the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society

Dr. Jason Kihle is Assistant Professor of Percussion and Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Jamestown, where he teaches percussion, jazz band, pep band, and the Pride of the Big Orange Drumline. His previous appointment was at Texas A&M University–Kingsville, where he was Associate Professor of Percussion and Associate Director of Bands. Dr. Kihle has taught K–12 music in public schools in Arizona, Colorado, and North Dakota. He has been published in various publications, including Percussive Notes. Dr. Kihle has performed and presented clinics at various festivals and conferences in the United States and Europe. His compositions and books are published by Bachovich Publications.

Rhythm! Scene: If you weren't a percussionist and educator, what career could you see yourself having pursued?

Jason Kihle: I started as pre-med in college, and that was a disaster. I love to read about history, so maybe be a high school history teacher?

R!S: As a freelance artist, what's one of the weirdest gigs you've taken or oddest jobs you've had outside the industry?

JK: When my wife and I were contemplating moving north to Jamestown, the adjunct pay was going to be a lot less than the pay for my tenured associate position in Kingsville. One of my former students was giving English lessons to students in China online, getting up at 4:00 in the morning and teaching for four to five hours. I had actually signed up for this and was starting the process of being approved to teach when an opportunity to teach in the public schools just outside of Jamestown came up that saved us.

R!S: What's one thing about you that your colleagues or students would unanimously proclaim?

JK: That I’m a hard worker, and I always try to do what is best for students.

R!S: What is your favorite percussion instrument and why?

JK: Marimba, because I can express myself on that instrument like no other, and there is such a huge range of music for the instrument. And I have one at home now, too.

R!S: Where did you grow up, and what’s one interesting thing about your childhood (musically or otherwise)?

JK: My Dad was in the Air Force, so we moved all over: New York, California, Oklahoma, Illinois, Connecticut, and North Dakota. I got to see a lot of the country, which was cool for a little guy. In Connecticut, I chose saxophone and played it for five more years. If only I’d picked drums that day….

Just behind the single-stroke and double-stroke roll, paradiddles are likely the most important and commonly used rudiment. You can find many examples of this in my book, Sticking Patterns.

THE BASICS
The paradiddle rudiment consists of pairs of both single and double strokes: PA-RAs are the single strokes; DID-DLEs are the double strokes. There are four main types of paradiddles: Single Paradiddles (Pa-ra-did-dle), Double Paradiddles (Pa-ra-pa-ra-did-dle), Triple Paradiddles (Pa-ra-pa-ra-pa-ra-did-dle), and Paradiddle-diddles (Pa-ra-pa-ra-did-dle-did-dle). Each can be played starting with the left or right hand. The first three are naturally alternating (start with the right hand and the next one will start with the left hand), while the paradiddle-diddle naturally repeats with the same leading hand.

INVERSIONS
Each of the four types contain what I choose to refer to as inversions, akin to chords. For simplicity, and since paradiddle rudiments can be applied to any constant or changing rhythmic value, the following examples are written with sticking only. For further practice ideas, you can embellish any of the paradiddles with flams, drags, or ruffs.

Single Paradiddle
Root Position: R L R R – L R L L
First Inversion: R R L R – L L R L
Second Inversion: R L L R – L R R L
Third Inversion: R L R L – L R L R

Double Paradiddle
Root Position: R L R L R R – L R L R L L
First Inversion: R R L R L R – L L R L R L
Second Inversion: R L R R L R – L R L L R L
Third Inversion: R L L R L R – L R R L R L
Fourth Inversion: R L R L L R – L R L R R L
Fifth Inversion: R L R L R L – L R L R L R

Triple Paraddidle
Root Position: R L R L R L R R – L R LR L R L L
First Inversion: R R L R L R L R – L L R L R L R L
Second Inversion: R L L R L R L R – L R R L R L R L
Third Inversion: R L R R L R L R – L R L L R L R L
Fourth Inversion: R L R L L R L R – L R L R R L R L
Fifth Inversion: R L R L R R L R – L R L R L L R L
Sixth Inversion: R L R L R L L R – L R L R L R R L
Seventh Inversion: R L R L R L R L – L R L R L R L R

