We all want to play faster, right? Or if not faster, at least better?

This workout is only for drummers who want to build speed, accuracy, and endurance. If that’s not you, well…that’s okay.

But if you’re trying to reach the next level of drum-ness, ZackGrooves‘ paradiddle chops workout will help build fluidity around the kit.

If you don’t know what a paradiddle is, the sticking is RLRR LRLL – and it’s one of the most important rudiments every drummer should learn.

Whether you’re playing it on the snare drum or moving it around the kit in a fill or groove, paradiddles have a billion applications.

Zack will get you adding paradiddles into a drum beat and set you up with a foundation to groove better, build chops…whatever your goal is.

If you can play single strokes and double strokes and have a good grasp of drum independence, you’ll enjoy this workout. And it takes less than 10 minutes to play through it!

Here’s the sheet music to help you groove with Zack. Keep in mind that he leads the final paradiddle with his left hand on the snare.

This is a great workout for an intermediate drummer (or an experienced beginner). Just slow the video down if you need to lock in the groove or read the sheet music first.

If you feel like showing off, go ahead and speed up playback!

This is only a small sample from Zack’s new workout-based Drumeo course, 30-Day Chops. Like following a fitness instructor, you’ll play along for 10 minutes a day – every day for a month – adding a few notes at a time.

After 30 days, you’ll be able to play tasty linear grooves and fills with the best of them!

Chops aren’t as hard as they look. When you sign up for 30-Day Chops, you’ll also get lifetime access to the program – so you can come back and go through the workouts anytime.

Join 6500+ drummers who have already signed up for the challenge!

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Have you been writing the same drum parts over and over again? Are you looking for some new patterns to add to your arsenal?

You’re in luck: the answer to your problem was right under your nose this entire time.

Resource: The 40 Drum Rudiments

In this quick video lesson, Dorothea Taylor shares five less-popular rudiments that you can use to build into your drum parts.

Dorothea has decades of experience teaching and playing marching snare. These rudiments deserve more love, and they may be just what you need to upgrade your drum fills (and beats and solos), whether you keep them on the snare drum or move them down the toms:

1. Single Ratamacue

The single ratamacue pattern sounds like ‘ra-ta-ma-CUE’, with an accent at the end. Make sure you get a nice clean drag on those grace notes.

2. Swiss Army Triplets

Flam-right-left. That’s the Swiss Army Triplet!

3. Double Drag Tap

It’s in the name: two drags and a tap. Double Drag Tap.

4. Drag Paradiddle #1

Drag Paradiddle #1 starts with a single stroke. Then a drag takes you into the paradiddle.

5. Grandma’s

This hybrid rudiment (meaning it’s not found on the list of 40 standard rudiments) consists of a paradiddle with an accent on the second note, followed by an accented tap.

Remember to practice all of these slowly and regularly until you have them clean and tight.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice your exercises over real music:

Dorothea has a ton of rudiment-focused lessons (and more) in the Drumeo members area. Get a free trial here!

“Should I bother learning rudiments?”

“What order should I learn rudiments in?”

“Aren’t rudiments those animals with four stomachs?”

No, those are ruminants. Rudiments are set patterns – the building blocks of what we play on the drums. 

It’s important to learn them early on as they set you up for better technique, timing, and general flow around the kit. Here are the 5 rudiments every beginner should learn first (in order).

1. Single stroke roll

The single stroke roll is the bread and butter of drumming. Drummers should learn this rudiment first as it’s the easiest to grasp.

There are so many beats, fills, and solos that you could play with this one pattern. Speeding it up isn’t so easy, though. Neither is starting it with your weaker hand. 

To play a single stroke roll, evenly alternate your hands on any surface. You can start on a pad and then take it to the drum kit when you’re comfortable. It’s a good idea to switch up the way you play it as well. You can use your wrists for a few bars and then your fingers for the next few. 

(Click here to learn how to control your sticks with your wrists vs. with your fingers)

Make sure to play it slowly at first. Also, remember to let your sticks rebound off the surface. Don’t force them downwards!

The single stroke roll is one of the easiest rudiments to apply to a drum set. Try not to limit yourself to one drum or cymbal at a time. Things start to sound epic when you split your hands between different drums. 

This clip shows how to develop single stroke roll speed and take the pattern around the kit:

2. Double stroke roll

Along with the single stroke roll, the double stroke roll sets you up to play most other rudiments. It also trains you to use your fingers more than single strokes do.

It involves playing two strokes with your right hand, followed by two strokes with your left. 

You can choose to play a double stroke with your wrists or your fingers, but you may find that using your fingers makes it easier to play faster. Using only your wrists will give you more power, though.

