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 Questions & Answers Q: Is this a high quality DVD? A: Yes! The production quality of this DVD is absolutely world class. In doing this project, I spared no expense in making sure that only the very top people in the field were involved. Camera Work The quality of any video project begins with the camera work itself. For camera duty, I hired Dan Welch and his crew. Dan is arguably the world's top cameraman for instructional drum videos. He is the man behind the gorgeous footage you have seen on the drum videos of Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, Carter Beauford, Steve Smith, Gregg Bissonette, and many others. As one would expect, Dan's camera work on my DVD is clear, artful, and at times, breathtaking. Editing Of course, gorgeous camera footage is worthless unless you have a master editor to pull it all together. Fortunately, I was able to hire none other than Phil Fallo for editing duty on my DVD. Phil has over 30 years experience as a video editor and has done nearly every major drum video of the past 15 years. Whatever your favorite drum video is, look at the credits- it was probably edited by Phil Fallo. Phil is absolutely the top man in the field, and his work on my DVD clearly shows why! Sound
Q: Why do we need a DVD on Bass Drum Techniques? Aren't there tons of books and stuff about that already? A: Actually NO, there aren't! I originally thought the same thing, based on all of the books and videos with "bass drum" in the title. If you check out those products, however, you'll find that they only cover bass drum rhythms. In other words, they feature a lot of different patterns to play between the bass drum and the hands (hand, hand, foot, hand, hand, hand, foot, foot, etc…). But they don't actually explain HOW to play these things! How do I position my foot? How do I move my foot? Should my leg be involved? And so on, and so on. Believe me, I spent years and years searching through books and videos for thorough answers to these questions. I occasionally found brief demonstrations of specialty movements, but I never found a detailed tutorial on the nuts-and-bolts of solid bass drum playing. Eventually, it became clear that the educational material I was searching for didn't exist yet! So, I created it myself. That's what this DVD is. By studying other drummers and experimenting in the practice room, I made a number of breakthroughs in my own drumming. These "breakthroughs" revolve around the PHYSICAL MOVEMENTS of playing the bass drum well. My DVD explains every detail of these movements. Once mastered, these movements can be used to successfully play the "foot, foot, hand, foot, hand, hand,…" of any other bass drum instructional tool that interests you. Q: Is this DVD about single or double bass drum playing? A: Either! Remember, this DVD is not about bass drum rhythms; there are already plenty of books and videos about that. This DVD is about the actual PHYSICAL MOVEMENTS of a foot on a bass drum pedal. The DVD is over 2 hours long and covers every conceivable nuance of this topic! I demonstrate all of the movements on a single pedal with lots of terrific camera close-ups. During brief groove and solo sections, I play on a single bass drum kit. However, once you understand the principles explained, it's up to you whether to apply those principles to one foot or 2! Q: Is this DVD about "heel down" or "heel up"? 
A: Both. And so much more! If simple "heel down" or "heel up" really did the trick, none of us would need a DVD like the one I made. Unfortunately, as you've probably already discovered, both of those methods have severe shortcomings. Or maybe you've been blaming yourself for the difficulties you've had with those methods over the years. In either case, you can rest assured that the problem is not you! Conventional "heel down" and "heel up" are deeply flawed in regard to physics and the natural movements of the body. That doesn't mean that "heel down" and "heel up" have nothing to offer us at all. Despite their inherent limitations, both of those methods also have some positive characteristics. In my DVD, I demonstrate "heel down" and "heel up," analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then, for the bulk of the video, I explain how to combine the strong points of each of those methods into a unified bass drum approach that ends up being like the best of both worlds! Q: What makes this drum DVD different from the countless others on the market? A: Like some of the other drum DVDs available today, my DVD features the work of many top people in the field (top cameraman, top editor, etc.). However, because I oversaw every phase of production myself, it ended up being very personal and unique in a number of ways - like a hearty, home-cooked meal, prepared and served with loving hands! Focused
Vision Normally, when a drum DVD is made, there are many different chefs contributing to the stew. There is typically at least one producer, a director, an editor, a drummer, maybe even a separate writer. The problem with this scenario is that each of these people has their own slightly different vision for the project. Consequently, the end result can be somewhat unfocused, with no one's vision being fully realized. In the case of my DVD, however, I personally developed all of the material to be covered, and I coordinated and participated in every single aspect of the DVD's creation. I was the writer, the drummer, the producer, and the director. I hired the very best people in the industry to help manifest my vision, but it was still my own personal vision that we all worked toward. This has given the DVD a rare sense of cohesiveness and focus. Taught
By A Teacher
Meticulous
