Beginner Drum Lessons

The single and inverted paradiddle are extremely popular rudiments and can be used in all styles of music. It is the simplest way possible of combining singles and doubles using both hands. The paradiddle consists of two singles and two doubles (RLRR LRLL and is a great way to start learning how to combine single notes (RLRL) with double notes (RRLL).

The single paradiddle is an extremely popular rudiment and can be used in all styles of music. It is the simplest way possible of combining singles and doubles using both hands. The paradiddle consists of two singles and two doubles (RLRR LRLL and is a great way to start learning how to combine single notes (RLRL) with double notes (RRLL).

Here is the single paradiddle written in its simplest and most common form. I have written it in 1/8th notes but it can, of course, be played through any subdivision.

The Standard Single Paradiddle

Single Paradiddle 1

I have written the exercise so that the Right hand parts are played on the Hi-Hat and the Left hand parts on the snare drum. This is so you can hear what the different hand parts sound like when played together.

All the notes should be evenly played and all at the same volume; the temptation is to play the first note of each four notes loudly. When trying to play the paradiddle evenly it helps to play both hands on one drum source (such as the snare drum), this allows the ears to notice any differences between the hands. If you close your eyes while playing this on the snare drum it should sound like a single stroke roll (RLRL) i.e. all notes even and at the same volume. This is harder than you might think!

The paradiddle can be used within drum beats, as drum fills or used in a drum solo. What drummers will often do is break up the paradiddle into smaller chunks (RLRR) and play these little combinations of the paradiddle rather than a whole bar of RLRR LRLL. You won’t hear the whole paradiddle played in its entirety very often but it is this combination of single and doubles that make it a great tool to break up and place in any combination the drummer chooses.

The next three exercises are the same single paradiddle but simply moved along one note at a time. This simple idea, using the same sticking, allows the paradiddle to totally change its sound without the drummer having to learn any new stickings. It’s just a case of starting the paradiddle at a different point within the line of notes.

Variation 1 – The Inverted Paradiddle

Single and Inverted Paradiddle 2

This version of the paradiddle gets its own name and is most commonly called the Inverted Paradiddle. There is a lot of confusion amongst drummers as to whether the next variations shown below are also called “Inverted” paradiddles but you can take it from me that when the term “inverted paradiddle” is mentioned most drummers think of this variation.

It is my personal favourite as the single stroke part of the paradiddle flows into the down beat. For a really cool drum set application try placing the right hand over the floor tom and the left hand over the high tom for the single stroke part of the rudiment and play the doubles on the snare drum.

Variation 2 – The Backward Paradiddle

Single Paradiddle 3

This is simply the paradiddle played backwards; starting with the doubles.

Variation 3 – The Broken Double Paradiddle

Single Paradiddle 4

I have made up this name myself as the variation hasn’t actually got its own name. This is the least popular version of the single paradiddle due to the way the doubles flow into the downbeats.

Most drummers are trained to feel every four notes through 1/8th’s, 1/16th’s and 1/32nd notes as a downbeat. This variation when played through these subdivisions has the second note of the double landing on the perceived downbeat and so feels awkward and uncomfortable. This is only because it is probably the least practiced variation but, if mastered like the rest, not only feels comfortable but can also sound awesome!

Moving The Paradiddle Around The Drum Kit

The next three exercises show some of the most common ways the single paradiddle is split over the drum kit. For simplicity and ease of practice I have only used the standard paradiddle sticking (RLRR LRLL) but the ideas being shown can be applied to all four sticking variations.

Single Paradiddle Around The Drum Kit – Variation 1

Single Paradiddle 5

This is the most common and simplest way of applying the paradiddle to the rest of the drum kit. Obviously the tom-toms I have chosen can be replaced with any drum/cymbal of your choice. It’s easiest to start with this version though as the floor tom is easiest to hit with the right hand and the high tom with the left.

