The dragadiddle #1 (also known as drag paradiddle #1) is the second drum rudiment from the drag family of drum rudiments that incorporates the single paradiddle. In this free video drum lesson, Lionel Duperron shows you exactly how to play and practice the dragadiddle #1. Once he’s done teaching you the basics behind the dragadiddle #1, Lionel makes his way to the drum set to show you how to apply the dragadiddle #1 to drum beats and drum fills.
Taking a look at the sheet music below, you can see that the main rhythmic pattern of the dragadiddle #1 incorporates a quarter note single stroke and a 16th note dragged single paradiddle. Thus, it’s important that you learn how to play the drag ruff and the single paradiddle before taking on this free drum lesson.
The dragadiddle #1 on the next four exercises starts with the 16th note dragged single paradiddle instead of with the quarter note single stroke. This way, the single strokes are played on the backbeat, which is very cool for coming up with some rock-based drum beats.
Exercise #1 is a 16th note drum beat. The left hand plays ghost notes and the snare shot, while the right hand plays the hi-hat and the floor tom. Once you have the hands happening, add the bass drum on counts 1 and 3, playing it in unison with the drags’s primary stroke.
For coming up with this next drum beat, we took exercise #1, kept its rhythmic pattern and orchestrated the strokes differently. The left hand plays the hi-hat on counts 1 and 3, and the snare drum on count 2. The right hand plays the bow of the ride cymbal on counts 1 and 3, and the snare drum on count 4. The bass drum is kept on counts 1 and 3.
The stock 8th note drum beat notated before the next drum fills has an 8th note rest on the “and” of count 4. Lionel opted this way to give him enough time to play the drum fills accurately. Remember that you might have to resort to this kind of tactics, because of the grace notes starting just before count 1.
Exercise #3 is a 16th note drum fill. The grace notes and the 16th note single strokes from the dragadiddle #1 are played on the hi-hat and snare drum respectively. The double strokes are performed on the floor tom on count 1 and on the hi-tom on count 3. The quarter note single strokes strike the snare drum on count 2, and the bass drum and a crash cymbal as a unison stroke on count 4.
Exercise #4 is a 16th note drum fill that has the same rhythmic pattern as exercise #3. However, except for what’s played on counts 2 and 4, the whole pattern is orchestrated differently. You can come up with a heap of drum fills from just one single pattern. Orchestrating the strokes differently and using different dynamics drumming techniques will help you with just that.
Once you’re done with this free drum lesson on the dragadiddle #1, you can move on to learn how to play the dragadiddle #2 – the third and last pattern from the drag family of drum rudiments that incorporates the single paradiddle.