Double-drumming is a

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

technique, developed around 1900,Hessler, Claus and Famularo, Dom (2008). ''Open-Handed Playing: Traditional Approach, Voice-variation Approach, Play-along Songs, Volume 1'', p.9. Alfred Music. . allowing the use of both a bass and

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

by one person, using

drum stick A drum stick (or drumstick) is a type of percussion mallet used particularly for playing snare drum, drum kit, and some other percussion instruments, and particularly for playing unpitched percussion. Specialized beaters used on some other pe ...

s, prior to the invention of the

bass drum pedal The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

(in 1909) and leading to the availability of the

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

. According to Len 'Hunt' Doc, double drumming allowed one player to "beat a fast four-in-a-bar bass drum, doing a

close roll The Close Rolls () are an administrative record created in medieval England, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands by the royal chancery, in order to preserve a central record of all letters close issued by the chancery in the name of the Crown. ...

on snare at the same time," whereas before it would have taken two percussionists.Nicholls, Geoff (2008). ''The Drum Book: A History of the Rock Drum Kit'', unpaginated. Backbeat. . Accomplished through close positioning of the bass and snare heads, the cymbals were played by tapping a foot pedal called a " low-boy".Blades, James and Dean, Johnny (2002). ''How to Play Drums: Everything You Need to Know to Play the Drums'', p.19. Macmillan. . This style is best exemplified by early New Orleans Jazz/ Second Line bands, and

Baby Dodds Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important ...

has been called the master. It has been proposed that either the bass foot pedal or hi-hat pedal was invented, or rather, standardized, first. The illustration in Blades and Dean (2002) implies that the low-boy started out as a stick laid over two cymbals ("sock cymbal") and that the positioning of the snare and bass was facing each other, nearly touching at the bottom, achieved through use of snare and bass drum stands, while Nicholls describes the snare drum as being, "tilted alarmingly close to vertical." Hessler and Famularo (2008) argue that the bass drum pedal must have come first, due to its less sensitive action. This process also contributed to the standard drum kit layout and arm position, as most drummers chose to play the bass pedal with their right foot. When the hi-hat came along, it was left to the other foot, and

traditional grip In percussion, grip refers to the manner in which the player holds the percussion mallet or mallets, whether drum sticks or other mallets. For some instruments, such as triangles and large gongs, only one mallet or beater is normally used, held ...

made the use of the right hand, and thus a cross-, rather than open-, handed technique, more comfortable.Hessler and Famularo (2008), p.10.

See also

References

Further reading