Welcome back to another Drum Lesson here in East London at Hackney Wick Drum Studio.
Today we're going to be taking a look at how to play the paradiddle.
This is one of the most fundamental rudiments on the drum kit. It's great for warming up your hands, works great in different beats and has an endless amount of possibilities when it comes to using it around the drum kit when it comes to fills.
One of the most common questions I get asked by students of all abilities is 'What is the purpose of it" or "How do I apply it around the kit. Most people just think it's a boring snare drum exercise. Some of those questions will be answered it later lessons, but today, we'll just be taking a look at the basics of what a paradiddle is.
It simply comes down to two single strokes, followed by a double and then the same thing but leading with the opposite hand. The great thing about this rudiment is that both of your hands are getting the same level of workout, meaning they should start to develop evenly.
Sticking for a right handed drummer would be R-L-R-R-L-R-L-L and the opposite for left handed players. You can count the first four strokes as PA-RA-DI-DLE, with each syllable representing one of the strokes.
Lets first look at an example of how to play the paradiddle using eighth notes.
You can see above the notation we have the count of 1&2&3&4& and we're simply going to be striking the snare drum or practice pad following those eighth notes. As always, start this slowly at around 60BPM, and once it filters into you muscle memory, you'll be away to go in no time. Check out the video below of the paradiddle played at 60 BPM
EIGHTH NOTE PARADIDDLE 60 BPM
EIGHTH NOTE PARADIDDLE 90 BPM
Now we're going to have a look at the paradiddle played using sixteenth notes. Make sure you've mastered the sticking before attempting this one, because now we have twice as many notes per bar.
SIXTEENTH NOTE PARADIDDLE 60 BPM
SIXTEENTH NOTE PARADIDDLE 90 BPM
As I said earlier on, there are many things you can do with the paradiddle, but at this stage it's most important to just get to grips with the sticking. Once you're comfortable with playing the paradiddle on your snare drum or practice pad, why not try moving the pattern around the kit.
A nice easy one to begin with is simply moving your right hand to the floor tom and playing the left hand on the snare. Or you could play the left hand on Tom1 and the right hand on the floor tom. Thats the beauty of these rudiments, once you've cracked the initial muscle memory aspect of it, the possibilities of creativity are endless.
That's it for this beginner drum lesson, and hopefully you've now got a good understanding of the basic paradiddle pattern. Over the coming weeks, we'll be looking at more complex rudiments and looking at some ideas of how to develop them.
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please leave them in the comments section below. If you want an online drum lesson, or are looking for a Drum Teacher in East London, get in touch here and we can discuss all your requirements.
Until next time, happy drumming!!
Jack
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