How to Play the Flam

A flam is two hits on the hand drum, with one of the hits sounding a little before the other. In order to accomplish the distinctive sound of a flam, you need one of your hands to start closer to the drum than the other. The end result is a distinctive, syncopated sound. The flam is often associated with the djembe, but rock drummers use the technique as well. Read on to learn how to play the flam.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Hold the drum as needed. For some drums, this will be between your legs; for others, the hand drum may be on a stand.

2. Start playing the flam by having one hand raised just above the drum's surface and the other hand raised a little higher. For example, your right hand could start closer to the drum while the left hand starts higher.

3. Bring down your right hand to hit the drum and bring your left hand down to strike soon after.

4. Reverse your hand positions after playing the flam. Hold your left hand closer to the drum with your right hand raised above it.

5. Continue reversing your hands after your play a flam.

6. Do the above slowly at first, concentrating on making the distinctive, syncopated sound of the flam, as well as reversing your hands in the proper order.

7. Start playing the flam faster as you grow more comfortable with it. After a while, you will be able to play the flam without pausing each time you reverse your hands, so it will sound similar to "ta-TA, ta-TA, ta-TA."

8. Play the flam in more than one way. You can play the flam on the edge of the drum, which produces a tinnier, sharper sound, or in the middle of the drum for a more resonant sound. Experiment with your own drum to discover the sounds your hands can make as they strike different area of the drum's surface.

Resources

• Pearl Educational Resource Library for more information about the flam
• Aaron Moon's discussion of playing the flam