Life’s Ruff, so Lift: How to Play Snare Drum Ruffs
- Nathan Coles
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
When we first learn rudiments and ornaments, we often treat them as technical hurdles to clear rather than musical colors to paint. For student percussionists, the ruff can be particularly frustrating, often resulting in "crushed" sounds, accidental buzzes, or uneven rhythms. However, by shifting your focus from "striking" the drum to "lifting" off of it, you can transform these technical obstacles into fluid, expressive musical statements.
Table of Contents
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Meet Your Instructor
Dr. Andrea Venet is a percussion artist, educator, and composer specializing in contemporary and classical genres. She is Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of North Florida where she directs the UNF percussion ensemble, teaches applied lessons, pedagogy, methods and percussion literature. As an international soloist, chamber musician, and clinician, she maintains an active performance schedule with appointments in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Trinidad. As a soloist, select recent appearances include the WASBE & Àgora Actual Festivals (Spain), Steve Weiss Mallet Festival (Barnes Foundation, PA), PASIC, the Celebrate Marimba Festival, and with the PMR Brass Band (SK, Canada). In addition, she has been a featured performer with Valerie Naranjo, Ivan Trevino, Lawson Ensemble, Project Trio, Eastman Percussion Ensemble, and Grammy-winner TOOL. Her duo, Escape Ten, remains active as performing artists nationally and internationally, in addition to regularly commissioning new works. Alongside signature mallets through Malletech, they have their own publication series of works written for the duo (including pieces by Venet) through KPP. A passionate educator, Andrea’s research involves pedagogy, classical improvisation and historically informed Baroque performance practice techniques for Bach on marimba. Andrea’s compositions and arrangements can be found self-published via her website, through Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP), and Tapspace, in addition to articles published with Percussive Notes and Rhythm!Scene Journals. Andrea is an artist for Malletech, Black Swamp Percussion, Remo, and DREAM Cymbals. She currently serves as the Percussive Arts Society Florida Chapter President and on the Board of Directors for The Green Vibes Project.
Defining the Three and Four Stroke Ruff
Before we dive into the "how" of the lift, we must establish exactly what we are playing. In its most basic form, a three-stroke ruff consists of two grace notes preceding a main note. Technically, this is achieved by playing a diddle (double stroke) followed by a single stroke.
The four-stroke ruff is essentially the same concept, but we "sneak" in one extra note before the diddle, resulting in four total strokes. Whether you are playing a three or four-stroke version, the goal is clarity and a specific rhythmic character that supports the primary note.
The Philosophy of the Lift
Andrea's overarching approach to these ornaments is summarized in a simple phrase: Life’s ruff, so lift. But what does "lifting" actually mean in a performance context?
It means being more thoughtful about the follow-through and the motion of coming off the drum head at the completion of a stroke. On the snare drum, we must always respect the natural motion of rebound. What goes down must come up. When we focus on the "up" motion as much as the "down" motion, we gain significantly more control over everything that happens in between. By lifting, you are not just hitting the drum; you are allowing the stick to breathe.
Balancing snare drum ruffs for Musical Clarity
One of the most common mistakes students make is playing grace notes too low or too subservient to the main note. While ornaments are secondary by nature, they should still live in the same "dynamic ballpark" as the principal note.
Think about the difference between a flam and a ruff. With a flam, we typically keep that grace note very low. With snare drum ruffs, if the grace notes are closer in dynamic to the main note, it becomes easier to achieve a natural rebound. This balance provides several benefits:
Better Clarity: The notes don’t get "lost" in the head.
Articulate Control: It is easier to add accents later because you have a consistent baseline.
Reduced Accents: If you play your grace notes too low and "pressed," the main note can sound unintentionally accented. Lifting helps keep the entire ornament level and smooth.
Future Planning and Hand Readiness
In advanced repertoire like Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé, the challenge isn't just the ruff itself—it is what comes immediately after. If you are playing very close to the drum at a soft dynamic, it is easy to get "bogged down," as if there is peanut butter on the drum head.
When you lift off the drum after a ruff, you are prepping your hand for the next rhythm. In Kijé, the left hand often plays a ruff and must immediately be ready to play a 16th-note rhythm alongside the right hand. If you drop the ruff and stay down, your hand won't be in position, causing the subsequent rhythm to sound "wonky" or angular. Lifting ensures your hands are always in a position of success for the next phrase.
Check out our full lesson on Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé for more detail on how to perform this famous excerpt.
Combatting Tension and Accidental Buzzes
Tension is the enemy of a good snare drum sound, especially at soft dynamics. When we try to "micromanage" a soft ruff, we tend to squeeze the stick. This inhibits flexibility in the fingers and wrists.
When you lose flexibility, you lose the ability to control the rebound, which often results in accidental buzzes. A buzz stroke is simply a stroke where we have applied too much pressure. By thinking about the lift, you allow the fingers to "reset" and recalibrate the weight of the stick. This lighter touch gives you the control needed to ensure the stick bounces exactly twice for a three-stroke ruff, rather than falling into an unintentional press roll.
Student Action Plan
To begin implementing the "lift" into your daily practice, follow these steps:
Dynamic Ballpark Practice: Play a series of ruffs at mezzo-forte. Focus on making the grace notes nearly as high as the main note. Notice how much easier it is to feel the rebound.
The "Peanut Butter" Test: Play a soft passage from Lieutenant Kijé. On one repetition, try to stay as close to the head as possible. On the next, consciously "lift" the stick away from the head after every ruff. Notice which one feels more fluid and ready for the next note.
Tension Check: If you find yourself buzzing your ruffs, stop. Open your hand, shake out the tension, and play the ruff again, focusing purely on the upstroke.
Isolate the Follow-Through: Practice slow, single strokes where the primary goal is the height of the rebound rather than the force of the strike.
Gear Tour
For this demonstration, Andrea is using her Black Swamp Medallion Brass, SoundArt Snare Drum.
The Shell: A 5-inch deep Brass shell. This provides a bright, cutting clarity that is essential for hearing every note of an ornament.
The Finish: A beautiful bronze patina.
The Strainer: A SoundArt Series snare strainer. Featuring 3 tension adjustable cable types for all dynamic ranges.
Responsibility: This drum is incredibly sensitive and responds to the lightest touch, which makes the "lift" technique even more effective.
Reflective Thought
As you head to the practice room today, ask yourself: Am I fighting the drum to get these notes out, or am I letting the drum give the stick back to me?
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