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Varying Four-Stroke Ruffs by Omar Carmenates

It is no secret amongst us percussionists that performing in a conducted ensemble (symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, etc.) is a balancing act
between the artistic intentions of the musician, the conductor, and the composer. As the primary “sound-maker” in this trio of artists, the musician
must be able to play a passage of music any number of different ways, often on demand, in order to reconcile these three artistic opinions.

Along these lines, I often tell my students to be able to manipulate any aspect of their playing instantaneously. This can include playing slower, faster,
softer, louder, with different sticks, or even on a different instrument. This is all in preparation for the inevitable request from a conductor that can go
something like, ”Can you play that four-stroke ruff…fluffier?”

All attempts at humor aside, this question was actually asked of me once as a student, and it left a lasting impression on me. I knew, from that point
forward, that I had to be able to reliably and consistently control my four-stroke ruffs—and every others aspect of my playing—to meet the demands
of everyone involved in the artistic process and not just play “my way.” This article will demonstrate a way to address this very issue and apply it to
any musical situation.

DISCLAIMER: Far from being an original idea, the exercise below was shown to me in various forms by many great teachers, and I continue to adapt
and expand the concept to fit my own, my students’, and even a few conductors’ needs.

Omar Carmenates is director of percussion studies at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from Florida State
University, a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from
the University of Central Florida. His debut solo CD, The Gaia Theory, is released through Rattle Records and features premiere recordings of works
by Scott Lindroth, John Psathas, Christopher Adler, David Skidmore, Christopher Deane, and Brian Nozny. Omar can also be heard on the
Cantaloupe Records release of John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit for 9–99 percussionists, a work that he both co-commissioned and directed in its United
States premiere.

Varying Four-Stroke Ruffs by Omar Carmenates

First, let us operate under the premise that a four-stoke ruff will be played as follows:

This sticking, which is commonly used, gives you the ability to closely control the width of the grace notes by changing the placement of the first grace
note closer to, or farther from, the release note. Below is a simple exercise that focuses on this skill. Both right-handed and left-handed stickings are
included.

Note: All small noteheads and lowercase stickings denote grace notes and are to be played as softly as possible. The primary, or release, note can be played
at any dynamic.

Next, fill in the remainder of the four-stroke ruff as follows while focusing on keeping the first grace note in its proper rhythmic location (for help, see the
corresponding variation number in the previous example):

As simple as it is, this exercise is crucial in that it gives you four different ways to vary a four-stroke ruff depending on the situation. Beyond these four
variations, you can simply keep moving the first grace note to different rhythmic locations to create even more subtle varieties. These are the four that I find
the easiest and most reliable.

With these concepts in place, let’s explore how to utilize this system in a musical situation.

The “Kijé” Turnaround

The snare drum/piccolo duet in the first movement of Prokofiev’s “Lieutenant Kijé Suite” is arguably one of the most famous passages in the snare drum
repertoire. It contains some delicate technical passages, particularly the single beat of music below which I affectionately call “The Kijé Turnaround”:

The goal of this passage is to play the four-stroke ruff cleanly without stepping on the toes of the eighth notes on either side. As before, let’s take a look at
some options of how we can isolate the starting point of the ruff. (Note: The variation numbers are listed to correspond to the variations from the previous
exercises.)

From here, fill in the rest of the four-stroke ruff as below while, once again, focusing on consistently placing the first grace note in its proper rhythmic
location.

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