Paradiddles – Unlock a Hidden Potential
Hey! What is up everyone?! Scott here, and today I wanted to show you an exercise that I developed a few years ago to help me use paradiddles more creatively. In order for me to do that, I understood that I would need to play any paradiddle from the Rudiment chart, and I would need to be comfortable at starting on either the Right or Left hand. So, a brief explanation of the exercise is…
Play through the four paradiddles without stopping
1. Single Paradiddle
2. Double Paradiddle
3. Triple Paradiddle
4. Paradiddle-diddle
Click Here for a PDF transcription of the Excercise
Key Points from today’s Lesson:
- Control! The Great thing about this exercise is the control it takes to have a nice and even sound throughout the different rudiments. It should sound like a roll with accents.
- Potential: The concept of combining paradiddles has great potential to unlock a even more sought after skill. Flowing between Single Strokes and Double Strokes
- Ambidexterity: No More shall we say, “My weak hand can’t play paradiddles.” This exercise forces us to play paradiddles with either hand. This exercise attacks that weakness at the core, confronts it head on, and allows us to conquer such a weakness
For a span of six months, this exercise was included in my daily routine where I would play it for about 3-5 minutes each time. The skills that it unlocked were quite extraordinary and it allowed me to focus on a number of musical expressions all at once. Throughout my drumming journey, I have always tried to take simple ideas that I thought had extreme potential and sought to unlock that potential. Most often, we do not think creatively enough, lose interest, or just don’t explore a single exercise long enough, and furthermore; in order to break out of that habit, I realized I needed to be more Patient. In the arts, especially music, concepts can take months or years to come to a point of full understanding. The best practice, (dare I say the) THE ONLY PRACTICE mentality is to have patience.
That’s it for this lesson. Go Practice!
Please take the time to leave a review as it helps rank our show and get it out to more listeners like you!
If you missed any of last weeks episode you can catch a quick link to any of the episodes below
Daily Motivation for Drummers with Richard
Morning fuel with J.C. Clifford
Drummers I Like Social Media links