With double stroke rolls, your non-dominant hand’s strokes will likely sound weaker. Focus on making your strokes feel and sound even. 

Be aware that the second stroke of each double may sound weaker than the first. One useful tip is to try and accent the second stroke.

Don’t forget to practice leading the rudiment with both your right and left hand.

Applying doubles around the kit can be tough since the surface tension on the toms are looser than on a pad or snare drum. So it’s good to regularly work on playing doubles around the toms. 

You can also play them on the cymbals. Double strokes on the hi-hat sound amazing!

3. Single paradiddle

The single paradiddle combines single strokes and double strokes into one awesome rudiment. Beginners should learn this one as it teaches you to play a repeating pattern that balances your hands.

It also has so many variations that it’s important to learn the single version first.

To play a single paradiddle, you need to play two alternating strokes followed by a double stroke with the hand you started with. You start on the alternating hand for the next round of single strokes.

Single paradiddles have so many uses on the drum kit. You can also get some unique fills and grooves by moving accents around within the pattern. You can easily play a straightforward single paradiddle as a fill, but getting funky with dynamics is where this rudiment really shines. 

Here are some fresh single paradiddle ideas from Adam Tuminaro:

4. Flam

A flam is when you play a stroke with each hand, but one comes almost immediately before the other. The first stroke (called a grace note) is light and falls into the second, more powerful stroke.

You’ll want to learn flams early in your drumming journey because several more complicated rudiments include them.

You can play a flam by raising one arm higher than the other and then dropping them at the same time. While a flam is a one-note rudiment, you can play repeating flams in a bar to work on alternating your leading hands. 

Flams sound great in drum fills, whether they’re on their own or included in other patterns.

Check how Jared tastefully fits a flam into the first drum fill here: 

5. Double paradiddle

The double paradiddle adds a fun twist to the classic single paradiddle. You play two extra singles at the beginning of each group, creating a six-note pattern. 

You have 12 beats in a bar here, meaning you can play this rudiment with a triplet feel. Learning it early on gets you used to playing a rudiment in triplets. 

Give your double paradiddles more ‘oomph’ by putting an accent on every quarter note. You can also try accenting the first and third note of each six-note pattern.

Double paradiddles are one of the best rudiments for grooving. The notes line up so you can land a backbeat with your left hand on the snare drum every time, no matter where on the drum kit your other hands land.

You can keep that backbeat going when playing fills too, which is super handy. 

Tips for practicing rudiments

Playing rudiments can get repetitive, but repetition is a necessary part of practice. The best way to work on your muscle memory is to keep those rudiments interesting. 

Here are some ideas: 

• Play rudiments over your favorite songs
• Use a metronome to continually get faster
• Run through different rudiments one after the other 
• Practice rudiments on the drum kit
• Incorporate rudiments into drum beats and fills

(Click here for more tips to trick yourself into practicing)

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice your exercises over real music:

Keep in mind that perfecting these rudiments takes a lifetime. There’s no rush. It’s important to slow down and solidify your technique to set you up nicely for challenging patterns later on.

The five rudiments we’ve mentioned here are the building blocks of the 40 official rudiments. Focus on the ones on this page before moving on.

If you’re looking to follow a comprehensive guide to learning all the rudiments, get a 7-day free trial to Drumeo and check out the Drumeo Method. Rudiments are only a portion of what this program covers, but you’ll learn to use them and other critical skills to become a better drummer. 

For more practice inspiration, follow these rudiment tips and exercises by Rob Brown: 

Dorothea Taylor isn’t just the godmother of drumming…she’s also the queen of rudiments. Did you know that these popular drumming patterns make up the bulk of a lot of the grooves, chops, and fills you hear on your favorite albums or in your favorite drum videos?

Paradiddles are Dorothea’s go-to because they’re so versatile. There are four ways to play a paradiddle (we call them ‘inversions’):

1. RLRR LRLL (watch this video to learn how to play the standard paradiddle)
2. RLLR LRRL (inversion 1)
3. RRLR LLRL (inversion 2)
4. RLRL LRLR (inversion 3)

Think of it like shifting the RLRR pattern down a circular conveyor belt until it comes back out the end you started on!

Once you get used to playing paradiddles and inverted paradiddles on a single surface, try them in a groove on the drum kit and break the rights and lefts between snare and hi-hat, snare and toms, or other surfaces. Add ghost notes and dynamics to give the groove more feel.

If you didn’t think there were even more ways to do cool things with paradiddles, well…there are.

