TigerBill's DrumBeat Community Forums for Free Expert Advice on Drums and Percussion.

Here's a thumbnail version of how I teach rolls to my students; it's nothing revolutionary, but maybe it'll help here:

1) Start with the multiple bounce ("buzz") roll.

2) Start one hand at a time, getting as many bounces as you can out of each stroke, letting the stick bounce until it naturally runs out of energy. Experiment with how tight/loose you're holding the stick, the placement of your thumb/forefinger on the stick (how much you're "choking up"), and see what gives you the best results - the maximum number (and height) of the bounces.

NB - aim through the drum head, don't aim right on the surface of the head. I don't mean to try and put the stick through the head, but let the head stop the stick. It's like "following through" when playing tennis or swinging a baseball bat. If you aim through the head, that means that all of the energy of the stroke is going into the drum, meaning you get more bounces (plus a fuller sound, and more volume with less effort.) Aim for an imaginary target about an inch or two below the drum head.

3) After maximizing the number of bounces in each hand, slowly start alternating hands, still using as many bounces as you can get. IMPORTANT: overlap the bounces hand to hand; just before the right hand is about to stop bouncing, start the left hand, and vice versa. This eliminates any gap in sound when switching from hand to hand - and that gap is often the problem in creating a "smooth" roll.

4) Gradually increase your (alternating) hand speed, until you hear less of the "Right...Left...Right...Left..." sound, and more of a smooth, sustained buzz sound. Try as best you can to keep that overlap happening. When the hands start to aurally "disappear," stop speeding up.

5) After I get a student going with the multiple bounce roll, learning the basic feel and technique of getting many bounces out of one stroke, we get into double strokes, using different amounts of pressure in the grip (see TigerBill's "Rolls" lesson cited in his post above), and using the middle, ring, and pinky fingers to control the bounce of the stick.

6) First, get two notes (bounces/strokes) per hand - just get two notes at a consistent speed, slow fast or inbetween doesn't matter at this point.

7) Take the speed at which your bounces are settling in, and start alternating hands, to get that smooth "mommy-daddy" sound to the roll. (I know, "mommy-daddy" sounds really silly, but it works - it helps to get the sound of even, balanced doubles in my student's ears, and that helps the brain to tell the hands what to do.)

7a) I also start small - having the students do right hand double strokes followed by a single left (a "ruff," essentially), getting three notes right in rhythm. Then I have them do the same thing, left hand double followed by a right-hand single. Then I start adding more doubles to the front end:

LLR

RRLLR

LLRRLLR

RRLLRRLLR

...once you can get that smooth connection from hand to hand using a combination of double strokes and single strokes, that sets you up nicely to learn your 5's, 7's, etc., etc., etc. As with the multiple bounce roll, the connection from hand to hand is critical in getting a smooth roll.

8) Once you can get a roll going at one tempo, start varying the tempo, gradually slowing or speeding the tempo.

Hope this helps,

Jim