Want to learn a flashy lick with splits and stick flips? You came to the right place! The 2018 Blue Devils Quad Feature is a super fun lick that is also very learnable. Be sure to first check out the BD360 video on this lick’s backstory. It’s based off of an Indian Konnakol rhythm, so you get bonus acculturation points for learning this one too. Let’s take a look!
While the transcription by Allan Edward on LotHype.com is accurate, it is extremely difficult to read. Luckily, you can rewrite any piece of music in 4/4, and also change the note connectors to make the rhythms much easier to read.
That’s exactly what I did! You can get my “easy to learn version” below.
Pro Tip:
There are a lot of visuals and stick flips in this piece of music. Don’t worry about those in the beginning. As with all tenor music, start on one drum, then move it around. When you get the notes in your hands, then add in all the flashy stuff.
Floaty Flams, Skanks and Splits
The first two measures are nice and easy with slow flams down the drums. We float our hands in between each note to add some visual appeal.
Next is a paradiddlediddle from Drum 1 up to the shots, and then some skanks on Drum 4.
Next is the split part. For now, we are going to play all of the notes, but feel free to grab a buddy and check out when to exit and enter on Page 2 of the music. (Patten starts with Count 4 above)
We have a paradiddle paradiddle paradiddlediddle pattern that repeats three times. The voicing stays exactly the same except for the first Right paradiddle. It has an attack on Drum 1 instead of Drum 3. All of the inner beats are on the Low Shot drum, and we move the accents to Drum 3, 4, and 1. We finish Measure 8 with quarter notes on the Shots.
Measure 9 has us play one more paradiddle paradiddle, and then we change it up with some Right hand notes going from Drum 1 to the High Shot, with a flam on the downbeat of Count 4.
Next, float your Right Hand over to Drum 2, down to 4, then again from Drum 1 to the High Shot.
Start Juggling
In Measure 11, we switch over to our Left with a crossed flam on Drum 2 down to 4, and then play some up beats on the + of Count 3 and 4.
The + of Count 4 is our first stick flip. If you haven’t gone through my STICK FLIP lesson, be sure to check it out! We have a half side flip with our Right Hand. To look extra sharp, try to catch the stick at the exact moment you hit Drum 2 with your Left!
Measure 12 starts on the + of Count 1 with two Right Flams then a Left. Grace notes stay on the Low Shot. (I really like the motion of the flams.) We finish with another half side flip with our Right Hand on the + of Count 4. This time with the Left hitting Drum 1.
Now Flip the Left and Toss
Measures 13 and 14 have some 16th notes on the High Shot, and then we start the Left Hand half side flip section. Unless you’re left handed, these can be a little trickier, so definitely practice them until they are nice and smooth.
Luckily, we get plenty of time to focus on our Left Hand while our Right plays three 8th notes down Drums 1, 2, and 4.
We repeat the motion in Measure 15 with another Left flip.
Measure 16 changes it up a little with a Right Hand Pancake spin and then an “Angled Backflip” with our Right Hand. As I mentioned before, get the rhythm and the voicing in your hands before adding in the visuals.
When you get this closer to the show tempo of 200bpm, you’ll have to flip quickly in order to catch the stick in time for the Right cross on Drum 4. Focus on your fulcrum to get a nice, fast spin.
We catch the angled flip and that leads us to the Right cross down on Drum 4 on Count 2 of Measure 17. We finish with a quick five-stroke roll on the Low Shot in Count 3 and release on the High Shot. My tendency was to crush the drags, especially if I didn’t catch the flip well. Listen to make sure those drags are open.
Sweep it Up
The next three measures have a repeating pattern with some outward sweeps between Drums 1 and 2. When you get comfortable with the timing, float both hands during the rests to give some nice visual appeal. As always, approach the sweeps with a downward motion to avoid those rims.
And Burn Some Rolls
We then have some deceivingly fast rolls on the Low Shot. (Well, not so surprising at 200bpm!) These release with the Left Hand on an “a” or “e”, so resist the urge to add a Right release. Also, listen to make sure they don’t turn into buzz rolls. Just like the sweep pattern, this repeats three times but starts on different counts in the measure.
Finish up with some 16ths and quarter-note accents and you are done!
As always, break down and isolate anything that gives you trouble. Don’t rush to add all that flash until you can play everything perfectly in time.
Good luck and have fun!
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