You can play each inversion (variation) four different ways by putting the accent on a different beat. Try to only accent the 1s, then only accent the 2s, then the 3s, then the 4s.

For example, here’s how you’d shift the accents on a regular paradiddle:

1. Rlrr Lrll
2. rLrr lRll
3. rlRr lrLl
4. rlrR lrlL

Four paradiddle variations, and four variations on each of those: that’s 16 ways to play a paradiddle!

Once you learn these paradiddle variations well enough to play them in your sleep, you’ll find yourself using them all the time. You may not realize you’re playing rudiments when you’re sprinkling these concepts into your beats and fills, but they’ll take your stick control and creativity to the next level.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice your exercises over real music:

If you enjoyed this video, you can learn much more from Dorothea so you can play faster and tighter – with a Drumeo membership!

Why so serious?

Emmanuelle Caplette isn’t just known for her incredible hand technique and speed, her effortless playing style, her festival and TV appearances and her drumming awards…she’s also instantly recognizable by her huge smile.

And why shouldn’t she be? Drumming is fun!

That joy has become part of her brand and it’s baked into her newly released, aptly-titled drum book called Smile! You’re Drumming. While the content is mostly rudiment-based, you can (and should!) apply all of it on the drum kit.

In this full free drum lesson, Emmanuelle demos some of her book’s core exercises and how you can take them from pad practice to gig-ready grooves and fills. She deconstructs rudiments in brand new ways and combines drum corps and drum set concepts into practical tools any drummer can use.

You’ll learn how to keep your strokes consistent, improve your fluidity, speed and control, and much more!

Ready to make rudiments fun?

If you have the book, follow along with the lesson!

For more free lessons like this – plus other drum-related offers and updates – drop your email here! 

Lesson Index:
0:00 – SONG: “The Chamber” by Antoine Fafard
5:20 – Introduction
9:07 – SONG: “Contravention” by EC/SM (Emmanuelle Caplette/Sylvain Marcotte)
11:55 – Single Stroke Sextuplets
17:24 – Double Beats
21:56 – Paradiddles and Paradiddle Diddles
25:35 – Accents and Diddles
30:20 – Hybrid Rudiments
34:44 – Flam Accent
37:13 – SONG: “Phase I” by EC/SM
43:37 – SONG: “From The Satellite” by Damien Schmitt

Emmanuelle Plays:
Sonor Drums
Evans Drumheads
Sabian Cymbals
Vic Firth Drumsticks

Follow Emmanuelle:
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Struggling with your hand technique? Lost in a sea of exercises? It’s time to take it back to the basics.

Rudiments are the building blocks of everything drums, and in this video Rob “Beatdown” Brown shows you the three that make up virtually all drumming vocabulary – the single stroke roll, the double stroke roll, and the single paradiddle – and how you can start practicing them.

But what about flams? Or dragadiddles? Or even the Shirley Murphy?

Don’t worry – the other rudiments are valid and have their own applications, and there are many reasons to work your way through all 40 rudiments. But there are only three that you absolutely need to know:

Single stroke roll

There are two techniques you want to develop: fingers and wrists. Don’t just alternate left, right, left, right for ten minutes. Put intent and purpose behind it. Switch between strokes controlled by the fingers (French grip, where palms face each other) and strokes controlled by the wrist (German grip, or palms facing down).

Double stroke roll

Like the single stroke roll, practice double strokes using fingers and then wrists separately. Get used to switching between grips and techniques. Be honest with yourself and start slowly so you can get them super clean.

Single paradiddle

A single paradiddle combines single strokes and double strokes. Keep your hands loose and your arms relaxed as you practice fluid and smooth motions. This will make it easier when you start moving patterns around the kit.

With these three rudiments under your belt, you’ll be able to accomplish virtually anything on the drums.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice your exercises over real music:

Having trouble getting your rolls and paradiddles up to speed? Try ‘The Fastest Way To Get Faster’, a free video course that’ll help you nail the techniques you need to go quick!

In this guide, you’ll learn about the origin of these patterns, which ones to get familiar with first, and how to apply them on the drum set.

What are drum rudiments?

Rudiments are patterns of drum strokes between the right and left hands that have a specific rhythmic structure and dynamics. They’re the fundamental building blocks of the more complex patterns we play on the drum set — similar to how scales, arpeggios, and chords form the basis of piano music.

Rudiments first originated in the middle ages as a military call used by Swiss mercenaries who used pikes (spear-like weapons) in close formations. That kind of battle positioning required intense coordination, so the sound of the tabor (an early medieval snare drum) was used to communicate commands with distinct drumming patterns. Those patterns became the basis of the rudiments we use today.

