It’s possible that the Inverted Flam Tap and Flam Tap are a unique English rudiments, originating sometime in the 1500s.
Both rudiments appear to have later been adopted by the French and Basel styles.
Flam Taps are performed:
Inverted Flam Taps are performed:
First in American Notation, then compared in French Notation.
To learn how to play this rudiment, check out my video Drum Lesson The Flam.
Flam Taps / Inverted Flam Taps in English Music:
The Flam Tap or Inverted Flam Tap might be one of the oldest recorded drum rudiments in the English style, as we can document it to the early 1600s.
In “The Grounds for Beating ye Drum” (c. 1600-1650), there is a symbol that indicates “a stroak with both sticks & a touch”. Most likely, this is an Inverted Flam Tap, or known in the early-19th century as a “Flam & Stroke” or “Flam & Faint”.
Flam Taps appear in 18th century American manuscripts: Benjamin Clark (c. 1790), Issac Day (c. 1790), and Gardner (c. 1770). Flam Taps and Inverted Flam Taps appear in early British sources: The Young Drummer’s Assistant (c. 1780) and Potter (1815). Both rudiments also appear in early 19th century American drum manuals: Ashworth (1812), Robbins (1812), Rumrille (1817), Lovering (1818), Hazeltine (1819), and Robinson (1820).
English Terminology
Of all the English and American sources that have Flam Taps and Inverted Flam Taps, only Potter and Ashworth name these rudiments. (The Gardner MS has “the Flamma,” indicating Flam Taps.)
Both Ashworth and Potter use the term “Flam & Stroke” to refer to Inverted Flam Taps. Potter also has “Flam & Faint” to indicate a dotted Inverted Flam Tap.
For Flam Taps, Ashworth refers to them as “Stroke & Flam” while Potter uses the term “Faint & Flam” for a dotted Flam Tap. Their wording is what suggests the “a stroak with both sticks & a touch” is Potter and Ashworth’s “Flam & Stroke”, or an Inverted Flam Tap.
This would make sense, if the Inverted Flam Tap is the older English Stroke, and the Flam Tap is the corrupted form, based on the French names (see below).
Flam Taps / Inverted Flam Taps in Mid-19th Century American Music:
Klinehanse (1853) and Nevins (1861) continue to use Ashworth’s naming conventions and notation to express “Flam & Stroke” and “Stroke & Flam”. Similarly, Hart refers to the Flam Tap as the “Full Blow and Flam” and the Inverted Flam Tap as the “Full Flam and Blow” or “Full Flam and half Blow” (12).
For the most part, however, other manuals appear to discontinue the use of the Inverted Flam Tap. B&E includes the Flam Tap (Flam-a-poo in 2/4 and Flam Accent No. 2 in 6/8). Strube is the first to refer to the rudiment as the Flam Tap, but doesn’t include an Inverted Flam Tap. Howe and Keach, Burditt, & Cassidy don’t include the Flam Tap or Inverted Flam Tap at all.
Coup Anglais / Anglais Bâtard in French Music:
The Inverted Flam Tap is known as the Coup Anglais, or English Stroke,in the French and Swiss styles. The Flam Tap is known as the Anglais Bâtard, roughly meaning the Bastard English Stroke.
Because Philidor’s manuscript lacks sticking information, it’s impossible to know whether the Flam Tap or Inverted Flam Tap appear in his music. However, based on how Inverted Flam Taps appear in later music, there doesn’t appear to be an opportunity for them to appear in Philidor.
(Note: since Coup Anglais are used in the 19th century as embellishments, drummers in Philidor’s time may have used them to embellish the marches seen in Philidor.)
Flam Taps do not appear in 19th century French manuals and may be a more modern addition or a very rarely used imported rudiment.
Curiously, Joly claims that the Coup Anglais is a French invention:
“Despite its name, the Coup Anglais is entirely a French invention.” – “Malgré sa denomination, le coup anglais est entierement d’invention francaise.”
