Quintuplets (specifically 16th note quintuplets) and broader patterns of five are used pretty regularly in my playing, but I often see the sentiment online that quintuplets are not good for “normal” drumming, which is to say music that isn’t math rock or prog or something.
I think that’s a little unfair to the poor quintuplet, so here’s a crash course in getting more comfortable with quintuplets, and practical ways you can actually use them on the drums.
Quintuplet Timing
Step one is making sure you can actually play these things, so set a slow click (80–90 BPM) and try playing five notes to a beat. Start with a strong accent on each beat, and let the metronome really headbutt you if needed. Eighth note quintuplets aren’t a huge part of my playing, but I think it’s a good thing if you can play them. I would actually start fast with these, but still use a 4/4 click. Again, accents can help, as well as some other ideas we’ll get to.
In my little PDF at the end of the article, I’ll have some other timing drills you can try.
How could I forget — what’s the best way to count these things? I just use “1 2 3 4 5,” and it’s been that way since the beginning, but five-syllable words might be helpful for you, and there are plenty. I have not seriously used anything in our common “1 e & a” system, but maybe try something like “1 e & a c.”
Don’t Use Singles
Why didn’t I start here? As I joked about a few weeks ago, the five-a-diddle (RLRRL) pretty much taught me how to play patterns of five. I think quintuplets will always feel off to some drummers because, when using single strokes, five notes hand to hand is dense and awkward to keep track of. Here are three stickings that keep the quintuplet on the same hand, and have long felt better for me:
- RLRRL RLRRL
- RLRLL RLRLL
- RLLRL RLLRL
Here are two more that aren’t as helpful, but you still might like them more than singles:
- RRLRL RRLRL
- RLRLR RLRLR
Compared to singles, these are much more effective in showing what five notes feel like, especially with an accent on the beat. Moreover, keeping the left hand ghosted on the snare and accenting the right hand around the toms is a solid system for building fills. Combine different 1‑beat stickings before throwing in some left-hand accents.
Linear Vocabulary
Linear orchestrations can also break up the long clunkiness of quintuplets. I included 24 patterns to try out; play them over and over, and like the stickings, combine and recombine them at your will. Ab-lid the exact drums to play, but start with just the snare.
Take the Plunge
Are you ready to put it all together? The idea is simple enough — get on the kit with a metronome and play six beats of time and two beats of quintuplets:
Play the quintuplets with strong accents on the beat, if it helps. Use different stickings, and then the simple fill system I mentioned earlier:
Use the same progression with the linear fills, and then try fills with both concepts:
If you’re really feeling bold, try a 4‑beat fill after either a bar of groove or four bars.
Fives Beyond Quintuplets
This is when things get really fun — patterns of fives that are not quintuplets, such as normal 16th notes. Lately, these have been much more exciting to me than actual quintuplets, and can even be more versatile.
An accent on every fifth 16th note fits nicely in a single bar of 5/4:
In 4/4, you can play over a single measure, or two:
Use the ideas from earlier:
A couple of months ago, I started messing around with five-note patterns of 8th note triplets:
Not to mention other time signatures, like 12/8 (or two bars of 6/8):
So, tl;dr — use other stickings besides singles, play fills built around the right hand moving around with accents and the left staying low on the snare, and try five-note ideas with other subdivisions. That should get you well on your way. And if you have an idea that you’re struggling to count, just write it down. There’s no shame in it!