In the twentieth century, the Percussive Arts Society created a definitive list of drum rudiments called the “PAS 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments”, which is considered to be the current standard and reference for all modern drummers and percussionists.

How to play rudiments

Rudiments are usually practiced on a pad or snare drum, but they’re played around the drum set as well.

If this is your first time trying them yourself, grab a pad, a metronome and some sticks and check out this lesson on grip where you’ll learn how to find your natural hand position on the stick, how to locate the fulcrum, and how to position your fingers around it.

Next, learn the four main strokes of the stick:

1. Rebound stroke
2. Control stroke
3. Tap stroke
4. Up stroke

World-renowned percussion educator John Wooton defines these four fundamental stick motions as the “real rudiments” of drumming.

Now that you have proper sticking technique on your grip and stroke, you’re ready to jump into the patterns themselves. Start with the single stroke roll and the double stroke roll: the two rudiments that serve as the foundation for all the others.

Make sure to practice leading (starting) with both your right hand and your left hand, and to add accents to the quarter notes in the single stroke roll.

How to play a single stroke roll

How to play a double stroke roll

How to play a paradiddle

Next, try a paradiddle: a pattern that combines two single strokes and a double stroke, and which naturally alternates between leading hands.

How to play a flam

After that, you can move onto the flam (where a lighter grace note precedes a stronger primary note) and the drag (where two grace notes – or a light double stroke – precedes a stronger primary note).

How to play a drag

Once you know these five basic rudiments, the rest are all variations on them!

Click here for a full list of standard rudiments, complete with video tutorials and notation for each one.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice rudiments over real music:

Why are rudiments important?

Practicing rudimental sticking patterns helps us build musculature and control in our arms, wrists and fingers, which improves our stamina, speed, and precision on the drum set. It’s really important as drummers to develop our non-dominant (and usually weaker) hand to the point where it is equal to our dominant hand.

For most of us, this means building up our left side. Playing a basic left-leading single stoke roll with accents is an great way to build stamina and dexterity in that limb. And since the left hand typically plays the snare drum, increased strength and precision in that hand means cleaner ghost notes, more controlled texturing, better shuffles, and greater consistency and power in your backbeats.

On your right side, working on stamina and articulation in that hand means the ability to play faster and more complex riding patterns (like continuous 16th notes and triplet-based jazz and swing ostinatos).

Practicing rudiments improves our stamina, speed, and precision on the drum set.

Playing rudiments to a metronome helps develop our timing and ability to subdivide (dividing beats into equal parts, like 8ths, 16ths, etc). Typically, rudiments are practiced using specific note values. For example, paradiddles are often played as 16ths, the triple stroke roll as 8th note triplets, etc. This kind of focused work to a click improves our ability to sync to a pulse and subdivide that pulse accurately and fluidly, which translates perfectly to playing on the kit.

Sticking exercises and pad work help us focus on grip and stroke, since we can pay attention to how we’re holding our hands, whether they’re equal in height and dynamic, if our strokes are consistent, and if on the same hand we’re getting a substantial height (and dynamic) difference between our accents and our taps. Rudiments also incorporate techniques like flams and drags, which can be used in a musical context to create texture and variation in grooves and fills.

In the following lesson on using rudiments musically, John Wooton says, “Applying [rudimental] technique to the drum set is more important than actually applying the rudiments.” John really hits the nail on the head in terms of why we practice rudiments as kit drummers: it’s not that you will necessarily play those particular sticking patterns in a song (although you might), it’s that having practiced those patterns on a pad will mean you’ve been working on your grip, stroke, rebound, feel, timing, dynamics and articulation, and it’s those things we then bring to the kit and to songs.

How to apply rudiments to the drum set

You can apply rudiments to the drum set, either just on the snare, or orchestrated around the kit. Start by using any of the forty patterns and play the left hand on the snare while the right moves around the toms. Then move both hands around the entire drum set.

Rudiments can also be played as grooves. For instance, a paradiddle played as 16th notes can be performed with the right hand on the hi-hat, and the left on the snare as ghost notes (accenting the two and four as backbeats). Any paradiddle permutation and accent variation can be orchestrated in this way as a groove on the kit.

Check out Dorothea Taylor demonstrating this very idea in her video on the importance of paradiddles:

And if you want a personal account of how rudiments helped her become a better drummer from the very beginning, read Dorothea’s story here.

Here are some additional ideas for playing rudiments on the drum set:

• Play a rudiment as a fill orchestrated on the toms.
• Play a bass drum in place of one of the hands – for instance, in a paradiddle-diddle where you substitute the kick for the left hand.
• Adjust the time signature of the rudiment and play over the bar line.
• Change and add accents.

