The rule for stems up or down is the following:

If the note head appears above the middle line, of the standard 5-bar-line staff, the stems go down. If the note head appears below the middle line, the stems go up.

This is just a "rule of thumb" ... and when there's only one note head, such as a Snare drum part, the stem can go up or down regardless of the "rule". T

The "rule" is in place to make it easier to read and keep the clutter to a minimum. If you were reading a drumset part where there's note heads for the Snare, Kick, HiHat, etc., the stems can go either way, up or down. Obviously if the notes are beamed together, all the stems would need to go the same direction. Some people notate the parts of the drumkit played by the hands with the stems going up; played by the feet, stems going down.

For many years there hasn't been a "standard" notation, but at this time one has been adopted for drums and percussion. Still, there is room to break the rules when necessary or at the discretion of the composer.

The grace-notes notated behind the main stroke of the Flam is completely incorrect ... IF ... in fact the notation is meant to be a Flam. If it's a rudimental composition, it's probably a Flam and needs to be notated appropriately. In modern music, 20th Century and beyond, a composer may want a "grace-note" after a main stroke ... for an effect. Although not very common and probably unlikely in your case, it can happen.

There's not much to say about the stem issue however. You are going to see stems going up or down on a Snare drum part; that's just the way it is. Many composers nowadays do follow the rule I cited earlier, but there is no notation police to make them do anything. If anything it's the publishers fault for not forcing the issue. But if you are dealing with an older work, especially one that is manuscript, it is what it is.

I will say that typically single line notation for percussion instruments (e.g. Snare drum) are notated with the stems going up.

Bart has pretty much summed up the way things should be!  In 1966 I was a senior in High School and asked almost the same question.  My band director at the time gave me almost the same answer as Bart and then the next day he gave me two snare pieces to play, one had the stems going up and one had the stems going down.  Otherwise the two were the same.  His question to me was what difference is there in the sound when playing the piece?  The stem rule is there to make the piece easier to read and I should be concentrating on playing and not worrying about why an engraver or a publisher did things one way or another.   

I'm not questioning or debating the possibilities or validity of placing a grace-note before, after or in between another note or group of notes. What I AM saying is that as an "official" rudiment, one that appears in standard notation and is meant to be the Flam rudiment, the grace-note should be notated before the main stroke.

Note my original post ...

What is debatable is whether it should be called a Flam ... if the grace-note comes after a primary/accented note. For me, in order for it to be a Flam, the grace-note must come before. Why? Because the majority of the drum rudiment names are onomatopoeic.

For those that are not familiar with that word ...

The rudiment called Flam is definitely onomatopoeic. The "F" is the grace-note; "lam" is accented or primary stroke.

To play the grace-note after the primary stroke, it should be called something else ... not a Flam. A reverse-flam or some other onomatopoeic name that would describe the sound would be nice.

Terms and labels are used to help the individual understand what to play or simply what it is. To call anything a flam simply because it has a grace-note connected to it, regardless of it's position or placement in performance or notation ... to me ... very confusing (i.e. not good).    If it has no special name, call it a grace-note (or grace note) ... but not a flam.

No, but it does have a unique name ... it's a Single Windmill ... a Swiss Army Rudiment. Put a Flam at the beginning of that and it's a Single Flammed Mill (No. 25 on the PAS International Rudiment Sheet). 

I've certainly picked up a lot of information, which is what I hoped for when I asked the question.  Yesterday I was also told that apparently in drumline, in a flam the grace note to the back or front indicates the sticking.  I don't know whether that's correct or not, since I didn't start playing until after college.

My point in asking the question was echoed in a roundabout way - you can't play something right if you can't read it right.  So the problem becomes - are you not playing something right because you didn't understand it correctly, and could fix  your mistake if you knew how - or you understand correctly and just can't accomplish it?  Terms and labels are important because they show you what came before and are the guide for the things you might want to do in the future.  Without a common ground of understanding, there can't be communication.  Without communication, there's no learning.

I guess more of my frustration with the learning process came through than I'd hoped.  Since I was six when Louis was drumming in high school, I've got a lot to lost time to make up for and much information to learn!

Thanks for the various posts.  They just point me in new directions to gather information from.  That's what the Cafe's about, right?

Just to be clear, I believe Mr. Weckl's point was that he doesn't focus on the rudiments beyond the basics when practicing. I'm one of the biggest Weckl fans but there are a few other rudiments that would be worthwhile learning.  DW can do more with his left pinky than many of us can do with all limbs so don't be afraid to work on some of this other stuff also (it's there for us mere mortals).

No I just meant the 40.

-EML.

That would be my guess. 

Despite the authority of your encyclopedic knowledge and always sage advice, I will heretofore call it a Lamf.

In Drum Corps circles, this is known as a "Malf".
Which leads me to speculate ...
If you played a Ruff with the main note followed by two grace notes, would it be a "Ffur".
Or a Backwards Drag, a "Gard".
A Backwards Five Stroke Roll, an "Evif"...

I think I'll stop now.