Drummers, You Need this Paradiddle Exercise (And Practice Pad)

You may not know the name Pat Petrillo, but he is a really cool drummer and music educator who designed the P4 practice pad, this incredible little invention that allows you to quietly simulate the different surfaces and rebounds you get on a drum kit, on a pad. It’s awesome. I don’t play drums that often these days myself, but I own one and it’s a ton of fun to play – whether you’re practicing or working out a rhythm.

I assume, though, that you are aware of the paradiddle. You probably practice it – maybe you even practice double and triple paradiddles. This rudiment is so ingrained into the vocabulary of modern drumming that you can hear it everywhere in rock music. But you can really tell the difference between drummers who have shedded the paradiddle well and those who just re-articulate the rhythm in their playing – what you want is to achieve comfort with it so that it’s not so much a pattern you think of, but rather a rhythm that you feel and understand, and can work in around different fills (as well as adjust it at your will!)

So Pat has a cool exercise to help you start to achieve that. Check it out below, courtesy Drumeo: