Remember the Druffle

🔖 Drumming

Guitar Pro

2009 was so cool

Fifteen years later, I still remember Drew from The Drum Department’s “Druffle”. There are other gems in that video, but today we’re focusing on the Druffle itself.

A System for The Druffle

1. It’s a four-beat feel in a triple subdivision.
2. We’ll notate it in 12/8.
3. Each Druffle sequence consists of two measures.
4. The right hand always plays dotted-quarter notes on a tightly-closed hi-hat, with big accents on beats 1 and 3.
5. The left foot does nothing (as usual ⚰️).
6. The left hand always hits the backbeat on beat 3 (on the snare).
7. Finally, the left hand and right foot alternate through the various core Druffle patterns.

Exact Transcription (I hope 😨)

What Makes the Druffle

• A pair of kick‐drum sixteenth-notes right before a big backbeat.
• Two kick-drum hits on the first two eighth-notes of each dotted-quarter (remember we’re in triple time).
• Ghost-notes on the “&” of each dotted-quarter, sometimes with a kick-drum hit under the snare ghost.

If you really want all the details 🤓

Patterns for beats 1, 2, and 4 (each dotted-quarter)

Patterns for beat 3 (each dotted-quarter)

Constraints for Each Two-Measure Pair

Uniqueness

• Measure 1 ≠ Measure 2.
• No two sequences may share the same first measure or the same second measure.

No Inversions

• We treat (M₁, M₂) ≡ (M₂, M₁). Only the lexicographically smaller ordering is kept.

D/H-or-3 Minimum Content

• Among the six “AH” slots (a₁, b₁, d₁, a₂, b₂, d₂), at least one D must appear.
• Among those slots or one of the two “C” slots (c₁, c₂), at least one H or 3 must appear.

D Placement & Follow-Up

• D is forbidden in the last slot d₂.
• If a₁ = D, then b₁ must be C, D, or F.
• If d₁ = D, then a₂ must be C, D, or F.
• If a₂ = D, then b₂ must be C, D, or F.

The moment you’ve been all waiting for

Score starts with the original druffle. Then, we go on with all variations. I’ve taken the time to order them in a way that each sequence is as different as possible of the previous one. You’ll thank me later.