The Coup de Charge is originally a French Rudiment. It was apparently imported into the Basel system in the late-19th century.
They are played:
Coup de Charge in French Music:
The Coup de Charge translates to ‘Charge Stroke’. Supposedly the name originates from the French beating La Charge, or the charge, in which the drummers performed a syncopated 6/8 rhythm. The right hand strikes hard on the beat, and the left hand strikes softly just off the beat (on the “na” of “1 na nee”). Performed at 120bpm, this beating would have a sharp, quick, flam-like sound.
Note that the verbalization “Pa” indicates a hard stroke, while “da” indicates a soft stroke.
To perform a Charge Stroke, think of a slightly opened Flam. Except, rather than playing the grace note soft and the main note loud, reverse this.
Based on evidence from Instruction des Tambour, Coup de Charge can alternate hands and follow natural sticking. If the stroke before was a right hand, the hard first stroke is a left. La Fasçine’s verbalizations in Instruction des Tambour show that Accent-Soft pattern of modern Charge Stroke, while La Généralle’s does not. La Charge also represents Charge Strokes and its verbalizations include the Hard-Soft accenting.
While interpreting Philidor, several beatings showed a 16th note leading into an eighth or quarter note. We should assume they represent a Coup de Charge.
Charge Stroke in Swiss / Basel Music:
This rudiment doesn’t appear to exist as a formal rudiment in Swiss drumming; however, it does appear in practice in La Générale, a beating borrowed from the French. In the 1819, 1825, 1845 and 1889 Swiss ordonnance, La Générale / Generalmarsch continues to be the older French version and contains the Charge Stroke in the first measure.
This rudiment is considered a part of the Basel style (Berger). Alfons Grieder, a student of Fritz Berger, asserts that the Basel drummers imported this rudiment from the French during the 19th century (148).
Whereas the French Charge Stroke is performed as a sixteenth note into another stroke, the Basel Charge Stroke is a 32nd note into another stroke, creating a much tighter, more flam-like stroke.
Flammed Coup de Charge:
The flammed version of a Coup de Charge is performed:
This rudiment doesn’t appear to be part of the modern French style, but is included in the Basel rudiments (Berger). Grieder asserts that the Basel drummers invented the flammed coup de charge during the 19th century (148).
However, in one beating in Philidor, we find what appears to be a flammed charge stroke (Marche du regiment de Saluces). This find suggests a much older and possibly French origin. Perhaps the rudiment was unnamed, infrequently played, or “forgotten” during the latter-half of the 18th century, until its resurrection by the Basel movement.
More Info:
If you have any additional information on the origin or development of this rudiment, please contact me and share your resources. Or, comment below!
Literature on the Napoleonic Wars, particularly those of British origin, make reference to a drum beat called ‘pas de charge’, humorously referred to in onomatopoeia as ‘Old Trousers.’ I can’t for the life of me find any scrap of evidence for what it sounded like, not in any audio recording or drum notation; I began to suspect that it was a British invention. Do you know if the ‘pas de charge’ was a real drum beat used by Napoleon’s armies?
I apologize for the late response – I have been unavailable for most of the year with military training.
You asked about the French call ‘Pas de Charge’.
The Napoleonic era is not focus on mine, so I’ve never run across the reference to ‘Old Trousers’, but I am familiar with the French call.
The 1831 Ordonnance lists a beating called ‘Le Pas de Charge’, which is the same beating as seen in earlier manuals. In the 1754 ordinance, it was simply called ‘La Charge’.
Originally, 2/3 of the drummers beat a roll (alternating between soft and loud), while the other 1/3 beat a series of ‘Coup de Charge’ – a rudiment composed of two strokes beat close together.
By the 1831 ordonnance, the fife part has disappeared. There are no references to the sustained roll.