This free drum lesson is all about the flam paradiddle-diddle (also known as flamadiddle-diddle), a very cool pattern from the flam family of drum rudiments. The flam paradiddle-diddle is a great option for working on triplet based drum beats, drum fills, and solo patterns.
In the video, rudimental pro Lionel Duperron teaches you how to play the flam paradiddle-diddle and how to incorporate it into creative drum beats and drum fills.
The flam paradiddle-diddle is a combination of the flam with the single paradiddle-diddle. Be sure to take the time to learn how to play them both before you go through this free drum lesson. Doing so will help you master this a lot quicker and with greater ease.
Starting on count 2, the flam paradiddle-diddle features triple strokes between the second triplet of a count and the grace note of the following one. Keeping those strokes consistent and under your control are the greatest challenges you’ll find within the flam paradiddle-diddle. This is what makes the flam paradiddle-diddle one of the hardest 40 drum rudiments to play perfectly. Going through the lesson on the triple stroke roll will help you a lot in attaining mastery over the flam paradiddle-diddle as well.
You can count the flam paradiddle-diddle as 8th note triplets or use its name instead – rL(flam or par) R(a) L(di) L(ddle) R(di) R(ddle). Don’t forget to practice leading with both hands.
Exercise #1 is an 8th note triplet half-time drum beat with a broken hi-hat shuffle pattern. The flam paradiddle-diddle is scattered between the snare drum and the hi-hat. It’s challenging to execute quality flams between such completely different surfaces, seeing it is easy to play flat flams without even noticing it. Once you’ve mastered the hand pattern, add the bass drum on count 1. Play it in unison with the primary stroke of the flam on the hi-hat.
Exercise #2 is an 8th note triplet half-time drum beat featuring two flam paradiddle-diddles, which are scattered between the hi-hat, the snare drum, and the bow of the ride cymbal. The ride cymbal gets the first diddle from both flam paradiddle-diddles while the hi-hat gets the second diddle, the single strokes, and the first flam. The snare drum is played on count 3. Add the bass drum on count 1 once you’ve mastered the hand pattern.
Exercise #3 is a drum fill played in a 12/8 time signature. Leading this drum fill with the right hand will make it that much easier to execute. This way, you’ll be able to transition from the snare drum to the floor tom and from the floor tom to the high tom with greater ease.
This next drum fill is also played in 12/8. Leading with the right hand will make it easier to perform as well. Since the whole fill is played on ‘soggy’ surfaces like toms, you have to work on your diddle consistency. Practice your double stroke roll on surfaces with very little rebound, like floor toms and pillows. Practicing full wrist strokes will develop your forearm muscles, enabling you to play diddles consistently at high speeds. You could also use a quick snap of the back fingers on the drumstick to give the second stroke a lot more velocity. This would hail very consistent diddles as well.
When you feel ready to move on, go check out the free drum lessons on the Swiss army triplet and the pataflafla.