L’Appel: Learn the French Parley

The French beating L’Appel is a versatile beating that’s particularly useful for any  French impression from at least 1754 (French and Indian War era) through to the mid-19^th century.

Continue reading to learn more about the historic function of L’Appel, as well as practice tips for learning how to performing the beating.

• Important Note: You will need to comfortably play Flams and Drags in order to perform this beating.
• Recommended Rudiments: You might find it helpful to know Flam Drags. We’ll talk more about them below.

Main Purpose of L’Appel

The phrase “l’appel” literally means “to call” and so L’Appel has several meanings that all fall within this basic definition of “calling”.

The Parley

L’Appel requests a Parley, or to capitulate in a besieged place.

Should the commander realize the need to capitulate, he will send one drummer and an officer with a white handkerchief to walk out of the breach in the fort and signal their desire to capitulate. Alternatively, the drummer might mount the parapet.

For more information, see:

• Guignard 1725, 315; 695

Front of the Column to Halt

If the rear or middle of the column needed to tell the head of the column to halt, L’Appel was beaten to tell the head of the column to cease beating Aux Champs.

This could be done if the column was starting to stretch out or if part of the column was forced to stop for some reason.

In this case, L’Appel would be beaten by the drummer marching at the head of the battalion that was halted. All other drummers would take up the call in order to halt the army.

When the halted column was able to resume, the drummer of that battalion sounds Aux Champs.

For more information about this process, see:

• Ordonnance…service de l’Infanterie en Campagne 1753, 63

To Re-Assemble The Line

If the regiment was dispersed for a rest, L’Appel was beaten to re-form the regiment en bataille (line of battle) in closed ranks.

If the battalion was already formed, L’Appel signalled for the formation to close ranks.

For more information about this process, see:

• Ordonnance…sur l’exercice de l’Infanterie 1753, 49-50
• Guignard 1725, 650-51, 695
• Marguery 1833

Ceremonial Use of L’Appel

Much like Aux Champs could salute a high ranking officer, L’Appel was also used as a salute for the Lieutenant General, an Infantry Brigadier or Field Marshal.

Signal to Beat L’Appel

To signal L’Appel, the Major (Drum Major?) would use his sword or cane as follows:

• The sword placed on the shoulder.

At which signal the drummers would play:

L’Appel

For more information on this process, see the following:

• Instruction sur l’Exercice de l’Infanterie 1753, 50
• Ordonnance … sur l’Exercice de l’Infanterie 1755, 200

Performing L’Appel

Like many French duty calls, L’Appel is written in 6/4.

Since this is an unusual time signature for many modern drummers, the music might at first be foreign or intimidating.

Luckily, Instruction des Tambours (1754) gives us clear instructions on how to perform L’Appel:

• The Left Foot steps on the first beat of each measure.
• The Right Foot steps on the fourth beat of each measure.
• The marching tempo is 60 steps per minutes (60bpm)

Based on this, we know the 6/4 is really just 6/8.

Think of this “translation” in the same way you would Cut Time. The music is written in 4/4, but you half the values of everything so that you’re actually playing in 2/4.

Set the Metronome

Let’s start by setting the Metronome a little slow so we can learn the correct sticking and rhythm.

1. Set the Metronome to 150bpm.
2. If you can, set the Metronome to 3 clicks.
   • My metronome lets me use different sounds. I prefer a strong click, followed by two soft clicks.
3. The metronome is now playing at 50bpm, but is subdividing as triplets.
   • This means what you hear is triplets at 50bpms. This rhythm will be the backbone as we work on the beating.
4. As you get better at this beating, increase the metronome in 10-15bpm increments until you reach 180bpm (60bpm triplets).

Phrase 1

L’Appel is one of the simplest and shortest drum beatings in the French ordinance and is made up of one simple rhythm: the Flam Drag.

Here we have a rudiment very similar to a Double Drag, but that incorporates Flams.

Below, I’ve broken Phrase 1’s Flam Drag into simple exercises to build proper sticking and rhythm control.

Special Notes

The flam drags will feel very similar to Double Drags:

Make sure the drag starts after the 2nd click of the metronome.

Don’t rush to the next flam on the down beat – which you’ll want to do because the Drag + Flam is a quick movement.

I recommend working on each exercise with the metronome at 150bpm (50bpm triplets) until you get the sticking and rhythm correct. Then, slowly increase the metronome by 5bpm until you’re at 180bpm.

L’Appel

Once you can play the Flam Drag phrase, you can now play the entire beating.

To play the full beating paired with the fife, you’ll need to play this phrase 32 times over.

Special Notes

Pay close attention to when to begin the doubles in the drag.

Be careful to start the next Flam Drag on the next down beat. Because of the quick movement from the Drag to the Left-Hand Flam, you’ll be tempted to play the next flam quickly.

Conclusion

L’Appel is probably one of the most versatile duty calls for anyone portraying a French military drummer.

Luckily, the beating does not appear to change from the 1754 version through to the 1831 ordonnance. This makes this beating fit French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and Napoleonic War era impressions.

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Want to learn more about the history of these French rudiments? Check out:

• History of Flam Rudiments
• History of the Flam Drag

Interested in learning how to perform other important French beatings? Check out:

• Le Drapeau
• Aux Champs
• La Générale
• La Retraité
• L’Assemblée
• La Fasçine
• La Diane – Single Drag
• La Diane – Double Drag  

Need more help improving your Tempo?

• Tips for Improving Your Tempo