I know there are a million different snare drum rudiments out there, with 40 fundamental ones and who knows how many hybrids. But this is a fun and creative rudiment that hides grace notes within an open roll in a clever way. Most hybrid rudiments are a combination of several basic rudiments, but Waldos are a combination of only a few – which makes it easier to learn, though definitely hard to master.
The last diddle of the left hand in the measure is actually a triple stroke, in the same vein as an egg-beater. This take a lot of control with the left hand to play clean. Once you have this down it is fairly easy to perform as a ‘Long Roll‘ style rudiment by starting very slowly and gradually getting faster. See how fast you can play this while maintaining a clear grace note before every accented diddle. If you’re really looking for a challenge use a triplet as the skeleton instead of duple-based eighth-notes (and then try as a ‘Long Roll‘ style rudiment.
If you had fun with this rudiment and you’d like to explore an even bigger world of hybrid drum rudiments then you’ll really like this site:
Ninja Drummist – 507 Hybrid Rudiments
They host at least 507 snare drum rudiments that are continuously being updated and enlarged. Each rudiment is given a scale based on difficulty and most have descriptions of how to be played and interpreted. Best of all they have some funny and clever names, so you can impress your drummer friends by asking them if they can play “Cheese Quickity Klotz (kicked up a notch)“, “Grilled Cheese“, or “Threesomes“; and then show them off yourself!
Have fun with these great rudiments, keep practicing, and maybe even create your own (and send it in) if your creative juices are flowing – and hopefully it doesn’t already exist somewhere! Enjoy!
