Did you know there are 8 unique historic variations on Three Camps? The modern version comes from Strube (1869), but earlier manuals show a Three Camps with different rolls (7s, 9s, 10s, or 11s) paired with the 5s and a constantly changing C Line.
Want to learn some ways to change up this classic beating and develop your technique?
Read on and find out more about the different historic performances and find a pdf of all recorded variations of Three Camps.
Different Roll Options
Most modern drummers are familiar with a Line A made up of 5s and 11s and Line B & C made up of 5s and 10s.
Interestingly, the oldest resources we have for the Three Camps also use this combination. Both are late 1700s English drum manuals: The Young Drummer’s Assistant (c. 1780) and “Drum Beatings” MS (c. 1770-1790).
This same combination continues into the 19th Century for British drummers, as seen in Potter’s The Art of Beating the Drum (1815).
Between the War of 1812, when the first American manuals are published, and the American Civil War, when a huge second collection of American manuals come out, numerous American variations of the Three Camps appear.
7-Stroke Rolls in the American Three Camps
Beginning with the earliest American manuals – Ashworth, Rumrille & Holton, and Lovering – we see the Americans shifting from an 11-stroke roll to a 7-stroke roll in Line A.
This continues into the mid-19th century in many American manuals, including Klinehanse (1853), Hart (1862), Nevins (1862), and Ditson (1861).
Try out their alternative Line A for a slight challenge.
This variation appears in most 19th century American manuals, including Ashworth, Rumrille & Holton, Lovering, Klinehanse, Nevins, Hart, and Ditson.
In this variation, the 7-stroke roll is a tuplet-based roll. This means that the rhythm between the 7s and the 5s don’t change. However, there is a slight rest. Timing this right is necessary to keep the rhythm clean and even throughout.
9-Stroke Rolls appear in the mid-19th Century
While 7-stroke rolls seem universal in the early American manuals, by the mid-19th century some American manuals are returning to a longer roll.
Bruce & Emmet (1862) and Howe (1862) incorporate a 9-stroke roll into Line A, instead of the 11s or 7s.
Hart (1862) includes a Line B with 9s, rather than the traditional 10s.
Try out this 1860s variation:
This variation appears in Bruce & Emmet, Howe, and Hart.
In the first line, the 9s have been interpreted as duple-based 64th notes. The difficulty with this interpretation will be shifting from the tight duple 9s to the more open triplet 5s.
In the second line, the 9s have been interpreted as triplet-based 32nd notes. The rhythm of the 9s and 5s will be the same. The difficulty, though, is allowing the correct rest after the 5s before the 9s to keep the rhythm even and clean.
The difficulty of this variation is the rhythm shift between the 5s and the 9s. The 5s are triplet-based rolls, whereas the 9 is a duple-based roll.
Different Line Structure
The common beating today has technically a 4-line structure:
- A Line: 55 11 55 11 55 55 55 11
- B Line: 55 10 55 10 55 55 55 10
- C Line: 10 10 10 55 10 10 10 55
- B Line reprised
The whole beating ends up being: AA BB C BB
We first find this structure during the American Civil War. It appears in Nevins (1862), Bruce & Emmett (1862), and Strube (1869). Technically, it also appears in Hart (1862), although his first half of Line C uses 8-stroke rolls, instead of 10s.
It seems that the phrasing shifted to better match the fife part. The fife tune plays AA to match the drum AA; then BB to match the drum BB; but then plays ABB to finish the tune. This new drum structure (C BB) better matches the fife than the older structure.
A Longer Line C
Prior to the American Civil War, there was a fairly universal Long Line C.
The “original” structure appears in the 18th century manuals, The Young Drummer’s Assistant and “Drum Beatings” MS. It also appears in Potter (British; 1817) and Ashworth (American; 1812), Rumrille & Holton (American, 1817), and Lovering (American; 1818). Later, the same structure still exists in Klinehanse (American, 1853).
In these earlier versions, they had the same Line A and Line B structure we’re used to today. However, they had a different and longer Line C:
- Line C: 10 10 10 55 10 10 10 55 10 55 55 55
You can see that the Line C we’re used to is in there at the beginning of the phrase. But, instead of reprising Line B, the C line continues with the typical six 5s.
This longer Line C is then repeated so the whole beating goes: AA BB CC.
This first example is the more modern way of interpretation this longer C line. Both the 10s and 5s should be interpreted as triplets. The top lines include the roll skeletons for clear instruction; the bottom lines are a more natural notation.
Interpretation with triplet-based 10-stroke rolls.
This second example is a more likely historic interpretation. The 5s should be interpreted as triplets, but the 10s are quintuplet based, with a slight rest going from the 5s into the 10s.
Interpretation with quintuplet-based 10-stroke rolls.
Howe’s alternative variation
While most manuals around the American Civil War begin using the “modern” structure, a few were still experimenting with alternative structures, depending on how the fife part was performed.
In Howe (American; 1862), the drummers play “AAA CBB” while the fifers play “ABB [A]AB”. In Howe’s, the [A] fife is a corruption on AB that matches Howe’s drum Line C.
Howe’s Line C is nearly the same as the original Line C.
Interpretation with triplet-based 10 & 11-stroke rolls.
Howe’s version perhaps represents a simpler version of the more modern Line C, with its use of 11s instead of 10s. The second half represents a fun added variety of mixing the 11s, 5s, and 10s.
Hart’s alternative variation
On the whole, Hart’s version is nearly the same as the modern structure we use today. However, he has an interesting addition to the Line C.
Hart’s version uses 8-stroke rolls first, then returns to the typical 10-stroke rolls.
Try his version out for some practice with 8-stroke rolls.
Interpretation with triplet-based 8 & 10-stroke rolls.
The two tricky parts of Hart are:
- The 8-stroke rolls have a slightly different structure than the continuous triplet rolls of the 5s and 10s.
- The sticking of the 8-stroke rolls means the 5-stroke rolls switch hands. The 10s are also right-leading. In the second to last measure, note that there is a double left-hand 5, so that the beating ends with a right hand.
Note: Hart explains that he believes there aren’t even rolls, but rather odd-numbered rolls with an extra stroke on the end. In this way, he actually notates 9-stroke rolls with a stroke and 7-stroke rolls with a stroke.
Trying Out Variations of the Three Camps
If you’re interested in switching up the classic drum solo The Three Camps, a great way to do this is to be inspired by these older variations.
Historically, there was one version that appears in 18th century sources, whose main difference was the longer Line C.
During the American Civil War, in particular, a huge number of variations appear that offer great opportunities to experiment with roll control.
Try out as many as you can to develop this beating, expand your repertoire, and work on your rolls.
Click here for an exercise pdf of several alternative performances of Three Camps.
Interested in improving your performance of Three Camps? Check out:
Want to know more about the Reveille and how Three Camps was used in the Reveille sequence? Check out:
Curious about the historic performance of The Three Camps, including the tempo it was played? Check out my blog post:
- Should Three Camps Be Performed in Common Time or Quick Time?
Do you have any thoughts or evidence for how the Three Camps should be performed? Contact me or comment below.
