A Few Question For A Newbie

Hey, this is my first post on this area. Well im not really a newbie ive been playing for about a half a year now which is a newbie compared to most. But, i have to teach myself everything like how to play and read notes, so i just study alot of other drummer since there are no local drum leasons around. And, i have a few questions to ask that have been confusing me now for a little while.

1)This may sound weird, but are there peddals for a bass drum that require both feet to play? Or is the double bass pedal just the pedal that connects toy our cymbal as well? Ive been trying to figure this out on other sets and in magazines but im still confused.

2)I printed out some Staind tabs to play(Mudshovel) and there is something in these tabs i havent seen with any other songs i have played. It looks like this.......

Welcome Josh! I'm glad to see a newbie asking great questions. Here is your answer as I understand it. #1. What you are referring to is a double bass drum pedal PLUS a hi-hat pedal (3 in all). The main bass drum pedal attaches to the bass drum and plays as any standard bass drum pedal would. Attached to the main bass drum pedal is a secondary bass drum pedal connected off to the left (in a standard right hand drumset setup; leftys are reversed). It allows for the left foot to play in a complementary manner to the right foot. Think of it like this: if you played everything you do with your right hand and then occasionally added the left hand to double your speed or play flams, etc. The left foot traditionally stays on the third pedal which is connected to the hi-hat stand as you correctly stated. Thus, the left foot must move back and forth between the hi-hat pedal and the secondary bass drum pedal. It takes practice to get it right. #2. Congradulations on trying to teach yourself to read music. Most do-it-yourselfers try, get frustrated, and wimp out and quit. Wussies! Learning to read takes time and practice just like everything else in drumming and music. The lines and numbers to which you refer are called 'endings'. The #1 indicates a first ending. The #2 indicates a second ending. And so on. How you use it: Start at the beginning. Play down to the first ending. Go back to the beginning and play down to the second ending skipping the first ending you just played. Continue on to the end of the song. In frequent cases you run across 'repeat signs' They look like ' ||: or :|'. The dots are to the inside. When you get to the dots, jump back to the other dots and play again (repeat). When you get to that repeat sign again you can play through it since repeat signs are only good for one repeat unless otherwise indicated. If there are no other dots (repeat signs) go back to the beginning. I like to think of the dots as being like pinball bumpers and I am the pinball. They bounce me back to the next set of bumpers. Hey, whatever helps you remember I say. I know this is somewhat confusing for a newbie, but take heart...we've all been there. I might suggest you get a beginner's drum book like 'Alfred's Beginning Drumset Method' or some other beginner book as they are very good about teaching you the 'signs in the road' (symbols in written music). Reading is a valuable skill that you will never regret learning.

Matt Porter

I'll second that.

To add to the other posts, if you have never read music before, one option may to find a local piano teacher or player (every town has one, unless you are in a *really* rural setting). This is how I first learned about music theory (also learned that piano wasn't for me). So even a month with a piano teacher (or other musician) will help you will all your questions so that you can practice what you've learned instead of spending so much time on figuring out another 'language', as they can tell you all about time signatures, the different types of notes, all the symbols on the music sheet, and every thing else that can be found on a sheet of music. The teacher will most likely understand how drum notation is written for a snare drum. All of this will be applicable to the drums except each drum will have its own line and drum set notation won't be that hard for you to pick up and understand once you've seen it a few times

I work for a company called digevent. We do a live drum lesson every tues. at 4 pm pacific. There are also a bunch of archived shows. Go to www.digevent.com and check out the Drumbeat.