Single Paradiddle Around The Drum Kit – Variation 2

Single Paradiddle 6

This version plays both of the single notes on different toms while the doubles are placed on the snare drum.

Single Paradiddle Around The Drum Kit – Variation 3

Single Paradiddle 7

The single notes are now placed on the snare and it’s the doubles that are played on the corresponding toms.

I encourage you to memorise these three variations and to then play them next to each other without stopping. Eventually you should be able to instinctively move your hands to toms within the single or double part of the paradiddle without hesitation or effort. Try to move in and out of the three variations randomly – see how they allow the freedom to move the hands to different drums.

The next step is to try applying the same drums to the same parts of the paradiddle for all four sticking variations shown at the start of this lesson (Inverted, Backwards etc.) – the possibilities are practically endless.

Paradiddle Drum Fills – Using Various Stickings/Sound Sources

The next three exercises show just how much mileage can be gained from the paradiddle if mixed up and played around the drum kit. I have written these exercises in 1/16th notes but any subdivision can be used.

These are just some examples within the multitude of variations possible and it is up to the drummer to come up with their own. What drummers will often find happening is that the sticking variations they practice the most tend to be played more frequently. The more sticking variations practiced the bigger vocabulary the drummer will have available to them.

Single Paradiddle – Drum Fill 1

Single Paradiddle 8

Here is a cool idea that can be applied to all the paradiddle variations. The singles within the paradiddle are played on the crash cymbal with the bass drum. It adds an extra dimension to the possibilities. The standard sticking has been used for this drum fill (RLRR LRLL).

Single Paradiddle – Drum Fill 2

Single Paradiddle 9

The first half of the drum fill uses the “Inverted Paradiddle” sticking while the second half uses the standard sticking.

Single Paradiddle – Drum Fill 3

Single Paradiddle 10

This drum fill helps to show just how the paradiddle stickings can be messed around with and at the same time, just how many possibilities there are. The sticking used is one half of the “Backward Paradiddle” (RRLR) with one half of the “Inverted Paradiddle” (LRRL). The first half of the bar uses the tom-toms while the second half incorporates the crash cymbal and bass drum shown previously.

In Conclusion 

I hope that this lesson has shown just how versatile the paradiddle can be. The number of variations is almost endless but don’t let this daunt you. It is up to you what and how many sticking patterns you learn and how you use them around the kit. Simply start with the standard sticking and take it from there, explore for yourself how you can use the sticking to move around the kit and come up with your own ideas.

 

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Beginner Drum Lesson
Intermediate Drum Lesson
Heroes

(David Bowie)

Brown Sugar

(The Rolling Stones)

Hysteria

(Def Leppard)

The Chain

(Fleetwood Mac)

Brick House

(The Commodores)

Dreams

(The Cranberries)

Fortunate Son

(Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Don't Cry

(Guns N' Roses)

Little Sister

(Queens Of The Stone Age)

Man In A Box

(Alice In Chains)

Slither

(Velvet Revolver)

Rain

(The Beatles)

Advanced Drum Lesson
Tonight, Tonight

(Smashing Pumpkins)

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(Van Halen)

Faith

(George Michael)

Breakout

(Foo Fighters)

Crazy Train

(Ozzy Osbourne)

100 Mile High City

(Ocean Colour Scene)

Riverboat Song

(Ocean Colour Scene)

Sir Duke

(Stevie Wonder)

Them Bones

(Alice In Chains)

Once

(Pearl Jam)

Plush

(Stone Temple Pilots)

Rio

(Duran Duran)

Suck My Kiss

(Red Hot Chili Peppers)

And 700+ MORE full song video drum lessons.

