Eleven Stroke Roll

Grip & Sticking

Also called eleven strokes.

Five sets of double strokes closed by a single accented stroke: R R L L R R L L R R L, mirrored with the left hand leading. Played as fast doubles it sounds like a wave of notes that breaks on the final single. Repeat it and the pattern switches its lead hand all by itself.

The sweet-spot fill: longer than a five stroke roll, short enough to fit inside one beat or one pass around the toms. Drummers use it as a one-beat crescendo into a crash, or break it between hi-hat and snare as a groove ornament. Because it ends on the opposite hand from where it started, your next phrase can go anywhere.

Metronome at 60 bpm, one roll per click, growing from soft to loud so the final stroke lands exactly on the click. As tempo climbs, the doubles want to outrun the click — keep them under control before you add the crescendo back in. Practise the left-hand lead until it is interchangeable with the right; if the last single is late, your final diddle ate the gap.