These creative ways of using and practicing rudiments are beautifully illustrated by Juan Mendoza in his lesson on “Rudiment Hacks”.

Another way to be creative with rudiments is to adjust their subdivision. For example, a triple stroke roll that’s commonly played as 16th note triplets can be played as straight (duple) 16ths. Similarly, a double stroke roll can be performed as triplets. These and several other note value variations are demonstrated in this fun lesson on how to spice up your rudiments.

Practice your independence by playing an ostinato with the feet and various rudiments over top with the hands. For a mind-blowing example, Thomas Pridgen will play rudiments with his hands over a samba beat in 4/4 with his feet. He starts out with a basic double stroke roll and paradiddle that are also in 4/4, but then quickly moves to playing a 5 stroke roll in 5 (making a 5 over 4 polyrhythm with the foot ostinato), a 6 stroke roll in 6, a 7 stroke roll in 7, and so on, orchestrating and playing various accents and permutations at blazing fast speeds all over the kit.

Are rudiments necessary?

Many beginner drummers ask if they need to practice rudiments in order to play drums. It’s not crucial if you want to be a drummer, but if you want to be a great drummer – a well-rounded player with excellent feel, precision, dynamics and sense of time – you should practice rudiments to improve your technique.

So, go get your pad and sticks and give rudiments a try! Your investment will pay off in everything else you ever do on the drums.

Probably one of the most useful rudiments with one of the silliest names, the paradiddle-diddle is sometimes confused with the double paradiddle, which also consists of six notes (but sounds like ‘para-paradiddle’).

The paradiddle-diddle starts with two singles and ends with two sets of doubles, all played as 8th note triplets (think of it as 3 per beat): RLRRLL

Try to put an accent on the first note of each one if it helps you stay on track.

In this video, Glen explains that the right hand part of the pattern is like the reverse of a standard jazz ride pattern, where you just fill in the missing notes with your left hand.

Like all rudiments, the paradiddle-diddle can sound awesome on the drum set in a groove context! Try playing it as triplet 16ths (or sextuplets, 6 per beat) on the hi-hats, adding a snare on 2 and 4 and the bass drum on 1 and 3. This could also make a cool and subtle hi-hat backbeat fill.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice this rudiment over real music:

Whatever you do with it, remember: rudiments are the building blocks of the drumming language. It’s how you speak it that makes it yours!

Drumming can basically be broken down into two things: single strokes and double strokes. Most things we play are just a combination of these. Like a golfer working on their swing, a drummer needs to be working on perfecting these two strokes since they apply to almost everything.

Note spacing and consistency are your tickets to reaching the next level in your playing. If your double strokes are threatening to–well–give you a stroke, here are five ways to stave off the sloppiness. And they really work!

1. Accent the second stroke

A concept taught by pros like Dave Weckl and Thomas Lang, practice accenting the second stroke of each double. Use your full wrist motion to get each one clean and powerful, and get comfortable with how this sounds and feels. Start slow and focus on that accent – it’ll naturally start to even out as you speed up.

2. Practice with locked grip

Since it has little to no rebound, practicing on a pillow (or the soft arm of a couch) is an incredible training exercise. Hold your sticks so the end in the palm of each hand (without gripping too tightly). The stick should function like an extension of your arm rather than being allowed to pivot. Now every stroke on the pillow is a result of your wrist movement. If you do this for five or ten minutes a day, you’re going to start noticing massive improvements.

3. Displace your doubles

To change the feel and orchestration around the kit, rather than playing square/regular doubles (RRLLRRLLRRLL), play inverted doubles (RLLRRLLRRLLR). Work that around the kit with the bass drum on every quarter note. Start with the right hand leading, then practice with the left. Get used to switching between square doubles and inverted doubles and see how the sound changes. It’s a more musical way to apply what you’re working on.

4. Use the note value tree

Practice cycling your doubles between quarter notes, 8th notes, 8th note triplets, 16th notes, 16th note triplets, and 32nd notes. Try it with the metronome at 60 BPM.

5. Study the roll rudiments

Whether you realize it or not, you’re always playing rudiments. If you want to unlock more possibilities in your drumming, work on the 5 stroke roll, 6 stroke roll, 7 stroke roll, 9 stroke roll, 10 stroke roll, 11 stroke roll, 13 stroke roll, 15 stroke roll, and 17 stroke roll.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice these rudiments over real music:

These hybrid patterns may not be on the list of 40 standard rudiments, but you should still add them to your repertoire! Juan Carlito Mendoza shares his favorites:

1. Herta

The herta alternates RLR L RLR L and sounds best when you accent the standalone lefts.

