Paradiddle Groove, an intro to the paradiddle drum beat.

This lesson introduces the paradiddle drum beat. It is one of my favourite ideas and I find it really useful for funkier styles of drumming. It will also help with your time keeping and hand/foot coordination.
First is a quick recap of how to play the paradiddle. If you have never come across the paradiddle before, a paradiddle is a combination of single and double strokes as shown in EX.1.

Aim to play EX.1 at around 80bpm, you can play this on the snare drum or a practice pad. I have added accents on the first beat of each paradiddle. These dynamics are essential for EX.2 . Make sure the accents stand out and play the unaccented beats as ghost notes. Play until you are confident with the sticking and dynamics (Reverse sticking if left handed).

Ex .1

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R L R R L R L L

EX.2 demonstrates a basic paradiddle beat. The paradiddle is played with you right hand on the hi-hat and your left hand on the snare (reverse if left handed). Remember the dynamics in EX.1 and focus on creating a solid back beat with the left hand on beats 2 & 4, this will make the groove come to life. Finally add the bass drum on beats 1 & 3.

Ex .2

There you go! How to turn a boring old paradiddle into something cool and useful.
Thank you for viewing this online lesson from Crash Drum School,

copyright Adam Swales 2010