This inversion of the ever-useful paradiddle is sometimes referred to as the “paradiddle with the diddle in the middle.” It’s one of my favorite stickings because it is very easy to put accents on either the quarter note or the “a.” And that allows for some cool sounding phrases to be created.
The first step, before being able to use this idea on the drum set, is to get comfortable with the pattern and where the accents can be placed. That’s what this little exercise sheet will help you with. It’s just a beginning, but I hope you’ll find it a helpful one.
Make sure that the unaccented notes are nice and quiet; that will allow your accented notes to really stand out.
Here is the PDF: 16 Exercises to Build Facility with Inverted Paradiddles
Mess with the ideas on the worksheet, then try orchestrating them in different ways on the drum set. Your own ideas will simmer too—let them come out and make up your own phrases….that’s the point!
He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart.
He's played with Oz Noy, Will Lee, Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists.
For more info: onlinesessiondrummer.com
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Wonderful concept! Kim Plainfield (former chairman @ Drummers Collective NYC) is someone who I learnt this from. It really develops agility for improvising and soloing.
Hey Allister –
Thanks for reading.
Yeah….I really love the inverted paradiddle. Sometimes I think I use it TOO much. But that’s because it sounds sooooo cool to me. I remember seeing this in Kim’s book, “Advanced Concepts,” but I originally got the idea from one of my teachers, Rick Considine, who I studied with at Drummer’s Collective.
Thanks for your comment.
Regards,
MF
I wanna learn
You can do it!
Not sure why you would use inverted paradiddles when you could simply use single strokes
Hi Grant –
Thanks for your comment.
Try some inverted paradiddle experiments and you’ll see why. The orchestrations on the drum set that are possible with the inverted paradiddle sticking are simply not possible using singles. A lot of advanced players use this inversion exactly because of that. It sounds very musical and it’s all because of the sticking.
Mark F
One of the benefits of playing with mixed stockings over single stroke rolls is the diddle aspect. It allows a drummer to accent well with a single hit and then have a roll on the net successive hits. It sounds really dynamic when done well.