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p/paradiddlePlay drums without the limitations of the real world
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Emre Tanirgan

Paradiddle - Learn how to play drums in virtual reality 🥁

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Paradiddle lets anyone play the drums in VR without the limitations of the real world. It opens up many possibilities for learning how to drum, through an intuitive interface, a realistic sound system and recording-playback capabilities. It's currently available on Early Access for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

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Emre Tanirgan
Maker
Hi Product Hunt, the developer of Paradiddle here! In early 2016, I was about to change jobs and move to a new city. My old workplace had a drum set that I could practice with whenever I wanted to, but I knew that my new office wasn't going to have one. I wanted to find a way to start practicing in my new apartment, without disrupting my neighbors, spending a lot of money on electronic drums, and having a big, dedicated space for a physical set. This is when I started creating a simple VR drumming tool for myself, to see whether there could be an overlap in skills between drumming in VR and real life. I tested the realism and responsiveness of the tool I built by recording some VR drum covers of songs that I could already play in real life, and after being satisfied with the level of fidelity, I decided to keep working on this simple tool to turn into it into what is Paradiddle today. Paradiddle has now been in Early Access for almost a year, and has become a powerful and flexible VR drumming tool thanks in great part to the feedback from its active user community. It boasts a realistic sound system, with drums that alternate between 500+ audio samples based on factors such as how hard a drum was hit. Moreover, users can easily save and load custom drum layouts and record and replay their drumming sessions, slowing pieces down if they'd like to get a better idea of how a recording was played. Users can also connect pedals of various types, such as USB pedals, Rock Band pedals, electronic pedals and more, to practice their foot skills in VR - a vital area for any drummer. In addition, the app has full MIDI input/output support, letting users connect it to any other audio app or hardware to customize their playing experience any way they'd like. And more features are being added every month! I believe that Paradiddle is a perfect example of the power of VR, in its ability to allow users to improve at a skill in real life. I have countless tasks I'd like to get to in 2019 to turn the app into a more educational and even more flexible tool, and I'm incredibly excited to keep working on it. Feel free to let me know if you have any comments or questions, I'm always happy to chat!
Kunal Bhatia
Ok, this is crazy awesome @emretanirgan. As a percussionist myself, this is the coolest application of VR I've seen (yes I'm biased). A couple of questions: - What drums are available and how did you get the audio samples? - Have you used Paradiddle for any live performances? Can't wait to try this on a friend's Vive!
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
Thanks @kunalslab! Currently the drums available are: a hi-hat, bass drum, snare, 3 types of toms, 2 types of crash cymbals and 2 types of ride cymbals. I found an incredibly detailed and free drum library online, which I then picked apart and worked on a bit to integrate it into Paradiddle. I'd love to be able to add different types of percussion instruments such as a xylophone and marimba in the future, but the biggest challenge is finding a good enough drum sound library with licensing terms that would allow me to use it in the app. I haven't used Paradiddle for any live performances yet sadly, but I'd love to one day! The drum covers I record are all live takes but since I usually tackle songs I don't actually know how to play yet, it takes me a little bit of practice in VR before I feel fully comfortable with a new song. I'd be delighted to see someone use it for a live performance though - the app has definitely come to a point where that's very much doable. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments, and thanks once again!
Vlad Korobov
Awesome!!! Is there some simple classes for dummies? Looks like VR is perfect for learning and simulation of reality for learners
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@vladkorobov Thank you! More educational content is something that's been requested by a lot of users, and a major area I'll be working on throughout 2019. Now that the app has a solid base and allows users to use all sorts of pedals or connect it to other audio software, I can focus more on some of these extra goals I set up for myself. Along with simple classes to follow along with, a lot of people have requested a "Guitar Hero" type visual replay system where they can learn songs, and that's another feature I'm currently working on. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments!
Vlad Korobov
@emretanirgan please come to MagFest next year
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@vladkorobov Ahh, I hadn't heard of MagFest but it looks awesome! I'll definitely add it to the list of conferences to check out/try and showcase at. Thanks for the suggestion!
Stephen Taylor Witte
These are the things that remind me VR is awesome and not relegated to video games. Great work!
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@stevetwitte Thanks! Yeah, even though it currently seems like gaming is the main use case for VR users around the world, I'd love it if apps like Paradiddle can show people that there is a lot of unexplored potential here that could benefit non-gamers as well.
Ugur Y
Great work, very inspirational! ✌️
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@feelnx Thanks! Cok sagol :)
Stefan K
Congrats this is impressive! How can I control the base drum and open hi-hat? Can I use my foot?
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@bkim9324 Thanks, and great question! There are several ways of triggering the kick drum and opening/closing the hi-hat in Paradiddle. I want the app to be as accessible as possible, so by default you can control the hi-hat and kick drum without using your foot. The default settings are currently the controller right trigger for the bass drum, and left trigger to open the hi-hat. In addition, users can use the Ctrl key for controlling the hi-hat, and the Space key for triggering the kick. Any peripheral that emulates Ctrl or Space will also work, such as cheap USB pedals that can emulate keyboard input. It's also possible to connect any MIDI controller, such as an electronic drum pedal that goes through a drum module, to your PC to control your kick drum. That's what I'm doing in the Whiplash cover video on the PH page - using electronic drum hi-hat and kick pedals for it. And just last month I added support for Vive trackers (https://www.vive.com/us/vive-tra...), so that people can use them to either track their feet, or put it on pedal-like objects and track those. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments!
Stefan K
@emretanirgan thanks for reply! I asked bcuz as an experienced drummer, it would be great if there's foot pedals support so that I can play with it naturally.
Shashank
Wow, this is amazing.
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@itsshashank Thank you for the kind words!
Jan Kukka
This looks super fun!
Sabba Keynejad
This looks AMAZING, would love to try this out
Emre Tanirgan
Maker
@sab8a Thanks! If you have access to an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or Windows Mixed Reality headset, or know a friend who does, feel free to give it a try and let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. I'm always looking for suggestions on how to improve Paradiddle further!
neil rosson
Very cool, midi too. Im hoping there will be a 'melodic' type teaching app soon in vr.