Triplet Triple Paradiddle Inversions

The triplet paradiddle as triplets provides a rhythmic and coordination challenge which you can use to expand your jazz drumming vocabulary.

Exercise A is just on the snare drum, playing the triple paradiddle as triplets. It fits nicely into a four-bar phrase. It is important to get used to how the phrasing and sticking works before moving on, so make sure you are comfortable with it under your hands. You can add all the accents and play around with moving around the kit by placing the accents or hands on different sound sources.

Exercise B1 is the triple paradiddle as a comping figure split between the snare drum and the bass drum. Play under jazz time and be sure not to disturb the cymbal flow. Also, practice with the other basic cymbal patterns.

Exercises B2, B3, and B4 all shift the starting position by one beat to widen the possibilities. (see PDF)

Finally, to make sure you cover all the positions, you can begin the pattern from each of the four bars of each exercise.

Like John Riley's headroom triplets and the triplet paradiddle inversions, these exercises are designed to challenge your coordination and expand your vocabulary. It will likely be very difficult to use them directly and in their entirety, as musical comping patterns.

Experiment with dropping in fragments, and one-bar phrases into your playing in a musical way. In fact, we will look at some ways to do that in the future.

Have fun. Make music.