How to Play Custom Songs in Paradiddle

A drummer once told me that his favorite part of the instrument was how easy it was to jam on. He’d flail his arms, whack his kit, and after some trial and error, music happens. Of course, you have to put up with an unholy cacophony for a little while, but that’s what VR games like Paradiddle are for: all the jamming, none of the racket. Here’s how to play custom songs in Paradiddle.

How to Play Custom Songs in Paradiddle

Paradiddle not only features an easy, built-in framework for importing and playing custom-made tracks, it also comes with a completely open-source music creation program, letting you build said tracks entirely from scratch. You can download the Song Creator tool directly from Paradiddle’s website, though the developers recommend using a third-party program like Reaper or Ableton if you want to create your drum beats completely from scratch.

Related: How Do You Switch Songs in Session: Skate Sim?

If you have an existing song file, you can use the Song Creator to convert it into a Paradiddle track. You just need to map out the drum track and separate it from the other instruments into a standalone MIDI file. You can even set up the MIDI to correspond to different drum game frameworks like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Don’t forget to set up the Metadata section with things like the song’s title, artist name, and difficulty so it shows up properly in-game.

Bang Out a Tune

Whether you’re making your own drum tabs from scratch or found a Paradiddle file online you want to use, actually adding it to the game is a fairly simple process.

First, make sure the song files are all stored in a single folder. Open the folder up to double-check that everything’s in there, including the audio file, album cover, and .rlrr files that determine things like difficulty settings. If the folder looks good, you can move it with no problem, but if something seems missing, open the file up in the Song Creator again to fix it.

Assuming you’re playing Paradiddle on Steam, follow this installation directory and drop the folder in:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Paradiddle\Paradiddle\Saved\Songs\My Song

If you store your files in different directories or drives, you can find your Steam game directory by right-clicking on Paradiddle in your Steam library, going to Manage, and Browse Local Files.

If you’re playing Paradiddle on a Quest headset, you’ll need to plug it into your computer, then drop the song folder into this directory:

• (Your PC)\Quest\Internal shared storage\Paradiddle\Songs

The Songs folder might be missing the first time you do this; you can just make a new folder yourself and name it “Songs” in that case. It’ll work the same.

If everything’s hunky-dory, you should see the songs you added at the bottom of the in-game Songs list next time you boot up Paradiddle. Happy drumming!