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100 Mile High City (Ocean Colour Scene), 20th Century Boy (T.Rex), 21 Guns (Green Day), 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon), 6 Underground (Sneaker Pimps), 74-75 (The Connells), Ace Of Spades (Motorhead), Adams Song (Blink 182), A Day In The Life (The Beatles), Addicted To Love (Robert Plant), Aeroplane (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Africa (Toto), Alive And Kicking (Simple Minds), All Day And All Of The Night (The Kinks), A Message To You, Rudy (The Specials), And She Was (Talking Heads), Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers), All Apologies (Nirvana), All I Want For Christmas (Mariah Carey), All My Life (The Foo Fighters), All Night Long (Rainbow), All Right Now (Free), All These Things That I've Done (The Killers), All The Small Things (Blink 182), All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople), All You Ever Wanted (Rag'n'Bone Man), Alternative Ulster (Stiff Little Fingers), Always (Blink 182), Always (Bon Jovi), Always On My Mind (Elvis Presley), American Idiot (Green Day), Anarchy In The UK (Sex Pistols), Angel Of Harlem (U2), Angie (The Rolling Stones), Animal (Def Leppard), Another One Bites The Dust (Queen), Anna Molly (Incubus), Aneurysm (Nirvana), Apocalypse Please (Muse), Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet), Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny Kravitz), Around The World (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie), Assassin (Muse), Atomic (Blondie), Awake (Godsmack), Back In Black (AC/DC), Back In Time (Huey Lewis & The News), Back In The U.S.S.R. 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1979 (Smashing Pumpkins), 2000 Miles (Pretenders), 6:00 (Dream Theater), 99 Red Balloons (Nena), Aces High (Iron Maiden), Achilles Last Stand (Led Zeppelin), A Day In The Life (The Beatles), Aenema (Tool), Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan), Aja (Steely Dan), A Little Less Conversation (Elvis Presley), Alive (Pearl Jam), All Too Well (Taylor Swift), Amen Brother (The Winstons), Angels Of Death (Slayer), Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd), Alright (Supergrass), Apocalypse Please (Muse), Around The Fur (Deftones), Avon (Queens Of The Stone Age), Baba O'Riley (The Who), Babylon Sisters (Steely Dan), Back In The USSR (The Beatles), Bad (Michael Jackson), Ball Room Blitz (The Sweet), Bandoliers (Them Crooked Vultures), Bang Bang (Green Day), Bargain (The Who), Barracuda (Heart), Bat Country (Avenged Sevenfold), Beat It (Michael Jackson), Been Caught Stealing (Jane's Addiction), Behind Blue Eyes (The Who), Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) (Deftones), Best Of You (Foo Fighters), Bet You Look 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Don't Stand So Close To Me (The Police), Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds), Down (Blink 182), Do You Want To Rock (Danko Jones), Dr Feelgood (Motley Crue), Drive In Drive Out (The Dave Matthews Band), Drop Dead Legs (Van Halen), Drum Also Waltzes, The (Max Roach), Drumming Song (Florence And The Machine), Duality (Slipknot), Elephant (Tame Impala), Elephant (Them Crooked Vultures), Elephant Stone (The Stone Roses), Emit Remmus (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Englishman In New York (Sting), Eulogy (Tool), Every Breath You Take (The Police), Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police), Execute (Slipknot), Exit Music For A Film (Radiohead), Fat Bottom Girls (Queen), Fear Of A Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree), Fear Of The Dark (Iron Maiden), Feeling This (Blink 182), Fell In Love With A Girl (The White Stripes), Fergus Sings The Blues (Deacon Blue), Fields Of Gold (Sting), Figure It Out (Royal Blood), Fire (Jimi Hendrix), Fire (Kasabian), Fireball (Deep Purple), First Date (Blink 182), Firth Of Fifth (Genesis), Flight Of Icarus (Iron Maiden), Fool In The Rain (Led Zeppelin), Fools Gold (The Stone Roses), For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica), Forgotten (Lamb Of God), Forty Six & Two (Tool), Foxey Lady (Jimi Hendrix), Free Flight (Whitesnake), Funky Drummer (James Brown), Get Lucky (Daft Punk) Get Off My Cloud (The Rolling Stones), Get Up (I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine) (James Brown), Ghost Town (The Specials), Gimme Chocolate (Babymetal), Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman), Gives You Hell (All American Rejects), God Save The Queen (The Sex Pistols), Going Under (Evanescence), Good Old Music (Funkadelic), Good Times, Bad Times (Led Zeppelin), Goodbye (Army Of Anyone), Gotta Be Somebody (Nickelback), Got The Life (Korn), Grace (Jeff Buckley), Green Onions (Booker T and the MG's), Grudge, The (Tool), Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears), Heart Of The Sunrise (Yes), Heartbeat Song (The Futureheads), Hearts All Gone (Blink 182), Heathen 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The (Queen), Ironic (Alanis Morissette), Iron Man (Black Sabbath), It's The End Of The World (REM), It's The Same Old Song (The Four Tops), I Want To Break Free (Queen), I Want It All (Queen), Jack & Diane (John Mellencamp), Jamie's Cryin' (Van Halen), Jamming (Bob Marley) Jesus Christ Pose (Soundgarden), Jesus Of Suburbia (Green Day), Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)...