Joly 15
The name certain implies an English origin and, in fact, we see Inverted Flam Taps in use by the English definitely in 1780 in YDA’s Church Call and very possibly in the Douce MS in 1600-1650. The British, however, seem to predominately use Inverted Flam Taps as eighth notes. Perhaps Joly is referring to the French use of them as sixteenth notes and as embellishing strokes. This is an interested comment and perhaps merits more research.
Exactly when these two rudiments come into the French style is unfortunately unknown.
Inverted Flam taps in French music
Inverted Flam Taps, Coup Angalis, however, appear frequently throughout 19th century manuals as an embellishment or virtuosic rudiment in the marches, but predominately in quicksteps (this is seen in many drum manuals, by Joly specifically comments in their preference in QS).
The Coup Angalis appears at least as early at 1863, in Niocel’s drum manual. He includes a variation on La Retraite which includes Coup Anglais embellishing the flams.
Based on their use, Coup Anglais are always used in pairs (2, 4, 6, or 8). Since they generally take the place of an eighth note flam, they are always performed as sixteenth notes (see Niocel; Carnaud 28; Broutin 17; Gourdin).
Embellishing music with inverted flam taps
Based on their use, any French beating with eighth note Flams can be embellished by simply replacing the Flams with Coup Anglais, like so:
“The Coup Anglais is a Flam preceded by a small stroke of the same hand which gives the strong stroke, it is also called Tefla and is used as an ornament to replace the Flam in the different beatings.” – “Le coup anglais est un fla précédé d’on petit coup de la meme main qui donne le coup fort, il se nomme aussi tefla et s’emploie ornement pour remplacer les fla dans les differentes batteries.”
Carnaud 28
Alternatively, one could replace a Ra Simple with a Coup Anglais:
“The Coup Anglais is widely used in the marches and mainly in the quicksteps. The Coup Anglais and the Ra de 4 [Ra Simple] can be replaced by each other.” – “Le coup anglaise est trés-employé dans les marches et principalement dans le pass accéléré. Le coup anglaise et le ra de quatre peuvent réciproquement etre remplacés l’un par l’autre.”
Joly 15
Do you anything about when the Coup Anglais the French style of drumming? Contact me or comment below.
Coup Anglais / Anglais Bâtard in Swiss Music:
With the exception of some Flam Tap / Inverted Flam Tap-like movements in March No. 9 in the 1819 ordonnance, these two rudiments don’t appear in a study of Swiss ordnances ranging from the 18th to early-20th century.
This study included the following Swiss ordonnances: Verzeichnis derjenigen Ordonnanz-Streichen, nach welchen die Tambouren Teutsch- und Welschen Landes Bergebiets sich richten und selbigen Exercieren sollen (1728); Peter Stocker, Verzeichnis der Ordonnantz Steichen, darin die Tambouren überall solen underwiesen warden (1759); Tambour-Ordonnanz für die eidgenössischen Truppen (Zurich: 1845); Tambour-Ordonnanz für die Schweizerische Infanterie (Swiss Military, 1889); and Tambour-Ordonnanz für die Schweizerische Infanterie (Swiss Military, 1917).
Coup Anglais / Anglais Bâtard in Basel Music:
Based on Grieder, they appear to have also been imported from the French by the Basel drummers sometime in the late-19th century (148).
Flam Taps / Inverted Flam Taps in German Music:
The Germans (Prussians) also seem to play Flam Taps, though they are not a named rudiment. The Germans may only play right-handed flams and so they play “R-Flam-Right, R-Flam etc.”. This appears in duty calls and marches as eighth notes, dotted, and swung in 6/8.
See George Winter, Kurze-Unweisung das Trommel-Spielen (Berlin: 1777) and Krüger, Pauken- und kleine Trommel-Schule, 161-178.
Flam Taps / Inverted Flam Taps in Spanish / Italian Music:
Pistofilo offers some examples of Italian and Spanish marching cadences. In his two Spanish examples, the opening pick-up includes an Inverted Left-Flam Tap (example 1) and a Left-Flam Tap (example 2) (118-122). Whether this indicates a developed use of these two rudiments is unknown – it may simply be an intuitive sticking pattern.
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!
If you’d like to work on developing this rudiment, check out my discussion of French embellishments.