Richard's Blog https://blog.rcook.org/atom.xml Richard Cook 2026-09-04T15:59:57+00:00 <p>I’ve started writing <a href="https://rcook.github.io/double-bass-drumming-training-manual/">Double Bass Drumming Training Manual</a>. This is a companion to Bobby Rondinelli and Michael Lauren’s well-regarded book <a href="https://www.halleonard.com/product/6620037/the-encyclopedia-of-double-bass-drumming"><em>The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming</em></a>. The manual will work equally well as a companion to either the Original or Revised edition of the book since the content of the first fourteen chapters of the two editions is identical.</p> <p>The book is often cited as a valuable resource for aspiring double bass drummers. Indeed, it <em>is</em> a really good book. In my opinion, however, it doesn’t offer enough structure and step-by-step guidance for a beginner to know how to consume it effectively. If you have a teacher, then that isn’t a problem: they can advise you on how to read it. I don’t currently have a real teacher, so I decided to write this companion instead. It is intended to encapsulate my approach to using the book in sufficient detail for a beginner to follow along at a sustainable pace. The manual describes its <a href="https://rcook.github.io/double-bass-drumming-training-manual/approach.html">pedagogical approach</a> at some length for those who are interested. In short, the overarching principle of the manual is <em>the best training regimen is the one you actually follow</em>. The manual is not intended to be <em>optimal</em>—my hope is that it will be <em>doable</em>.</p> <p>Bear in mind that it could naturally take a lifetime to “master” double bass drumming and that there’s enough material in the book to last said lifetime. Since my plan is to write the manual as I progress through the book, it’s likely that it’ll take years to finish. To give you an idea of the current pace of writing, I started working through the book and working on it in late July 2026. So far—early September 2026—I’ve completed Chapter 1. This chapter is ready for anyone else to work through. I’ve since graduated to Chapter 2. This is now mostly complete too. It’s likely that it’ll take about another month to complete Chapter 2. Note that I’ll revise older chapters of the manual as the pedagogical approach evolves and to fix errors but I don’t expect Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 to change drastically in spirit or structure. I consider both these chapters to be ready for consumption by other students.</p> <p>Even though it won’t be complete for a long time, I still believe there’s value in sharing it with the world, particularly for anybody who’s just starting out like I am. The manual is deliberately very prescriptive. Assuming I can maintain the current rate of working through the (lifelong) process, a student—<em>even an already-advanced double-bass drummer</em>—who follows the manual as written should never catch up with me. If anybody does, it strongly suggests that they’re not following the approach properly (and skipping ahead) or that my progress has slowed significantly. Or that I’m bored of the whole thing!</p> <p>The source code for the manual is available on <a href="https://github.com/rcook/double-bass-drumming-training-manual">GitHub</a> and released under the <a href="https://github.com/rcook/double-bass-drumming-training-manual/blob/main/LICENCE">Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International</a> licence. I invite anyone who’s interested to follow along, open <a href="https://github.com/rcook/double-bass-drumming-training-manual/issues">issues</a> as they find them and contribute if they have ideas. Contributions will be considered if they follow the prescribed pedagogical approach. If you don’t like that constraint but find some value in the content anyway, then you’re welcome to fork the project and repurpose it for your own ends subject, of course, to the terms of the licence.</p> <p><em>Note that you will need to <a href="https://www.halleonard.com/product/6620037/the-encyclopedia-of-double-bass-drumming">own</a> a copy of either the Original or Revised Edition of the book as the manual intentionally doesn’t include the book itself.</em></p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2026/double-bass-drumming-training-manual/ 2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 <ol> <li>Go to https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/</li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/rsync-3.4.4-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">rsync.exe</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/libopenssl-3.6.3-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-crypto-3.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/libiconv-1.19-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-iconv-2.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/libxxhash-0.8.3-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-xxhash-0.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/libzstd-1.5.7-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-zstd-1.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/liblz4-1.10.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-lz4-1.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/popt-1.19-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-popt-0.