Single Paradiddle-Diddle

What the single paradiddle-diddle is

Two singles then two doubles — six notes that, unlike the single paradiddle, keep the same leading hand every group, so it loops without ever swapping. That makes it the natural rudiment for continuous triplet fills and for the hand pattern behind a lot of fusion drumming. Get the two diddles even before you speed it up; the second one is where it usually falls apart.

How to practise it

• Notice what makes it different from the single paradiddle: the leading hand never swaps, so it loops with the same hand forever.
• The second diddle is where it falls apart. Play RLRRLL slowly and listen specifically to the last two notes.
• Because it repeats without alternating, it is perfect for continuous triplet motion — set a triplet click and loop it for a full minute.
• Split it across the kit with the two singles on the toms and the diddles on the snare.

Where it leads

The single paradiddle-diddle belongs to the diddle rudiments family, and it feeds directly into the flam paradiddle-diddle, and continuous sextuplet fills. Get it even at a slow tempo before you move on — every rudiment built on top of it inherits whatever unevenness you leave here.

Reading the notation above

Both hands play the snare drum, so every notehead sits in the third space of the staff and the sticking letters underneath tell you which hand plays which note. Capital letters are full strokes; small letters are grace notes. There are no grace notes in this rudiment, so every note is a full stroke. The > marks above the staff are accents: hit those notes harder. Full details in the drum notation guide.