Single Paradiddle
R L R R L R L L
Practice tempo
What it teaches
Switching the lead hand every group without losing the sticking pattern — two alternating taps followed by a diddle puts a different hand in front on each repetition, the foundational hand-independence shape nearly every other paradiddle variant is built from.
The common mistake
The diddle (the double-stroke half) rushes ahead of the two single strokes, or its second note comes out quieter, because the hands naturally want to speed through a same-hand pair; the correction is isolating the diddle alone and matching its tempo and volume to the single strokes before rejoining the full pattern.
Tempo progression
Start at 70 BPM with all four notes evenly spaced and equally loud, then add 10 BPM once a full minute at tempo sounds metronomic; most players keep a clean single paradiddle through 150-180 BPM, and it stays useful well beyond that as an accent pattern moved around a kit.
Where it shows up
The rudiment behind sticking a snare-to-tom fill so the accent naturally travels around the kit, and the standard way drummers switch their lead hand mid-phrase without breaking sticking logic.