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/msys2-runtime-3.6.9-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-2.0.dll</code></li> <li>Download https://repo.msys2.org/msys/x86_64/libintl-0.22.5-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst</li> <li>Extract <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">msys-intl-8.dll</code></li> </ol> <p>Also: https://packages.msys2.org/search</p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2026/rsync-for-windows/ 2026-06-25T00:00:00+00:00 2026-06-25T00:00:00+00:00 <p>I found a loaded body, a fretless neck and some locking tuners and bolted it all together all by myself:</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets//2026-04-13-fretless-strat/front.jpg" alt="Front" /></p> <p>I think the body is from a Squier Limited Edition Sonic Stratocaster HT H in California Blue.</p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2026/fretless-strat/ 2026-04-13T00:00:00+00:00 2026-04-13T00:00:00+00:00 <iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud%253Aplaylists%253A2113383536&amp;color=%238932a8&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true"></iframe> <div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/richardthepeace" title="Richard Cook" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Richard Cook</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/richardthepeace/sets/mask" title="Mask" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Mask</a></div> <iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3856335456/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless=""><a href="https://richardcook.bandcamp.com/album/mask">Mask by Richard Cook</a></iframe> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2025/mask-released/ 2025-11-23T00:00:00+00:00 2025-11-23T00:00:00+00:00 <p><a href="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2025-11-22-mask-revisited/Richard_Cook_Mask-256x256.png">Mask album artwork</a></p> <p>I’ve decided to bring my album release date forward. “Mask” will be released on <a href="https://richardcook.bandcamp.com/album/mask">Bandcamp</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/richardthepeace/sets/mask">SoundCloud</a> on 24 November 2025 unless I change my mind at the last minute!</p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2025/mask-revisited/ 2025-11-22T00:00:00+00:00 2025-11-22T00:00:00+00:00 <p>My new album “Mask” will be released on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/richardthepeace/sets/mask">SoundCloud</a> some time in early December 2025!</p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2025/mask/ 2025-11-12T00:00:00+00:00 2025-11-12T00:00:00+00:00 <p>My first post of 2025! I wrote an <a href="https://github.com/rcook/r6502">emulator/debugger for the 6502 CPU</a>.</p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2025/r6502/ 2025-06-07T00:00:00+00:00 2025-06-07T00:00:00+00:00 <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click+drag</td> <td>Draw or erase notes on the same row</td> </tr> <tr> <td>right-click+drag</td> <td>Audition existing note or empty location; sets velocity for new notes if existing note is auditioned</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Shift+Ctrl+Alt</code>+left-click+drag</td> <td>Freehand draw or erase notes</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl</code>+left-click+drag</td> <td>Edit velocity of notes; drag over multiple notes on the same row to create velocity curves</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl+Alt</code>+left-click+drag</td> <td>Adjust velocity of all notes on the same row</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Shift</code>+left-click+drag left/right</td> <td>Adjust note start offset</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Shift+Alt</code>+left-click+drag</td> <td>Adjust note start offset of all notes on the same row</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Alt</code>+left-click</td> <td>Tie/untie notes</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Alt</code>+left-drag</td> <td>Tie/untie multiple notes in a row</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Shift</code>+right-click+drag up/down</td> <td>Subdivide note</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2 id="envelopes">Envelopes</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click+drag</td> <td>Draw/adjust envelope of the active envelope type</td> </tr> <tr> <td>right-click+drag</td> <td>Erase envelope of the active envelope type</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag up/down channel</td> <td>(Drum map mode) Change MIDI channel</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag up/down CC</td> <td>Change MIDI CC</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li>MIDI CC: MIDI CC 0-127; on first envelope (blue) type 127 has a special meaning: it controls probability of note playback on each sequence step; only notes on same channel as the envelope will be affected</li> </ul> <h2 id="note-names">Note names</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click+drag up/down</td> <td>(Drum map mode) Transpose note row</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag up/down channel</td> <td>(Drum map mode) Change MIDI channel</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Shift</code>+left-click</td> <td>Duplicate sequence; sequence length is doubled</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl</code>+left-click</td> <td>Halve steps per beat, slow down</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl</code>+right-click</td> <td>Double steps per beat, speed up</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl+Alt</code>+left-click</td> <td>Halve steps per beat, preserve note positions; sequence length is halved</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl+Alt</code>+right-click</td> <td>Double steps per beat, preserve note positions; sequence length is doubled</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2 id="keyboard">Keyboard</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click+drag green area</td> <td>Change base note of the grid</td> </tr> <tr> <td>right-click+drag green area</td> <td>Change number of notes in the grid</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag red area</td> <td>Change MIDI trigger notes for pattern triggering</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2 id="patterns">Patterns</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click</td> <td>Change to pattern</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl</code>+left-click</td> <td>Copy the active pattern to clicked pattern and change to the clicked pattern</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Ctrl</code>+right-click</td> <td>Clear pattern</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Alt</code>+left-click</td> <td>Set pattern chain end</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2 id="toolbar">Toolbar</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Key</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>left-click <strong>Mode</strong></td> <td>Toggle mode (see notes)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click <strong>PlayBeforeStart</strong></td> <td>Enable/disable playback before start beat position (see notes)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click <strong>StartBeatPos</strong></td> <td>Set start beat position to current play cursor position</td> </tr> <tr> <td>right-click <strong>StartBeatPos</strong></td> <td>Set start beat position to default value</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click <strong>EndBeatPos</strong></td> <td>Set end beat position to current play cursor position</td> </tr> <tr> <td>right-click <strong>EndBeatPos</strong></td> <td>Set end beat position to default value</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag <strong>NoteLength</strong></td> <td>Set/adjust note length for all notes; 100% equals full step length</td> </tr> <tr> <td>left-click+drag <strong>Swing</strong></td> <td>Set/adjust swing</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li><strong>Mode</strong> button: <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">PR</code> = piano roll, <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">DM</code> = drum map</li> <li><strong>PlayBeforeStart</strong>: <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">&gt;|&gt;</code> = play everywhere, <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">|&gt;</code> = play only after start beat position</li> <li><strong>EndBeatPos</strong>: <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">---</code> = play indefinitely</li> </ul> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2024/sequencer-megababy-key-bindings/ 2024-11-11T00:00:00+00:00 2024-11-11T00:00:00+00:00 <h2 id="front">Front</h2> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/front.jpg" alt="Front" /></p> <h2 id="left-elevation">Left elevation</h2> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/left-elevation.jpg" alt="Left elevation" /></p> <h2 id="right-elevation">Right elevation</h2> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/right-elevation.jpg" alt="Right elevation" /></p> <h2 id="overhead">Overhead</h2> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/overhead.jpg" alt="Overhead" /></p> <h2 id="throne-height">Throne height</h2> <p>22½″ to top surface</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/throne-height.jpg" alt="Throne height" /></p> <h2 id="ride-height">Ride height</h2> <p>37″ to rim</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/ride-height.jpg" alt="Ride height" /></p> <h2 id="left-crash-height">Left crash height</h2> <p>42″ to cymbal bell</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/left-crash-height.jpg" alt="Left crash height" /></p> <h2 id="right-crash-height">Right crash height</h2> <p>40″ to cymbal bell</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/right-crash-height.jpg" alt="Right crash height" /></p> <h2 id="hi-hat-height">Hi-hat height</h2> <p>29″ to rim of top hat</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/hi-hat-height.jpg" alt="Hi-hat height" /></p> <h2 id="snare-height">Snare height</h2> <p>25½″ to top rim</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/snare-height.jpg" alt="Snare height" /></p> <h2 id="rack-tom-height">Rack tom height</h2> <p>33″ to centre of top rim</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/rack-tom-height.jpg" alt="Rack tom height" /></p> <h2 id="floor-tom-height">Floor tom height</h2> <p>27″ to top rim</p> <p><img src="https://blog.rcook.org/assets/2024-10-30-drum-kit-layout/floor-tom-height.jpg" alt="Floor tom height" /></p> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2024/drum-kit-layout/ 2024-10-30T00:00:00+00:00 2024-10-30T00:00:00+00:00 <p>1 minutes 37 seconds of nihilism:</p> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fwVsgIfvOT4" title="&quot;Dystopian Hellscape&quot; by Richard Cook" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> https://blog.rcook.org/blog/2024/dystopian-hellscape/ 2024-09-08T00:00:00+00:00 2024-09-08T00:00:00+00:00