I was reading a posting about hertas and other licks in this forum -- in it, a list member wrote that he had no idea six stroke rolls could be so cool, until a drum corps drummer showed him....
What was so cool about s ix stroke -- it seems like a rudiment I could handle... how it's made cool?

I think I'm the guy who mentioned the coolness of the six-stroke. I just think the way it sounds and the way it feels are really hip, and can't really be duplicated using other stickings.

R l l r r L  R l l r r L  R l l r r L  R l l r r L

L r r l l R  L r r l l R  L r r l l R  L r r l l R  

When played as continuous sextuplets, with strong accents on the first and sixth notes, they have a flow that you can't really cop by just using single strokes. And it's easy to then move those accents around a drum kit, hitting other toms and cymbals, and perhaps reinforcing the accents on the bass drum.

Plus, you can take just the 3 note pattern of the roll as 16th triplets, and mix up the accents a number of ways:

R l l r r L r r L R l l r r L r r L R l l R

If you take that figure and work it around the drums, changing drums when you accent, playing some of the accents with the kick, etc., you can end up with some pretty nice variations.

Likewise, with hertas, move the right hand between the floor tom and the snare, while the left stays on the high tom. If I could figure out how to post it, I have this written in a Finale example. I'll work on it.

Hey girls    I made a slick recording for big bad Bill Fulton today of all the herta's and six strokes I could possibly dream of.  Unfortunately my buddy's Adat HD24 was not talking to his 'puter so here I am, a big ol' tease.  I gotta tell ya I was playing so fast the darn thing could barely keep up.  Hertas and six strokes BLAZE

I'll see if I can post some of these licks tomorrow for yoooz guyz so we can have a good laugh or two  

Ok I'm just kidding when I call you guys "ladies" you know that right?

Anyways my friend emailed me the file today.

It's a whopping 5 meg wma *windows media file* and it's ALL hertas and 6 stroke rolls (well most of it)

I gotta say I was playing his kid's Peace drumset complete with the kiddie cymbals, hardware and foot pedal.  I also wish this guy would have chopped this file way down as well *even I get bored of it* so on that note:

Hope ya dig my 6 stroke rolls and hertas man!!!

http://www.woolyinc.com/Sound Files/hertas.wma

You better be kidding, or I'll hit you wid my purse!

Good demonstration, felix. I especially like the high hat application.

Hey would someone please tell me what a 'herta' is?

I'm up on my rudiments but never come across that term.. never herta it.

Is it just a single stroke (i.e. LRLR) played as a pattern like a Billy Cobham roll?

Cool.. I use them all the time then!

One of my fav warm up exercises  goes like this:
- play paradiddles accenting on the one (RlrrLrll)
- keep it going with the same steady accented meter, then every 4th rep, substitute for 4 reps;
> double paradiddles
> five stroke rolls
> six stroke rolls
> seven stroke rolls
> desert rolls etc.

Everytime you switch it throws in a different time feel.