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l placed their seal of approval on the Standard 26 American Drum Rudiments . Of course , the single paradiddle easily made the list . I ’ m pretty sure the paradiddle was approved on the first vote with little or no lobbying — although it ’ s puzzling that the single paradiddle is placed at number 21 and the ten-stroke roll got the number 16 spot . ( Why is the ten-stroke roll even on the list ?)
A half-century later in 1984 , the Percussive Arts Society released its Forty International Drum Rudiments . Of course , the single paradiddle was included in the PAS collection along with several other members of the paradiddle family . Download the complete list free at : www . pas . org / resources / rudiments .
The paradiddle didn ’ t make it onto those lists just because it has a cool name . This little fournote grouping has two important functions :
1 . THE PARADIDDLE SOLVES TECHNICAL CHALLENGES . You will not get very far into your drumming life until you realize that playing alternating strokes is not always the easiest path . Injecting a paradiddle into a musical passage can disentangle a troublesome sticking problem . Just one example of the helpful aspect of the paradiddle is eliminating the need to cross hands in a rapid passage . Take a look at the example below ( Ex . 1 ) for four drums ( e . g ., 4 timpani or 4 toms arranged Left to Right / Low to High ). Playing everything with alternating strokes would cause a super-awkward crossover but tossing a paradiddle into the first beat removes the crossover and makes the passage a cakewalk .
2 . THE PARADIDDLE HAS A SOUND OF ITS OWN . If you play four beats of sixteenth notes with alternating sticking followed by the same rhythm using paradiddles , there will be an obvious difference in the sound . The paradiddle ’ s mixture of alternating and doubled strokes creates a unique flavor that can be applied to a variety of percussion instruments . ( Ex . 2 )
After covering a bit of paradiddle info , the next article will focus on exercises to develop your paradiddle prowess along with a few examples of paradiddle-based grooves . In the meantime , make sure you have both versions of the single paradiddle firmly in your hands at a BPM of 132 . Get that goin ’!
© 2022 Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship
Mark Shelton Mark is a freelance musician and educational consultant based in Dallas / Fort Worth . Performance credits include North Carolina Symphony , Tin Roof Tango , Daystar Singers & Band , Gateway Worship , Wichita Falls Orchestra , Strata Big Band , TALEA , and Dallas Wind Symphony . www . marksheltonmusic . com percussionforworship . blogspot . com
( Ex . 1 )
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R L R L R L R L R
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R L R R L R L R L
( Ex . 2 )
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R L R R L R L L R L R R L R L L