Bass Drum Control
by Colin Bailey

Bailey's respected tome Bass Drum Control, first released in 1964, has been recently revised, with a CD added. Bailey spends a good bit of time discussing the proper light touch to use on the pedal, always stressing to bring the beater back off the drum after striking it. There is talk of the sweet spot that gets the best play on the pedal, and the part of the foot he uses on the pedal -- the ball at the back of the big toe. Bailey's pedal has a fairly slack spring tension to allow a lot of play, and his ankle moves very slightly in a side-to-side motion to prevent tension in the foot, with the heel down most of the time. Bailey also writes about keeping muscle tone in the legs, includes all types of exercises (some with sticks added on snare or toms), interprets rudiments for bass drum, and includes some funk-style bass drum solos for fun. An on-target tutorial.

Robin Tolleson