Diddle rudiments · 17 of 40
Double Paradiddle
Six notes, sextuplet feel. Great over triplet grooves.
RLRLRRLRLRLL
Big letter = full stroke · filled = accent. Notation reads as on a practice-pad sheet: accents marked >, slashed small notes are grace notes, z on the stem is a buzz. R rings higher than L, so you can hear the hands.
80BPM
What it is
Two singles more than the single paradiddle: R L R L R R, L R L R L L. Six notes, so it sits naturally in triplets or 6/8, and it is the sticking behind a lot of jazz and Afro-Cuban feels.
How to practise it
- Feel it in two groups of three: "R L R, L R R".
- Play the accented notes on a cymbal and the rest on the snare to hear it as a groove.
- Start where every stroke is deliberate, around 60–80 BPM, and only speed up when it feels boring. When it is clean, take it to the tempo trainer and let trainer mode climb from where you are.
Take it further
- Open in the rudiment trainer →Step through all 40, shuffle, and (for members) random practice that deals you a new one every few loops.
- Log the sessionNote the BPM you reached, and next time starts where this one stopped.
- Why rudiments matter, and where to startThe five to learn first, and how to get them off the pad and onto the kit.
More diddle rudiments
The paradiddle family: singles and doubles mixed so the accent moves between the hands. The most-used stickings in drumming.
- Single ParadiddleThe famous one. Accent moves hand to hand — keep the taps low.
- Triple ParadiddleEight per side — singles into the diddle.
- Single Paradiddle-DiddleSame lead every time — it never alternates.