roll | R L L R R L, accents on the outer singles (orderings vary) | Sextuplets |
| 9 | Seven Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R R L (3 doubles, accented single) | 16ths or sextuplets |
| 10 | Nine Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R R L L R (4 doubles, accented single) | 16th notes |
| 11 | Ten Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R R L L R L (4 doubles, two singles) | 16th notes |
| 12 | Eleven Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R R L L R R L (5 doubles, accented single) | 16th notes |
| 13 | Thirteen Stroke Roll | Roll | R R L L R R L L R R L L R (6 doubles, accented single) | 16th notes |
| 14 | Fifteen Stroke Roll | Roll | 7 doubles then an accented single | 16th notes |
| 15 | Seventeen Stroke Roll | Roll | 8 doubles then an accented single | 16th notes |
| 16 | Single Paradiddle | Diddle | R L R R / L R L L | 16th notes |
| 17 | Double Paradiddle | Diddle | R L R L R R / L R L R L L | Triplets or sextuplets |
| 18 | Triple Paradiddle | Diddle | R L R L R L R R / L R L R L R L L | 16th notes |
| 19 | Single Paradiddle-Diddle | Diddle | R L R R L L / L R L L R R | Sextuplets |
| 20 | Flam | Flam | One grace note just before the primary stroke in the other hand | Free, any pulse |
| 21 | Flam Accent | Flam | Flam on the first note of a three-note group, leads alternate | Triplets |
| 22 | Flam Tap | Flam | Flam then a tap in the same hand, primaries R R L L | 8ths or 16ths |
| 23 | Flamacue | Flam | R L R L R with flams on the outer strokes, accent on note 2 | 16th notes |
| 24 | Flam Paradiddle | Flam | Paradiddle with a flam on note 1: R L R R / L R L L | 16th notes |
| 25 | Single Flammed Mill | Flam | Inverted paradiddle with a flam on note 1: R R L R / L L R L | 16th notes |
| 26 | Flam Paradiddle-Diddle | Flam | Paradiddle-diddle with a flam on note 1: R L R R L L / L R L L R R | Sextuplets |
| 27 | Pataflafla | Flam | R L R L with flams on the first and fourth strokes | 16th notes |
| 28 | Swiss Army Triplet | Flam | Flam then two strokes, primaries R R L / L L R | Triplets |
| 29 | Inverted Flam Tap | Flam | Flam Tap order reversed: tap first, flam second in each hand pair | 8ths or 16ths |
| 30 | Flam Drag | Flam | Three-note group: flam, drag-ornamented stroke, plain stroke | Triplets |
| 31 | Drag | Drag | Two grace notes just before the primary stroke | Free, any pulse |
| 32 | Single Drag Tap | Drag | Drag on note 1, tap on note 2, leads alternate | 8th notes |
| 33 | Double Drag Tap | Drag | Two drag-ornamented strokes then a tap | Triplets |
| 34 | Lesson 25 | Drag | Drag on note 1, then two alternating strokes, accent last | 16ths into a downbeat |
| 35 | Single Dragadiddle | Drag | Paradiddle-family figure with a drag on the second stroke | 16th notes |
| 36 | Drag Paradiddle #1 | Drag | Accented lead-in stroke, then a paradiddle with a drag on its first note | 16th notes |
| 37 | Drag Paradiddle #2 | Drag | As #1 but with two drag-ornamented lead-in strokes | 16th notes |
| 38 | Single Ratamacue | Drag | Drag on note 1, then alternating singles, accent on the last | Triplets |
| 39 | Double Ratamacue | Drag | One extra drag ahead of the Single Ratamacue figure | Triplets |
| 40 | Triple Ratamacue | Drag | Two extra drags ahead of the Single Ratamacue figure | Triplets |
The four families, by the numbers
The split is not even, which surprises people who assume 40 means ten of each. Rolls are the biggest family at 15 of the 40 because the numbered rolls count as separate rudiments even though they are one double-stroke idea at different lengths. Diddles are the smallest family at four. Flams and drags sit close together at eleven and ten, so ornamented figures make up more than half the chart.
| Family | Numbers | Count | Core skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll | 1 to 15 | 15 | Stroke consistency and rebound control over time |
| Diddle | 16 to 19 | 4 | Switching between singles and doubles without a seam |
| Flam | 20 to 30 | 11 | Two-hand vertical alignment and grace note height |
| Drag | 31 to 40 | 10 | Controlled double grace notes inside a pulse |
| Total | 1 to 40 | 40 | All four, in that rough order of dependency |
The numbering is an index, not a difficulty ranking: number 1, the single stroke roll, is the first thing a beginner plays, while number 4, the multiple bounce roll, takes years to make smooth. The family boundaries also leak on purpose. The flam paradiddle sits with the flams and the drag paradiddles with the drags, because the ornament decides the family, not the skeleton underneath.
How to read a sticking
R is a stroke played by the right hand, L is a stroke played by the left, and you read them left to right in time, one letter per note. Where both a right-lead and a left-lead form are standard, both are printed with a slash between them.
- R and L are hand assignments, not note values. The Counted in column tells you how fast the letters go by.
- Repeated letters are a diddle - two strokes in the same hand. In an open double stroke roll both are struck; in a closed roll the second is a controlled rebound.
- Grace notes are printed small and are not counted in the pulse. A flam has one, a drag has two.
- A slash separates the leads. Alternate them every repetition so neither hand keeps the easy job.
- Accents sit above the notation and matter more than beginners expect. The flamacue is defined by the accent on its second note, and every numbered roll by where its accented single lands.
Left-handed players do not need a special chart: read R as your lead hand and L as your other hand and every sticking works. What you should not do is play only one lead, because the point of the alternating forms is that both hands learn both jobs. To check whether yours have, compare right-hand doubles against left-hand doubles at the same tempo - the guide on double stroke evenness walks through how.
The numbered rolls follow one rule
Eight of the fifteen roll rudiments are the double stroke roll cut to a length. Every roll whose name is an odd number is a run of doubles followed by one accented single, and the name counts the total strokes including that accent. The ten stroke roll is the exception in the table below, ending with two singles, and the six stroke roll sits outside the pattern entirely, with an accented single at each end.
| Roll | Doubles | Accented singles | Total strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Stroke Roll | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Seven Stroke Roll | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Nine Stroke Roll | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Ten Stroke Roll | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Eleven Stroke Roll | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| Thirteen Stroke Roll | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| Fifteen Stroke Roll | 7 | 1 | 15 |
| Seventeen Stroke Roll | 8 | 1 | 17 |
So you get a formula instead of eight things to memorize: the number of doubles is the roll number minus one, divided by two. A seventeen stroke roll is 8 doubles plus 1 accent, and 8 times 2 plus 1 is 17. It also explains why longer rolls are not harder in kind, only in duration - a fifteen stroke roll is a five stroke roll's motion held three times as long. The rudiment tempo chart covers how tempo targets scale and where drummers disagree.
26 or 40? The NARD list and the PAS list
If you have an older chart, you may know 26 rudiments rather than 40. Both are real. The National Association of Rudimental Drummers published the 26 Standard American Drum Rudiments in 1933. The Percussive Arts Society published the 40 in 1984, and the 40 build on the 26 rather than replacing them - the older list is a subset, so nothing was dropped.
The difference matters less than it sounds. If you can play the 26 you already have most of the 40. What the PAS list added was breadth, largely patterns that were already in circulation among rudimental players but had never reached the older standard sheet. The bigger change was structural: the 40 arrived sorted into the four families used here. Some method books still number by the 1933 order, so if someone says "number seven", check which list they mean.
What each family actually teaches
Grouping by family beats grouping by number, because each family trains a different physical skill and they do not substitute for one another. You can have a superb double stroke roll and still play a lumpy flam.
- Roll rudiments (1 to 15): These train stroke consistency over time. A roll asks whether stroke twelve sounds like stroke two, at the same volume and spacing. Rolls are also where rebound becomes a technique rather than an accident: the double stroke, triple stroke and multiple bounce rolls are three answers to how much of the next stroke the stick should do for you.
- Diddle rudiments (16 to 19): Four rudiments, one idea: alternating singles interrupted by a double. The exercise is the seam. Play R L R R and listen to the join between the second R and the third stroke - if the diddle is quieter or late, you have found what the rudiment exists to fix.
- Flam rudiments (20 to 30): Eleven rudiments built on one grace note landing just ahead of the primary stroke in the other hand. The variable is grace note height: too high and the flam splits into two notes, too low and it vanishes. This is the first family where stick heights, not just timing, decide correctness.
