Single Paradiddle-Diddle

As you can see from the sheet music below, the single paradiddle-diddle is a combination of single strokes with double strokes.

This drum rudiment is a very fun one to study since it incorporates features from the single paradiddle and the double paradiddle. You can think of the single paradiddle-diddle as a single paradiddle with an extra diddle right after it - R (par) L (a) R (did) R (dle) L (did) L (dle). Much like the double paradiddle, the single paradiddle-diddle is usually played in either 8th note triplets or 16th note triplets. Thus, this is a great pattern to use in triplet based music. This is the only pattern from the paradiddle family of drum rudiments that doesn’t naturally alternate within itself, as you can see bellow. Thus, remember to practice this rudiment leading with both hands.

Practice the single paradiddle-diddle on a single surface and with the help of a metronome. This will help you focus on technique and timing. Stay relaxed while practicing and take your time in learning the single paradiddle-diddle accurately.

You don’t need to be a master of the single paradiddle-diddle before moving on to learn how to play the next drum beats and drum fills. Once you feel you can hold your own when playing the single paradiddle-diddle, by all means, go have some fun with the following four exercises.

Much like the other paradiddle drum rudiments, the first drum beat in this free drum lesson has the single paradiddle-diddle being spread between the snare drum and the hi-hat. This pattern could be used as a half-time shuffle drum beat. The right hand plays normal volume strokes on the hi-hat and a snare shot on count 3. The left hand is kept on the snare drum playing ghosted notes. The bass drum is played on counts 1 and 3.

On drum beat #2, the single paradiddle-diddle is played between the ride cymbal bow, the hi-hat and the snare drum. The right hand plays its portion of the single paradiddle-diddle on the ride cymbal, and on the snare drum on count 3. The left hand stays on the hi-hat. Add a bass drum stroke on count 1 and you’re set.

With the next two exercises we get into the realm of single paradiddle-diddle drum fills. In this next drum fill, the diddles are kept on the hi-tom and on the snare drum, while the singles are played on the mid-tom and floor toms. This drum fill is played in 12/8 time signature.

The next single paradiddle-diddle drum fill is also in 12/8 time signature. This is a harder pattern to master since the diddles are all played on the floor tom and on the hi-tom. Toms are very soggy surfaces, so bounced doubles or diddles sound muddy. This means you’ll have to work extra hard to get those diddles to sound even. When we talk about working extra hard, it doesn’t mean you’ll have to muscle them out of the drums. It means you’ll have to put in the time to develop your forearms muscles and your fingers.