The flam accent was one of the 13 patterns chosen to take part in the first collection of essential drum rudiments. In 1936 it was included in the 26 American Drum Rudiments and in 1984 in the 40 International Drum Rudiments. Due to its relevance in the world of rudimental drumming and applicability around the drum set, Jared Falk created this free drum lesson to show you exactly how to use the flam accent creatively within drum fills.
Before tackling this free drum lesson we encourage you to watch this one. In it, Lionel Duperron breaks the flam accent down for you and teaches how to apply it to drum beats and drum fills. The patterns you’ll find within are actually easier to play than the ones from this free drum lesson. Therefore, going through that lesson first will actually help you nail the drum fills from this one way faster.
Like most drum rudiments out there, the flam accent is an underrated pattern. The general feel is that most drum rudiments are useless and not at all applicable to the drum set. Like most things in life, drum rudiments are what you make of them. A great example of the flam accent’s applicability is the drum fill Travis Barker starts with a right-hand flam accent between the snare drum and the rack tom in the second verse of Flo Rida’s “Low” remix.
Hopefully, this free drum lesson will open your eyes to what can actually be accomplished with pretty much any of the 40 drum rudiments if you just use your imagination. If you’d like more ideas on how to take any drum rudiment from a pad and apply it creatively around the drum set, check the free drum lessons from the drum rudiment section on DrumLessons.com and “Expressing Yourself On The Drums.”