DRUM RUDIMENTS

The single-stroke roll is one of the most common drum rudiments used. It's often played in beats, drum solos and drum fills. Whether you are a beginner or have been playing for years, you must learn the single-stroke roll because it is very essential. This is how the single-stroke roll is notated:

So, as you have noticed it is played simply with single alternating strokes (R,L,R,L). This would mean that the first note is played with the Right hand and the second with the Left hand etc. It would be best to start practicing this on a practice pad, or even a bed, and then slowly on a drum kit. It's also important that you play this with a metronome at steady time. Once you've got it down at a slow steady beat, pick up the tempo to increase your speed. 

Try to keep all the strokes at an even volume and steady time.You should watch how your sticks come up for each stroke and try to keep it at an even height. This is because if one of the sticks come up higher than the other it will create a louder stroke. Something that could help you a lot is practicing this in front of a mirror just so that you can keep an eye on both the sticks till you are certain that you have full control.

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Here's a little exercise in which I'll show you how you can incorporate the single-stroke roll into a drum beat:

1)

Remember the drum key from the beginning? Now, play this on your drum set according to the drum 'voices' displayed in the diagram.
This next exercise incorporates the single-stroke roll into a drum fill. If you are unsure which line/space a certain drum sound/voice is being played, look back at the drum key.

2)

So, once you know for sure you've mastered this drum rudiment, you can move on to the next level.