Paradiddle-diddle
Root Position: R L R R L L (or L R L L R R)
First Inversion: R R L L R L (or L L R R L R)
Second Inversion: R R L R L L (or L L R L R R)
Third Inversion: R L L R R L (or L R R L L R)
Fourth Inversion: R L L R L R (or L R R L R L)
Fifth Inversion: R L R L L R (or L R L R R L)

PA-DIDDLES AND DIDDLE-PAS
There are six additional important stickings that I consider part of the paradiddle family, but are not recognized as such. They have two strokes on one hand and one stroke on the other, usually played within a compound meter or triplet rhythmic grouping. I call each a PA-DIDDLE or DIDDLE-PA because they consist of a double stroke combined with just one single stroke. The six variations are:

R R L
L L R
R L R
L R L
R L L
L L R

QUINTUPLETS AND BEYOND
Quintuplets are rhythmic groupings commonly used by many drummers, and I think of the following stickings as quintuplet paradiddles. Once again, these are not considered official or standard drum rudiments, but they are equally useful in a variety of practice and performance situations. Since quintuplet paradiddles consist of three single strokes and one double stroke you might think of each as a Pa-ra-ra-did-dle. The four variations and the inverse of each are as follows:

R L R L L (or L R L R R)
R L R R L (or L R L L R)
R L L R L (or L R R L R)
R R L R L (or L L R L R)

A septuplet is another odd rhythmic grouping in which could be fitted double paradiddles and paradiddle-diddles, along with their inversions. Try it and see what you come up with. Theoretically, any combination of single and double strokes might be labelled as some type of paradiddle. For instance: R L R L R R L L could be called a para-para-diddle-diddle. There’s almost no end to the possibilities.

CONCLUSION
Consecutive single strokes, double strokes, and sometimes triple strokes, combined with all types of paradiddles more or less tell the whole story of the stickings most commonly used by drummers. The rest of the story has to do with how, when, and where they’re used, as well as the rhythmic context in which they’re played. The more options you explore in your practice, the more flexibility and precision you will find in your performance applications.

Joel Rothman is the writer and publisher of almost 100 drum and percussion books. They can all be found on his website (www.joelrothman.com), or you can contact Joel at info@joelrothman.com.

Evan Barr has been an adjunct percussion professor at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas since 2012. At Hendrix, Evan teaches private applied percussion and has cultivated a percussion ensemble dedicated to the advancement of contemporary chamber works. Evan has performed regularly with the Arkansas Symphony and the Memphis Symphony, as well as many regional orchestras in Arkansas. In addition, Evan has an active career as a studio session drummer and live performer in most modern pop genres, and he is a founding member of the Southern rock ’n’ roll band Stephen Neeper & The Wild Hearts.

Rhythm! Scene: If you weren't a percussionist and educator, what career could you see yourself having pursued?

Evan Barr: I would have likely become a writer of fiction or a psychologist. The interests that have always driven me were creative pursuits and direct communication with others. Fortunately, my career as a music educator has also been driven by those same interests.

R!S: As a freelance artist, what's one of the weirdest gigs you've taken or oddest jobs you've had outside the industry?

EB: The weirdest gig I ever played — and trust me, there have been plenty of weird ones — was at a church in which the piano and organ played throughout the entire service. They were so out of tune with each other that I can’t imagine attending that church for a spiritually uplifting experience.

R!S: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

EB: Many of my colleagues probably don’t know that in addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Performance, I also have a master’s in Secondary English Education. At any given time, I might choose to hang up performing to teach Romeo and Juliet and The Odyssey.

R!S: What is your favorite percussion instrument and why?

EB: My favorite percussion instrument has and always will be the snare drum. It was my first love as a musician, and I continue to be amazed at the possibilities that can be created with a single drum. One need not look beyond Herbert Brun’s “Just Seven” or any of the other solos in Smith Publications’ The Noble Snare collections for proof of the diversity of sounds possible on the instrument.

R!S: Where did you grow up, and what’s one interesting thing about your childhood (musically or otherwise)?

EB: I grew up in Columbia, Tennessee. Considering that my career has been as a percussionist, an interesting thing about my childhood revolves around the time I almost lost my middle finger to a door frame. We kept bathroom doors closed when I was very young to keep my baby sister from getting into the lower cabinets. One night I slammed my finger in the door hinge and almost entirely severed the tip. Thankfully, the emergency room doctor was able to sew it back on, but I still have the scar some 35 years later.