Understanding Forward Rolls

Now we're going to learn something else about forward rolls.

You noticed in Cumberland Gap, we played a roll that started with the thumb and went to the index. A forward roll follows this pattern:

• One beat on one finger
• Next beat on the next finger
• And so on

I call this tracking the downbeat, because you want to track the downbeat through whatever you're playing.

Complications of Forward Rolls

It becomes the most complicated when you're playing forward rolls or backward rolls for a period of time.

Utilizing the Skill

Now, we're going to use the skill we learned of playing one note louder than the others at a given time, but it's not going to be the same note; it's going to keep changing.

When you're playing a song that uses a lot of forward rolls, keep this in mind:

• If you just try to count your forward rolls, you're not going to stay on the beat.

You can also do this exercise with the backward roll.