- Drag rudiments (31 to 40): Ten rudiments built on two grace notes before the primary stroke. A drag is not a fast flam, it is a controlled double, which is why these expose a weak double stroke roll immediately. The ratamacues stack drags onto triplet figures and the drag paradiddles bolt them onto paradiddle skeletons.
What the subdivision costs you in milliseconds
The Counted in column is not decoration. It decides how much time you have between strokes. The arithmetic is one line: milliseconds between consecutive strokes equals 60,000 divided by (BPM times notes per beat). Eighths are 2 per beat, triplets 3, sixteenths 4, sextuplets 6. A paradiddle in sixteenths at 120 BPM gives you 125 ms per stroke, which is 8 strokes per second and 480 per minute. The same paradiddle in sextuplets at 120 BPM gives 83.3 ms, a different exercise wearing the same tempo marking.
| BPM | 8th notes | Triplets | 16th notes | Sextuplets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 500 ms | 333.3 ms | 250 ms | 166.7 ms |
| 80 | 375 ms | 250 ms | 187.5 ms | 125 ms |
| 100 | 300 ms | 200 ms | 150 ms | 100 ms |
| 120 | 250 ms | 166.7 ms | 125 ms | 83.3 ms |
| 140 | 214.3 ms | 142.9 ms | 107.1 ms | 71.4 ms |
| 160 | 187.5 ms | 125 ms | 93.75 ms | 62.5 ms |
| 180 | 166.7 ms | 111.1 ms | 83.3 ms | 55.6 ms |
| 200 | 150 ms | 100 ms | 75 ms | 50 ms |
Read that before you argue about tempo goals. A player who says they play doubles at 160 has told you nothing until you know whether they mean sixteenths at 93.75 ms per stroke or eighths at 187.5 ms. It also reframes accuracy claims: a percentage means nothing without the window it was measured against. Ninety percent on-time inside a 50 ms window is far weaker than 90 percent inside 25 ms, and neither compares across tools. See the rudiment tempo chart.
Using this list as a practice menu
A complete list is useful the way a menu is useful: you do not order everything. The common failure with a 40-rudiment chart is playing each one twice, which produces forty rudiments you can approximate and none you can play.
- One per family per week. A single stroke roll, a single paradiddle, a flam tap and a single drag tap cover all four skills in about ten minutes.
- Set the subdivision before the tempo. Decide whether today's paradiddles are sixteenths or sextuplets, then pick a tempo that keeps them clean.
- Move up on accuracy, not on a timer. Two clean repetitions at one tempo before you raise it beats bumping the metronome every two minutes.
- Alternate leads every repetition, or your right-lead flam accent gets good and the left-lead one never does.
- Keep the session structured. The beginner order guide fits all four families in without a marathon.
Practice all 40 with something that hears you. Drum Coach₊ by Panda Taps ships all 40 PAS rudiments with notation, sticking, accents and audio demos at slow, medium and fast. Its sample-accurate metronome runs 30 to 300 BPM with subdivisions and accent patterns, and it listens through the microphone to score every individual stroke against the grid as on-time, rushed, dragged, missed or extra, with a default on-time window of 25 ms. Audio is analyzed on device and never recorded or uploaded, with no account, no ads and no analytics. Coming soon for iPhone. Learn more about Drum Coach₊.
Frequently asked questions
How many drum rudiments are there?
There are 40 in the official Percussive Arts Society list, published in 1984: 15 roll rudiments, 4 diddle rudiments, 11 flam rudiments and 10 drag rudiments. An older list of 26 Standard American Drum Rudiments, published by NARD in 1933, is a subset of the 40.
What are the four rudiment families?
Roll rudiments are numbers 1 to 15, diddle rudiments 16 to 19, flam rudiments 20 to 30 and drag rudiments 31 to 40. The convention is that the ornament decides the family, which is why the flam paradiddle is filed under flams and the drag paradiddles under drags even though both are paradiddles underneath.
Which rudiment should I learn first?
Not number 1 through number 40 in order. Most teachers start with the single stroke roll, the double stroke roll and the single paradiddle, then add the flam and the five stroke roll. The PAS numbering is an index, not a difficulty ranking.
What does R L R R mean?
It is the sticking for a single paradiddle: right, left, right, right. Each letter is one stroke, and the repeated R is a diddle played by the same hand. The left-lead version is L R L L, and most players alternate the two so both hands learn both jobs.