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This article deals with the fundamentals of FIVES. Just like I teach my students every day, I will explain how to think, hear and play 5 against 2 and 5 against 4. Being a drum teacher, I explain from a drummers perspective – but the theory can easily be adapted for guitarists (up- and downstrokes) or bassists (index and middle finger). You get the picture.

It’s a good thing to start with quintuplets (for reference, famous examples of quintuplets appear in Chopin’s sonata in C minor and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde), which is 5 hits per beat. For a drummer there are many ways of using stickings when playing quintuplets, but let’s go with left-right-left-right-left right-left-right-left-right. I recommend that you use a metronome for practice, and it is alkso a great idea to use your voice to really understand this. Try saying DA LA PI KO LA when practicing fives.

When you are comfortable with this we move on to the 5 against 2. Use the same pattern as above, but now accent every alternate note RlRlR lRlRl All right-hand hits are now accented. There you have the fundamental five-against-two sound. Play only the accents as soon as you are comportable with this – and there you have it.

5 against 4 is a bit more hard and takes a bit longer to learn. Let’s go back to the quintuplets again and use the same rlrlr lrlrl rlrlr lrlrl. The difference this time is that we accent every alternate hit with the right hand: RIGHT-left-right-left-RIGHT left-right-left-RIGHT-left right-left-RIGHT-left-right left-right-left-RIGHT-left. That’s 5 against 4! This can be hard to hear in slow tempos. When fluent in this, play only the accents.

Have fun practicing those FIVES and do not forget to surprise your drummer with your new knowledge!

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