# Drummers: What Type of "Roll" Is This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702 "2017-04-04T00:50:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/1 "2017-04-04T00:50:49Z")
Listening to classic rock, this drumming technique does not seem to be used too often. But, I am curious to know if it has a name. You might say it sounds more like a very short “roll” or almost staccato-like “roll” reminiscent (to me) of a fife and drum corps. An example would be the drumming at the start of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. Is there a name for that drum beat? Here is a link to [the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABXtWqmArUU). ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/2 "2017-04-04T01:39:54Z")
I don’t know drums but I do know some Bill Gadd, one of the greatest drummers of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/3 "2017-04-04T02:02:45Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I don’t know drums but I do know some Bill Gadd, one of the greatest drummers of all time. Not Bill Gadd, his name is Steve Gadd and he is one of the greatest drummers of all time. The “50 Ways” beat begins with a five-stroke roll. Gadd, who once tap danced against Mousekateer Cubby O’Brien as a child on the Mickey Mouse Club was, in fact, a drummer in the US Army, which accounts for his military precision regarding his playing. He is a legend among drummers, having also played on “The Hustle,” Steely Dan’s “Aja,” Paul Simon’s Late in the Evening, and many, many others. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/4 "2017-04-04T02:14:11Z")
So cool. I’ve listened to that song a zillion times and have always wondered about the drumming. Let’s have some more drum discussion, please. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/5 "2017-04-04T02:35:37Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > So cool. I’ve listened to that song a zillion times and have always wondered about the drumming. > > Let’s have some more drum discussion, please. I wish I knew what to ask. I’ll have to keep an ear out! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/6 "2017-04-04T02:39:17Z")
Oh, I noticed in the video to “[Blue Sky Mine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofrqm6-LCqs)” (by Midnight Oil), the drummer only uses a snare and cymbal. Isn’t that highly unusual? What other songs use that “technique”? ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/7 "2017-04-04T13:22:32Z")
I don’t know why my auto complete changed Steve Gadd to Bill I am so embarrassed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/8 "2017-04-04T14:32:48Z")
> [@Club\_33](#): > > Not Bill Gadd, his name is Steve Gadd and he is one of the greatest drummers of all time. > > The “50 Ways” beat begins with a five-stroke roll. Gadd, who once tap danced against Mousekateer Cubby O’Brien as a child on the Mickey Mouse Club was, in fact, a drummer in the US Army, which accounts for his military precision regarding his playing. He is a legend among drummers, having also played on “The Hustle,” Steely Dan’s “Aja,” Paul Simon’s Late in the Evening, and many, many others. > > Hope that helps. After a career in the military, I can tell you it’s clearly a marching cadence. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/9 "2017-04-04T16:46:17Z")
Possibly known as a paradiddle or variation. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/10 "2017-04-04T16:53:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Possibly known as a paradiddle or variation. It’s basically a five-stroke roll, RRLL (with the “five” being played on the kick), as pointed out by **Club33**. You can watch Gadd perform and explain it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMpJRowfQ_8), and there’s a link to the drum notation for the part there, too. I suppose it _can_ be sticked as a paradiddle if you wanted to, but the five-stroke roll rudiment is sticked as two of one hand followed by two of the other (and then the final fifth note on the alternate hand.) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/11 "2017-04-04T17:04:15Z")
Thanks for the video link. Drumming is like magic to me. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drummers-what-type-of-roll-is-this/783702/12 "2017-04-04T18:09:26Z")
Speaking of Steve Gadd’s work in _Aja_, I remember reading years ago a Youtube commenter’s post where he said he’d grown up with drums in the house and that his father played constantly. Then _Aja_ came out. His father listened to it one day, put his drum kit up for sale the next day, and never touched a pair of drumsticks again.