2. Blushda

The blushda starts with a left handed flam, followed by two 16th notes on the right, and topped off with an accented left.

3. Choo choo

When you get this one up to speed, it sounds like a train! All you have to do is play a paradiddle (RLRR) and put a flam on the third 16th note.

4. Flam grandpa

Arguably one of the best-named rudiments of all time, this is a 5 note pattern (RLRRL) that starts with a flam.

5. The stutter

It’s simple sticking, but sounds awesome when sped up. The pattern is RLR LRL with an accent on every left hand.

Are you digging these? Check out Juan’s full course on Drumeo!

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice these hybrid rudiments over real music:

This exercise was inspired by Dorothea Taylor and involves transitioning between rudiments in a way you might not expect.

Let’s call it ‘squishing doubles into hand-to-hand flams’.

Start by playing double strokes. Then, reduce (or ‘squish’) the space between the notes until they turn into hand-to-hand flams (which is a right hand flam, followed by a left hand flam, and repeat). It’s amazing how easy this is once you get it. You’ll notice that a hand-to-hand flam can be broken down into doubles with each hand.

You can also start with a triple stroke roll (RRRLLL) and transition into flam taps (lRR rLL).

Rudiments are the letters of the words that make up the drumming alphabet. Whether you call it ‘squishing’ or ‘collapsing’ (thanks, Claus Hessler), taking this approach to practicing rudiments can help you better understand their building blocks.

Looking for something fun to work out on the pad? Here’s a paradiddle-diddle turnaround pyramid, which you might have also seen from Pat Petrillo or Tommy Igoe.

It starts with four rotations of paradiddle-diddles (RLRRLL) leading with your right hand, followed by a single paradiddle (RLRR) to turn it around. Then it’s four paradiddle-diddles leading with your left hand and a single paradiddle turnaround. Next, it’s three rotations of paradiddle-diddles and a single paradiddle – leading with the right, then the left – and then two rotations, one rotation, and so on.

Here’s the sticking:

RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRR
LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLL
RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRR
LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLL
RLRRLL RLRRLL RLRR
LRLLRR LRLLRR LRLL
RLRRLL RLRR
LRLLRR LRLL
RLRRLL RLRR
LRLLRR LRLL

Try it on the pad or on your full kit. The paradiddle-diddle is another useful skill to add to your vocabulary!

Share a video of you doing this exercise on the Drumeo members forum or on social media using the hashtag #drumeochallenge.

You might know Dorothea Taylor – the ‘godmother of drumming‘ and purveyor of excellent rudimental technique – from her popular Instagram page. She came to the Drumeo studio to demonstrate why paradiddles are so important, and how to practice them in a way that doesn’t make you want to jump out a window.

There are many different ways to practice paradiddles and push past the basic sticking. You can add accents and even string together a few variations over a play-along track, splitting the strokes between different drums and cymbals.

If you want to broaden your knowledge and improve your hand control, check out this lesson! And be sure to watch the end where Dorothea plays along to a song randomly chosen for her.

Lesson Index:
0:00 – SONG: “Tush” by ZZ Top
2:18 – Introduction
6:38 – Paradiddle permutations
12:25 – Adding accents
24:11 – How to develop doubles
28:10 – Paradiddle playalong
33:54 – SONG: “Purple Rain”

Download the PDF to practice along! And check out Drumeo for more lessons and courses from Dorothea.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice these exercises over real music:

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Want to improve your sticking consistency and strengthen your non-dominant hand? Play along with Heather Thomas and work your way through page 1 of one of the most important drumming books: Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone.

Heather practices it per the book’s instructions: repeat each exercise 20 times. The advantages to practicing this way is that you need to stay focused for a long period of time, which gives you an opportunity to relax in an almost meditative way.

Grab your practice pad, ideally in a place where you can stand, and make sure you’re nice and centered in front of it. You’ll be playing for about half an hour, so get comfortable and try to relax!

In this boot camp video, Heather plays it at 152 BPM. If this is too fast for you, take it at a slower tempo on your own until you’re ready.

This page starts with single strokes, then goes into double strokes, paradiddles, inverted paradiddles, single mills (reverse paradiddles), and a variety of other single and double stroke exercises.

Play each exercise 20 times:

If you want to work through more of Stick Control, you can also check out Dom Famularo’s course that takes you through the book (available to Drumeo members).

More importantly, if you’re struggling with your hand technique and speed – or if you found these exercises challenging – get this free 10-video course called The Fastest Way To Get Faster.

