Ryan Alexander Bloom has a great post on his website detailing the emergence of what eventually became the Percussive Arts Society’s 4o International Rudiments. I encourage you to visit his site for more details on the history of our rudiments as well as many other posts on our rudimental history.

Below is a very brief summary of the rudimental timeline with links to the source materials available on this site.

1779, “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States” by Frederick William Baron von Steuben:

• Flam
• 10 Stroke Roll

1797, “Benjamin Clark’s Drum Book” (manuscript) by Benjamin Clark and “Isaac Day’s Drum Book” (manuscript) by Isaac Day:

• Single Stroke 4
• Double Stroke/Open Roll
• 5 Stroke Roll
• 7 Stroke Roll
• 9 Stroke Roll
• Single Paradiddle
• Flam Paradiddle
• Drag
• Single Drag Tap
• Double Drag Tap

1804, “Drummers Book of Music” author is unconfirmed but believed to be Levi Lovering:

• 11 Stroke Roll
• Flam Tap

1810, “Instructor in Martial Music” by David Hazeltine:

• 15 Stroke Roll
• Flam Accent
• Lesson 25

1812, “A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating” by Charles Ashworth:

• Double Paradiddle
• Flam Paradiddle-diddle
• Inverted Flam Tap
• Single Ratamacue
• Double Ratamacue

1817, “The Drummer’s Instructor, or Martial Musician” by J. L. Rumrille and H. Holton:

• 6 Stroke Roll

1818, “Massachusetts Collection of Martial Musick” by Alvan Robinson:

• Pataflafla

1862, “The Drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide” by George Bruce and Dan Emmett and “Col. H.C. Hart’s New and Improved Instructor for the Drum” by Col. H.C. Hart:

• Single Stroke Roll (first time being named)
• Single Stroke 7
• 13 Stroke Roll
• Flamacue
• Drag Paradiddle #1
• Triple Ratamacue

1869, “Strube’s Drum and Fife Instructor” by Gardiner A. Strube:

• Drag Paradiddle #2

1925, Sanford Moeller:

• Swiss Army Triplet

1931, “Military Drum Beats” by George Lawrence Stone and “Rubank Elementary Method” by Paul Yoder:

• 17 Stroke Roll

1937, “Art of Drumming” by J. Burns Moore:

• Triple Paradiddle

1959, “Sam Ulano’s Practical Study Charts for Drummers 3”:

• Triple Stroke Roll

1967, “Rudimental Jazz” by Joe Morello:

• Single Paradiddle-diddle

1969, paper written by T. M. Lommell:

• Multiple Bounce Roll

1972, “Diddly Diddles” article in Percussive Notes by Thomas P. Brown:

• Single Dragadiddle
• Single Flammed Mill

1974, article in Percussive Notes by Dan Spalding:

• Flam Drag