One hand does the heavy lifting, twice.
The Rudiment
The Swiss army triplet is a triplet that opens with a flam and then plays two more strokes, the first of which is taken by the same hand that struck the flam’s primary. So a right-lead cell is a right-hand flam, another right, then a left — a “flam-tap-tap” shaped like the flam accent but with the sticking rearranged so one hand doubles up before handing off. It sounds close to the flam accent, but the doubled hand gives it a rounder, more rolling feel and lets a player rip it at high speed on the drum set.
Sticking
The standard PAS sticking is lRR L for the first triplet and rLL R for the second, alternating. The lowercase stick is the flam’s grace note; the accented primary and the following stroke are both taken by the same hand (R-R or L-L), and the third stroke of the triplet passes to the opposite hand. Counted in triplets, the flam lands on the beat.
How to Play
Strike the flam with the usual low grace and accented primary, then let that same hand rebound for the second stroke rather than lifting for a fresh hit — the double is what makes the Swiss army triplet fast and fluid. The opposite hand takes the final triplet note and, if you’re alternating, immediately preps the next grace note. Keeping the accent on the flam and the two follow-ups even is the target.
In Practice
Drum-set players love the Swiss army triplet because the doubled hand makes for blistering, orchestrated triplet fills — flam and double on one drum, the third note kicked to another. In the rudimental world it’s a common alternative to the flam accent, offering the same triplet drive with a different stickpath.