DEVELOPING DOUBLE-BASS DEXTERITY

I recently had someone ask me if I could teach them how to play a double-bass pedal.  While this is not a ridiculous question entirely, to me it is silly to a certain extent.  The reason I have never written a book detailing my vast knowledge of percussion technique is because it would be a rather thin tome and contain only one chapter entitled, "A List of Those Whose Playing Techniques I Copied, Stole, Reworked and/or Built Upon."  The only advice I ever give anyone who wants to learn to play drums is this: Just watch other drummers who play music that appeals to you and go from there.

That's all I've ever done.  That's why I can claim to have studied under Neil Peart, Alex Van Halen, Stewart Copeland and Billy Cobham.  Those were the "Big Four" for me.  I listened to their records over and over again, and tried to emulate their styles and sounds.  That's really all drumming is, if you boil it down to its simplest form.  What kind of noises do you like to make?  What sort of objects do you enjoy hitting with your hands or sticks?

So when someone asks me if I can "teach" them to play the drums, I don't know how to respond.  I play the drums because I love to hit stuff and make noise.  The reason I don't play guitar is because I don't get into strumming and positioning my fingers.  I wanna WHACK stuff with a stick!  That's fun to me.  I don't have to make myself practice or force myself into a routine to maintain my chops.  When I see my drum set, I want to get behind it and make some noise.

Here is basically how I learned to play double-bass.  I start out simple and experiment with different sounds and patterns.  Then I simply build from there based on what feels good and sounds good.  There's really no technical rigmarole to it.  JUST KICK IT!!!

After watching this video I am sure there is a burning question in the forefront of your mind, and that question is: "Hey, did you get a new pair of Nikes?"

Yeah.  Actually I did.  Thanks for noticin'.