The paradiddle is one of the most versatile rudiments. Once you can play it on a practice pad, the next step is moving it around the drum kit to create fills, beats, and solos.
Moving the Paradiddle
Play R on the snare, L on the snare, R on the rack tom, R on the floor tom. This creates a natural movement around the kit.
Try: R on hi-hat, L on snare, R on hi-hat, R on bass drum. This creates a beat, not a fill.
Inverted paradiddle: R L L R. Start this on different drums to create different textures.
Paradiddle Fills
Play paradiddles as sixteenth notes, moving one note per drum: snare → tom 1 → tom 2 → floor tom.
Double paradiddle (R L R L R R) fills sound great as triplets across the toms.
Paradiddlediddle (R L R R L L) creates a 6-note pattern that works well in 3/4 or 6/8.
Practice Tips
- ●Practice paradiddles leading with both right and left
- ●Play along to songs and insert paradiddle fills
- ●Try paradiddles as eighth-note triplets, then sixteenths
- ●Experiment with different orchestration around the kit