Attention To Detail My DVD does not feature a smattering of unrelated drum ideas briefly touched upon. My DVD features one single topic explored with extreme thoroughness. To achieve this, I spent 2 solid months writing the material for the DVD, often working for 12 or more hours per day. During that process, I streamlined every aspect of the material to make sure that there were no vague statements, no contradictions, no points left unclear. Once the material was written and the video shoot had taken place, I sat in an editing room for about 130 hours, going scene-by-scene, edit-by-edit with my editor, Phil Fallo. Phil is a master editor, and he assured me that he generally works fine alone! Still, I wanted to personally ensure that every millisecond of film was used in the best possible way, making for the clearest possible communication with the viewer. My teaching experience has shown me that it's all too easy for a student to miss something if the presentation is even slightly unclear. Fortunately, Phil's an understanding man, and he let me hang around. "Troubleshooting"
And "Frequently Asked Questions" Being a full-time drum teacher, I was able to anticipate and address the various issues that may arise for people as they work on the material in the DVD. After all, the material in my DVD is material that I actively teach in person! I have seen firsthand where people have trouble, and I have heard firsthand the questions that people want answered. For this reason, my DVD features a "Troubleshooting" chapter and a "Frequently Asked Questions" chapter. In these sections, I directly target potential concerns and pitfalls, making for a smooth and complete educational experience. Better
Than A Lesson! My DVD is essentially like a private drum lesson with me. Every aspect of the topic at hand is covered in great detail, and all likely questions are specifically addressed and answered. In fact, my DVD is BETTER than a private lesson; it's over 2 hours long, it can be rewound or played in slow motion, and it costs a lot less! Q: Is this a DVD about bass drum "gimmicks" or "tricks"?
To a large degree, the drumming community has already embraced and validated the techniques that you will learn in my DVD. Modern Drummer magazine published an article of mine about some of these techniques. The article was just a few pages long and featured some basic photographs. Since then, I have been continuously receiving emails from drummers all around the world who want more information about these bass drum concepts. These emails have come from beginners, pros, and even drumming royalty. So, the bass drum techniques that I teach are resonating with people of all levels and backgrounds. Definitely no "gimmicks" or "tricks" here! Q: So, what exactly does the DVD teach? A: Yes, let's get down to the nitty-gritty here! The DVD starts off with a section called "Analysis of Common Bass Drum Methods." In this section, I demonstrate traditional "heel down" and "heel up." I lead the viewer through an in-depth analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods. Next, we move into the heart of the DVD, which is about combining the best parts of "heel down" with the best parts of "heel up" (I call this approach "Unburying The Beater"). Again, this is truly the heart of the DVD, and this is where we cover every aspect of effective bass drum playing. The chapter titles speak for themselves, so I'll list a few of them here: "Setting Up Yourself & Your Drums" "Sensitizing Yourself To Your Pedal" "Single Strokes" "Multiple Strokes" "FAST Multiple Stokes" "Double Strokes" "Consecutive Double Strokes/ 'Bonham Triplets' " "Troubleshooting" "Frequently Asked Questions" ...and many more.
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This
is a DVD about music. What good would it be if it didn't have
terrific sound?! To make sure that we did have terrific
sound, I hired Tod Chapman to do the audio mix. Tod is a top-notch
audio engineer who has worked for Sony and has mixed everything from
TV commercials to rap hits. Tod is an absolute perfectionist when it
comes to his work. He also happens to be a drummer like us! Tod
spent over 30 hours with me going through the audio for my DVD with a
fine-toothed comb. The end result is clean, yet raw, powerful, and
true to the way my drums actually sound when you're in the room
with them!
Unlike
most of the drummers featured in today's drum DVDs, I am
actually a full-time drum instructor. I have literally taught
THOUSANDS of private drum lessons in New York City, and I currently
work with 20 to 30 students per week. That means that I spend 20 to
30 hours per week explaining drum concepts and receiving feedback
about what works and what doesn't work. For this reason, I
naturally ended up making this DVD from a teacher's
perspective. It is inspirational, but it is also truly educational.
You will absolutely learn something from this DVD.
A:
Absolutely not! The techniques taught in my DVD are firmly rooted in
traditional bass drum methods and concepts. I have simply taken
those methods and concepts and logically combined them in ways that
make the most sense for today's drummer. In other words, we
start with traditional "heel down" and "heel up"
and go even further in the evolution! I promise you that none
of this is mysterious. Throughout the DVD, I explain the reasoning
behind every single step so that you can understand where the
techniques are coming from and where they ultimately lead.
Each
topic covered in the DVD follows logically and progressively from the
previous topic. If you follow the steps as I've laid them out,
you can't help but improve your bass drum skills. This, in
turn, will likely improve every aspect of your drumming. Solid bass
drum playing is like the foundation of the house. So, if you commit
to learning the techniques in my DVD as thoroughly as possible, you
might completely reinvent yourself as a drummer. That's
exactly what happened to me!