Four quick steps and a landing.
The Rudiment
The single stroke four is a short burst of the single stroke roll — a compact group of four alternating strokes that resolves onto an accent. Where the open single stroke roll is an endless texture, this is a shaped gesture with a beginning and a destination: a rapid run of singles that gathers momentum and drops onto a final, louder note. It teaches the drummer to control a defined quantity of fast singles and to place the arrival exactly on the beat.
Sticking
The standard sticking alternates and leads into an accent on the concluding stroke: RLRL with weight on that final note, or the mirror-image LRLR. The four fast strokes are typically played as a triplet-based burst that fills the space ahead of the accent, so the ear hears four light notes gathering into one strong one. If you are unsure of the exact metric placement, think of it as four even singles leading onto the pulse.
How to Play
Keep the four leading strokes low, light, and even — this is a quiet gathering, not four accents — then open the stick height on the final note to produce the accent. The hands stay relaxed through the run and only the last stroke gets extra height and velocity. Because the sticking alternates, consecutive four-figures naturally start on opposite hands, which is excellent for developing ambidexterity.
In Practice
The single stroke four shows up as a quick fill into a downbeat, an ornament ahead of a cymbal crash, and a common figure in orchestral and rudimental repertoire. It sits between the Single Stroke Roll and its longer sibling the Single Stroke Seven as a study in controlled bursts of single strokes.