Today, the American system includes the “Swiss Army Triplet”. This rudiment actually appears widely in several styles and forms a major stylistic element of many French duty calls.
Swiss Army Triplets – called “Triolets” in the French and “Triolen” in the German – are performed:
Interestingly, American drummers today think about this rudiment as a strict sticking pattern. Historically the Swiss Army Triplet wasn’t a fixed rudiment, but rather a stylistic element of performing triplets.
Many historic styles emphasize the stronger right hand. They tend to keep the beat, as much as possible, on right-hand strokes. By performing triplets as Right-Right-Left, you can naturally accent the beginning of the triplet and lead back to the right hand without difficulty.
Swiss Army Triplet in Swiss Music:
Beginning in 1819, Swiss marches use Swiss Army Triplets. By the 1889 ordonnance, they are named “Triolets”.
See: Marches Nos. 4, 5, 6, & 7. Tambour-Ordonnanz für die eidgenössischen Truppen (1819) 20-23; Marches 4, 5, & 7. Tambour-Ordonnanz für die eidgenössischen Truppen (Zurich: 1845) 19-24; Tambour-Ordonnanz für die Schweizerische Infanterie (Swiss Military, 1889) 4.
Swiss Army Triplet in French Music:
Modern French manuals don’t appear to strictly include the Swiss Army Triplet in their repertoire. At least, manuals don’t include them or name them.
However, French duty calls demonstrate how the concept of this sticking pattern exists in the French style of playing.
For example, four beatings in Instruction des Tambours (1754) and four in Principe pour les Tambours (1756) demonstrates this R-R-L structure in 6/4 or 6/8 beatings.
Commonly, it appears as a run of flams. L’Assemblée, Le Drapeau, and Le Ban in Instruction des Tambours and La Généralle, Le Drapeau, and Le Ban in Principe pour les Tambours contain flams performed as Right-Flam, Right-Flam, Left-Flam, Right-Flam.
Roll movements in 6/8 tend to have a right stroke, then a right-hand roll, such as La Généralle in Instruction des Tambours. L’Appel in both Instruction des Tambours and Principe pour les Tambours contains a Right-Flam, a Right-Drag, and a Left-Flam, creating a Flam Drag.
Le Drapeau in Instruction des Tambours depicts the best demonstration of how other rudiments can be incorporated into the Swiss Army Triplet style. By adding a right-hand flam before another rudiment, the drummer creates the core R-R-L structure, but significantly more complex. In Le Drapeau, we see this with a Flagada, a Ra de 5 Détaillé, a triplet 9-stroke roll, and flams (see the image below).
Check out my discussions of Performing L’Assemblée and Performing Le Drapeau to understand more how these beatings utilize the concept of the Swiss Army Triplet.
Swiss Army Triplet in German and Dutch Music:
In the Dutch style, triplets are always performed Right-Right-Left. Though they lack the flam, the sticking pattern and habit of landing back on the strong right hand is clearly apparent. (See Galm and Raucher for more information.)
At least by the early 20th century, the Germans also play a version of the Swiss Army Triplets. Called Triolen, they can be performed as “rrL” or “llR”, with the accent on the final stroke. In practice, they also play a “R-Flam Right Left”. (See Krüger, Pauken- und kleine Trommel-Schule, 161-178.)
Swiss Army Triplet in American Music:
Currently, no evidence exists to demonstrate the use of Swiss Army Triplets in American music pre-20th century.
Even the general sticking pattern doesn’t appear common in American music.
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 discussions of Performing French Duty Music.
If it was the Swiss Army Triplet is more of a French creation why is it called a Swiss Army? How did it get that name?
I don’t know if I would say it’s a French creation – it definitely appears in the Swiss, French, German, and Dutch styles, implying it’s a European creation.
In the early 20th century, the Swiss-Basle style of drumming had a heavy influence on both American drummers and Scottish drummers. Dr. Fritz Berger was a Basle drummer and tried to bring international attention to the style in the 20s and 30s. He comments in his book “Instruction of Basle Drumming” that he was in close contact with William Ludwig, the secretary of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers at that time. When the 40 PAS rudiments (where we find the Swiss Army Triplets) was adopted in the 80s, this Basle influence probably played a roll in which new rudiments were incorporated. In fact, if you take a look at the differences between the 26 Standard Rudiments and the 40 PAS rudiments, some of the main additions are Swiss: Swiss Army Triplet; Single Flammed Mill; Pataflafla (though this is probably French originally, brought to the US via the Swiss); and the Flam Drag. The other additions are single stroke movements, obvious roll additions, and some paradiddle variations.
For some reason I was under the impression that Robinson’s Flam and a Two from 1818 was supposed to be sticked like a Swiss Army Triplet. Am I getting it backward? Is that more like a Flam Accent? For some reason I cannot find the notation anywhere to check. Though I swear I have seen it before. Maybe I am crazy.
Hey Ryan,
If you check out Robinson, Lesson 13: Flam and a Two does say: “A Flam and a Two is performed by giving a Right Hand Single Flam, a hard stroke with the right hand, and one with the left immediately after.”
By our modern standards, this would imply a Swiss Army Triplet; however, if you read Lesson 9: Right Hand Single Flam, you’ll find that Robinson uses an older naming convention. By right flam, he means a left flam: right hand is the grace note and left hand the main stroke.
So, based on that, his Lesson 13 describes a left Flam Accent.
I’m sure there are some transcriptions of Robinson that indicate Swiss Army Triplets, but that would stem from skipping over definitions for ‘simple’ rudiments like the flam.
Ok, that makes sense. I guess the Flam terminology threw me. Thanks for the response!
It’s certainly confusing at times! With older manuals, I find it’s always important to read how they name and describe rudiments closely, because otherwise our modern bias gets in the way. For example, Robinson and Hazeltine(I think) use the term ‘Flamadiddle’, but they don’t mean a modern. Flamadiddle.
I was actually kind of intrigued by the flam naming convention and so I have a blog post on it you might find interesting: http://www.historicdrumming.com/name-flam-2
Col. H.C. Hart’s 1862 “New and Improved Instructor for the Drum”. On page 37, No. 50 Fancy Quickstep, Hart shows a pattern of a R Flam, R stroke, L Stroke, R Flam, R Stroke, L Stroke.
This beat is in 2/4 time.
Modern interpretations of this pattern have it played as sixteenth notes beginning on the “and” or “+” of beat 1. (George Carroll)
Played as “+ a 2 e + a”.
This would appear to be the indication of a pre-20th century use, in an American publication, of the pattern now called a Swiss Army Triplet.
Very possibly! I’ve looked at that phrase and wondered if it is an indication of the Swiss Army Triplet and whether that means we should be interpreting Hart as triplets and not 16th notes.
As 16th notes, the phrasing strikes me more as a French Flagada – which is equally likely based on the French influence in mid-19th century American military.