One of my favorite practice shortcuts is taking a single rudiment — the paradiddle — and turning it into several musical fills you can use immediately in songs. It’s efficient, musical, and great for building vocabulary. Below I’ll walk you through a step-by-step approach to transform a paradiddle into four playable fills you can drop into a set tonight. I’ll keep things practical, with sticking patterns, placement ideas, dynamic tips, and quick ćues for different musical styles.

Why the paradiddle?

The paradiddle (RLRR LRLL) is special because it combines single-stroke motion with doubles, giving you built-in accents and voice-leading that map nicely around the kit. It’s easy to adapt to hands-only patterns, to convert to tom patterns, or to split between hands and feet. In short: it’s a compact idea that yields many musical outcomes.

Warm-up and mindset

Before trying to make fills musical, warm up the rudiment slowly at a comfortable metronome tempo — I like 60–80 bpm for 8th-note paradiddles. Play it on a pad or the snare, focus on evenness, and decide where you want your natural accents to fall (the leading single of the paradiddle is an easy accent point). Keep the sound musical — think phrasing, not just “rudiment reps.”

Fill 1 — The pocket tom shuffle (8th-note feel)

Goal: a groove-friendly 4-bar fill that sits in the pocket and works in funk, soul, or pop.

How I build it:

  • Start with the paradiddle as eighth notes across one bar: R L R R / L R L L.
  • Map it around the kit: R (snare) — L (tom 2) — R (tom 1) — R (floor tom) / L (snare) — R (tom 2) — L (tom1) — L (kick or floor tom) — experiment to taste.

    • Play it over two bars to create a call-and-response: first bar across toms, second bar as a backbeat/snare-kick groove. Accent the first single of each paradiddle to create a melodic contour.

    Why it works: the doubles land on the same hand twice in a row, which naturally emphasizes a neighboring drum. That gives you a melody across the toms, not just linear hits.

    Fill 2 — The hi-hat displacement (syncopated 16th feel)

    Goal: a more modern, syncopated fill suitable for indie rock or electronic-leaning tracks.

    How I build it:

  • Target a 16th-note subdivision: play two paradiddles per bar as 16ths (R L R R / L R L L across the bar).
  • Keep a steady hi-hat or ride on 8th notes with your foot or left hand while your right hand plays the paradiddle across snare and toms. This creates a layered texture — top-end continuity with snare/tom motion on top.
  • Displace one paradiddle by starting on the "and" of 1 on the second bar (shift the pattern by an 8th); the resulting syncopation sounds modern and musical.

    • Pro tip: use ghost notes on the snare for the weaker paradiddle notes and let the doubles ring on brighter drums or rims to create contrast.

    Fill 3 — The linear tour (single-stroke mapping)

    Goal: a linear-sounding fill that’s great for jazz-pop and fusion contexts where individual limbs are separated.

    How I build it:

  • Break the paradiddle into single-stroke phrasing by assigning each stroke to a different limb: Right hand → hi-hat edge, Left hand → snare, Right hand (again) → tom or ride bell, Right hand (double) → floor tom or kick pad (if using a hybrid setup).
  • For L R L L, mirror the mapping so the left-hand double lands on a different surface: left-hand double on tom + snare ghost or rimshot for contrast.

    • Tip: keep the bass drum out of the pattern on the first run. Then add one bass drum on beats that align with your hand accents to make the fill more grounded.

    Why this is useful: linear fills feel like melodies. They’re readable and musical, making it easy to sell the phrase in a band setting.

    Fill 4 — The reversed paradiddle phrase (surprising resolution)

    Goal: create a twist by reversing the paradiddle to lead into the downbeat — perfect for ending a section with a bit of tension.

    How I build it:

  • Take the paradiddle but play it backwards across two bars: play L L R L / R R L R if you literally reverse the sticking. But the musical version focuses on ending the fill with a strong accent on beat one of the next bar.
  • Start quiet and build dynamics across the bar. Use toms with increasing pitch or volume so the last hit resolves on the snare or kick on 1.

    • Practice idea: play the reversed pattern slightly laid-back (delayed) to create a drag into the downbeat — this is very musical and works well with singers.

    Putting it together in a set

    Here’s a quick roadmap to using these fills live:

  • Decide the role of the fill in the song — does it transition between sections, end a phrase, or punctuate the groove?
  • Choose the fill that matches the song’s energy: Fill 1 for pocket and soul, Fill 2 for modern/pop, Fill 3 for intricate textures, Fill 4 for drama and surprise.
  • Start by playing each fill on its own for four bars, then play it as a one-bar transition into the groove. Practice increasing tempo in small increments until it feels natural.
  • Always sound-check fills at gig volume or through your monitors — dynamics change a lot when you’re on stage.

    • Sound and gear tips

    Small equipment choices make a big difference when you use paradiddle-based fills live:

  • If you want clarity on the doubles, tune your rack tom a bit higher than your floor tom and use a medium stick like Vic Firth 5A or Promark 7A for more articulation.
  • For Fill 2, a crisp hi-hat or tight ride (Zildjian K Custom Dark or an older A Series) helps the displacement read in the mix. Play with pedal pressure so your hi-hat foot maintains consistent 8ths.
  • When recording, close-mic the toms and use a top mic on the snare for ghost-note detail. A ribbon on the overheads can add warmth to the tom melody.

    • Practice checklist (10–15 minute session)

  • 2 minutes: slow paradiddle on a pad, accents on leading singles
  • 4 minutes: map Fill 1 and Fill 3 around the kit, keep accents musical
  • 3 minutes: displacement and hi-hat layering for Fill 2
  • 3 minutes: reversed paradiddle phrasing and resolution practice for Fill 4
  • 3 minutes: play fills in context with a groove or backing track at performance tempo

    • Take these four fills and make them yours — change the drums they land on, add or remove bass drum notes, or alter dynamics to match the tune. The paradiddle is just the seed; what makes a fill musical is the phrasing, placement, and how you shape it into the song. Try one tonight in a rehearsal or gig set and notice how a small, simple idea can add a lot of musical mileage.