26th September 2018 Wil Wainwright

Paradiddle-diddles Part 1

Hello and welcome to a more general lesson on a rudiment that you really should know. The Paradiddle-diddle is a great rudiment that has so many useful applications. Lets just start off by making sure that you are happy with the basic principle.

1) This is the basic rudiment in the form most of us are familiar with. In this iteration, there is only one accent at the start of each part, in this case on the downbeat as we are playing 16th note triplets. Take your time making sure you can play this smoothly and there are only two dynamics. There should be a clear accent and a quiet unaccented note and no other volumes. Once you are happy with the pattern make sure you add the left foot in on quarter notes to help hear the subdivision.
2) I am always shocked by the amount of drummers that don’t bother to learn the opposite version of non alternating rudiments. What do I mean by that? Well the paradiddle-diddle stays as right hand lead pattern but obviously it can be played the other way round. Depending on how much you work on your weaker hand, this may be surprisingly difficult to play clean and keep the dynamics on point. Take your time and get it sounding good before moving on.
3) This is where I really start to love the sound and feel of the basic paradiddle-diddle. We are now playing it over 16th notes. I have written it out in 3/4 so that it resolves easily. Watch your left foot here and keep it playing 1/4 notes.
4) Fairly obvious here, it is just the left hand lead version played as 16ths with the left foot playing 1/4 notes. As before take your time to get it accurate and with good dynamics.
5) This exercise is fantastic hand warm up on so many levels. We get to work on both right hand and left hand lead and also on accents in both hands. Watch your dynamics here and make sure you keep the left foot on 1/4 notes.

 

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