Flam Tap — Metal Drumming Technique | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Flam Tap?

The flam tap is one of the Percussive Arts Society's 40 essential rudiments, built by pairing a flam with a tap on the same hand before switching sides - a flammed right stroke followed by an unaccented right tap, then a flammed left stroke followed by an unaccented left tap, repeating in a steady eighth-note pulse. The result is a rolling, accented-unaccented pattern that reads as "FLAM-tap FLAM-tap," giving each pair of notes a natural strong-weak shape instead of the even density of a straight roll. Because it is built directly from the single flam - itself one of the first accent rudiments a drummer learns - the flam tap functions as the natural bridge between basic flam control and the more advanced flam rudiments like the flammed paradiddle and flamacue. In metal drumming, the flam tap is a go-to tool for fills and lead-in phrases that need a fat, accented note followed by a softer follow-through: a flam-tap figure across the snare and toms gives a fill instant weight on its downbeats while keeping the connecting notes light enough not to clutter the phrase.

How fast are flam taps played?

Flam Tap is typically played around Any.

Who is the best flam tap drummer?

Mike Mangini (Dream Theater) is among the most cited Flam Tap drummers, alongside Matt Garstka, Charlie Benante. See the full list on MetalForge.

What are the different types of flam taps?

Flam Tap has 4 main variations: Single Flam Tap (The base pattern - one flam and one tap per hand, alternating sides in a steady pulse); Flam Tap Fill (The rudiment spread across snare and toms so each accented flam lands on a different drum); Double Flam Tap (Two consecutive flam-tap pairs on the same hand before switching, used for longer accent groupings); Flam Tap into Flammed Paradiddle (Transitioning flam tap phrasing directly into a flammed paradiddle for extended flam-based vocabulary).