Once you know about his extensive drumline background and rudimental foundation, it makes complete sense why Keith Carlock’s double strokes are so good. “We used to practice just singles and doubles all day to get them clean and strong…it taught us to lock in and listen to other people.”

Now he applies these skills to the drum set. Here are two exercises Keith has used to strengthen his doubles. You want to get that snap so both the first and second stroke are at the same volume.

In this exercise, you’re doing a shuffle-type pattern with only your right hand, then only your left. The pattern changes in the second half:

In this doubles exercise, you’ll put an accent on the second stroke each time. Even if you never find a use for this in a song or solo, it’ll help your body remember to keep that second note strong:

Whether he’s in a hotel room or getting ready for a show, Keith is always practicing on a pad to stay in shape and keep his doubles strong. Now it’s your turn. Feel yourself working your muscles as you go through these exercises, and keep it up!

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice over real music:

“I learned a rudiment. Now what do I do with it?”

Juan Mendoza’s book Rudiment Creativity answers that question – and then some – by introducing 11 methods for adapting each rudiment to the drum set in a creative way. Anyone can play this stuff, not just seasoned drummers.

In this game-changing video lesson, you’ll learn what those 11 methods are and how rudiments can be applied to grooves. Juan recommends starting with just one of the methods (get outside your comfort zone and choose one you wouldn’t normally think of) and exploring rudiments in a non-traditional sense.

Lesson Index:
0:21 – SONG: “Nada es Imposible” by Rene Gonzales
4:24 – Introduction
7:39 – Splitting hands
10:37 – Moving the right hand
11:55 – Moving the left hand
14:55 – Sweeping inward & outward
17:35 – Subdivision adjustment
19:50 – Substitution
21:25 – Displacement
22:48 – Using a rudiment as an ostinato
24:05 – Adding accents
26:55 – Moving the accents
29:09 – Changing the time signature
31:00 – SOLO
35:40 – Takeaways
36:28 – SONG: “Odd Movements” by Damani Rhodes

The Methods

1. Splitting hands

Instead of treating a rudiment pattern as a one surface exercise, split it between two surfaces (ie. snare and tom). Try with both right and left hand lead.

2. Moving the right hand

While playing the same pattern, start moving the right hand around the toms to create more textures.

3. Moving the left hand

You can keep moving the right hand around while you start moving the left around, or keep the right hand steady and move the left between the hi-hat and the snare.

4. Sweeping inward & outward

Create melodies by sweeping inward (letting the sound sources come toward the body) or sweeping outward (moving away from the body). Try this with a double stroke roll. In this video, Juan swings the doubles.

5. Subdivision adjustment

Give the pattern a different flavor. Play an 11 stroke roll (organized around a sextuplet) and breaking it up around the kit with different accents.

6. Substitution

Substitute one limb for a different one. Try playing a paradiddle diddle where you sub the left hand for the bass drum.

7. Displacement

Instead of always starting on the downbeat, put the ‘one’ on a partial or any subdivision.

8. Use the rudiment as an ostinato

Play paradiddles and put an accent on the downbeats. Use it in a groove context and get creative.

9. Adding accents

With that same paradiddle pattern, you can move the accents around to the e, the and, the a, and so on. Paradiddles don’t have to sound mechanical; you can make them groove!

10. Moving the accents

Add accents to a double stroke roll. Move them around. Try combining them with sweeping in and out.

11. Changing the time signature

Let’s say you’d normally play a paradiddle with 16th notes in 4/4 or 6/8. Try playing it in 7/8, letting it drift over the bar line. This is a great way to train your ear so when you’re soloing or playing something tricky you can understand how everything falls into place.

Check out more of Juan’s lessons on Drumeo .

Juan plays:
Pearl Drums
Meinl Cymbals
Remo Drumheads
Vic Firth Drumsticks

Follow Juan:
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YouTube
Website

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice these rudiments over real music:

Ever wondered about Todd Sucherman’s pre-game warmup? Every drummer has their own go-to vocabulary, whether it comes out on the practice pad or it’s injected into a pattern on the kit.

Todd filmed a drum solo at Drumeo a few years ago, and in this video you’ll see some of the cool rudiments he used to build it: flam accents, pataflaflas (“fun to say, fun to play”), and flam taps. Once you have the motions, try playing them in succession on the toms and other sound sources.

Check out Todd’s full drum solo right here:

Todd Plays:
Pearl
Sabian
Remo
Promark

Follow Todd:
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Do you work a desk job, or a place where you can’t sneak out to play drums? Let’s be honest: this is the case for most people.