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Red Hot Chili Peppers

14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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7 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Beatles

16 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Blink 182

16 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Tom Petty

4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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22 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Radiohead

8 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Faith No More

5 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Oasis

10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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8 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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19 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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8 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Queen

10 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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15 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Clash

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Muse

26 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Madness

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Rolling Stones

7 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Fleetwood Mac

8 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Simple Minds

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Alice In Chains

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Bruce Springsteen

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Thin Lizzy

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Dire Straits

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Audioslave

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

ZZ Top

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Rage Against The Machine

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Green Day

20 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Rush

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Incubus

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Deep Purple

2 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Paramore

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Cure

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Michael Jackson

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Soundgarden

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Tool

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Foo Fighters

22 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Linkin Park

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

AC/DC

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

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"Love Is A Long Road" - (Tom Petty & Jim Keltner) Full Song Video Drum Lesson Notation Chart Transcription Sheet Music
Drum Sheet Music Preview
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Absolutely not. You are never too old to learn the drums. DrumsTheWord has a community of drummers of all ages, and from all over the world. And with lessons covering classic songs starting from the 50s, there is something for all ages and musical tastes.

Does DrumsTheWord have anything for advanced drummers?

For the more skilled tub-thumpers, DrumsTheWord shows you how to play songs from some of the most skilled and technically talented drummers on the planet. What better way to continue to improve your drumming than learning from the best. You’ll never be short of inspiration or practice ideas ever again.

Who is Robert Litten?

Rob has been drumming for over 30 years and teaching for over 20. He also studied drumming at degree level at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, England. Through the years he has taught 100s of pupils one-to-one as well running drum courses at local music academies. For the last 15 years, Rob has focused purely on creating content for DrumsTheWord. With a wealth of experience playing live with multiple bands, teaching and working online, Rob will be able to help you reach your drumming goals.

Do I need to read music?

No. Even though all full song video drum lessons come with a fully transcribed PDF drum chart, there is no need to be able to read it. In fact, this is what makes DrumsTheWord so unique – the video lessons SHOW you how to play the drum parts, both slowly and up to speed. As a bonus, you might even learn how to read music along the way thanks to the fact you get both mediums together.

DrumsTheWord 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

Happy drumming guarantee.

Start learning your favourite songs for 30 days. Zero risk.

We know that there are many online lessons out there to choose from. Maybe you’re wondering if the song lessons will work, if you’ll use them enough – or if you’ll even enjoy the experience. So to help put your mind at ease, if within the first 30 days of purchase you are not completely satisfied with the content and service, then you can ask for a full 100% refund, no questions asked.

You even get to keep the free bonus material, so you really have nothing to lose!

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You have successfully subscribed! Keep an eye out on your inbox for your first free lesson. Make sure to also check your "junk" folder if you haven't received anything. Enjoy the free drum content arriving over the coming weeks!