Dear Fellow Drummers, I have a hard time containing my enthusiasm for this book! Every time I play through it, I leave my drum room with a big smile on my face. I hope it has the same affect on you. Now, this book didn't just come together by itself. It is an accumulation of over 30 years spent teaching some of America's best young talent, as well as studying with many of the drumming world's top talents and playing in countless musical situations, encompassing virtually every musical style. It has taken almost six years to declare this book complete. Using both feet on the bass drum is a fairly recent development in the history of the drumset. As a result there has been a limited amount of study material available. Until now, that is. The Best Double Bass Drum Book Ever (TBDBDBE) is not only an exhaustive study of double bass drum patterns, but it is written in the most progressive format yet. One idea leads smoothly into the next, with compatible links that will enable you to begin putting together full playing concepts of your own. The book is divided into four main categories: sixteenth notes, sixteenth note triplets, thirty-second notes and eighth note triplets. Each page contains six 1-measure patterns and a 2-measure concept at the bottom. Even though each patterns works on its own, by piecing several patterns together you will create many other musical ideas. TBDBDBE assumes at least an intermediate level of drum reading ability. The help of a good drum teacher is highly recommended should you find yourself not quite at the achievement level you desire. Every single pattern in TBDBDBE is played on the two accompanying compact disks, allowing you to check yourself to see if you are playing the patterns correctly. The disks also offer you the opportunity to simply read the book as you listen along so you can mentally capture how the patterns will sound and feel when you play them. This is a technique that allows you to mentally practice even when you are not near your set. The "How To Use This Book" section, which follows on the next pages, is a vital part of TBDBDBE. One of the best teaching and learning tools I have ever found is to take a pattern and play it with several different cymbal rides. Once you have mastered the patterns as written, I recommend that you then go back and replay them in many different ways. For example, play the patterns of Chapter One with a quarter note ride in place of the existing eighth note ride. This technique makes TBDBDBE a learning tool that has no finish line (much like our beloved "Syncopation Book"). Each pattern has been painstakingly analyzed to ensure that it sounds great AND is comfortable to play. There will be some new bass drum combinations that may feel awkward at first. But with some practice, they will make total sense to you and will increase your two bass drum capacity immensely. If you find several patterns you really love and feel that they are not fully explored, this is a good thing. Mathematically there are millions of combinations. I chose these 616 patterns because they are representative of the totality that is available. So feel free to take the patterns I have written here and run with them. This is a fun book. You will be challenged. You will have questions. And you will probably answer these questions on your own as your two-pedal knowledge increases along the way. If not, contact me! Have fun. Work hard. And let me know which are your favorite patterns! James Holland info@jimholland.com