If you can spare a few minutes during your lunch break or around the time you grab your morning coffee, you have time to work on your playing. Just keep a practice pad and a pair of sticks at work, and remember to set aside a few minutes every day.

So if you only have a sliver of time to practice, how do you make sure you’re being productive?

Try this finger to wrist control exercise. Finger control is something drummers use often, but don’t typically use exclusively. You’re more likely to use your fingers in conjunction with your wrists to manipulate the stick (in finer movements, like shuffles or fast rolls around the kit). If you exercise these muscles exclusively on the practice pad, you can level up your technique while you’re at work!

Set a tempo that’s comfortable for you, starting with single strokes using your fingers. Then transition fluidly to your wrists, trying not to have any ‘hiccups’ as you switch techniques. Make sure the strokes sound as even as possible. Your fingers should play a supporting role when using your wrists. Then switch back to the fingers-only motion.

Once you have fluid transitions between finger and wrist techniques, try switching between them more quickly (but still at the same tempo).

Any practice can be good practice, even if you’re just working on rolls for a few minutes each day. You’ll start to notice improvement after some time, and that’s what’s important. Try it yourself!

Rock Drumming Masterclass: www.Drumeo.com/rock/

When you’re on the road for eight months a year and play upwards of 150 shows as Todd Sucherman does, it’s crucial to have a warm-up routine that helps you stay loose and avoid injuries. If you hop behind the kit and go from zero to one-hundred without any preparation, you’re gonna have a bad time.

During our Day In The Life video shoot with Todd, we got to see exactly how Todd warms up before going on stage. He goes over the rudiments he primarily focuses on, as well as hand to foot combinations that ensure all four limbs are relaxed and ready to rip.

About Todd:
Todd Sucherman is a highly demanded drummer for sessions, clinics, and drum festivals who is most well known for his work with the band Styx. On top of recording several top 50 albums with Styx and playing an average of 100 dates a year, Todd has recorded over 1,000 radio and TV spots and has worked with a wide variety of artists such as Peter Cetera, Brian Culbertson, Spinal Tap, Michael Bolton, and many more. Todd won the Modern Drummer Magazine Reader’s poll for #1 Educational DVD and #1 Rock Drummer in 2009, #1 Progressive Rock Drummer in 2015, and #1 Clinician in DRUM! Magazine in both 2009 and 2015.

Download The Sheet Music (PDF)

Rudiments have the reputation to be boring. It’s the one thing everyone tells you to practice for hours on end (they DO make up everything we play), but how can we spice things up? In today’s lesson, I’m going to show you some cool ways to take boring rudiments and make them fun again. It’s a great way to stay inspired and build on your drumming vocabulary!

The general concept behind this lesson is changing the note value of the rudiments we already play. If you find you’re struggling, watch the video above to get a better idea of how these all sound. I’ll also show you a few applications around the kit!

1. Triple Stroke Roll

This rudiment is most commonly played as 8th or 16th note triplets, but let’s move it over to straight 16th notes. As you probably guessed, since the triple stroke roll is a three-note grouping, this is going to feel a little awkward at first. This will also change how it resolves.

As you can see, re-thinking your rudiments this way is going to help you discover new vocabulary and get you thinking outside the box.

2. Double Stroke Roll

This is a two-note pattern traditionally written as 8th or 16th notes, but today we’re going to play them as 16th note triplets. This means there’s going to be three sets of double strokes per count! Start SLOW.

3. Double Paradiddle

Let’s kick things up a notch and play this rudiment as 32nd notes. Since there are 6 notes in a double paradiddle and 32 notes in a full bar of 32nd notes, it’s not going to resolve properly. If we play the double-paradiddle 5 times, we’ll end up with 30 notes. This means we need to add 2 more notes on our left hand to get 32 notes in total.

4. Flam Accent

This rudiment is usually played as 8th note triplets, but let’s turn this puppy into 16th notes. This pattern will resolve the same way the triple stroke roll ended with one left-handed stroke (but this time we’ll be playing a flam instead).

5. Swiss Army Triplet

This rudiment doesn’t have you alternating lead hands every time it repeats, so just pick whichever hand you’re most comfortable right to start this one off. Let’s put this through the same process we put the last pattern through.

Now it’s your turn! Take your favorite rudiments and try changing up the note value. Not only will you get better at playing rudiments as a whole, but you’ll also have a larger musical toolbox to pull from every time you go to play a drum fill. Have fun with this and I hope you enjoyed the lesson.

We’ve put together a playlist with drumless tracks at different tempos so you can practice your rudiments over real music: