I love to hear this. Truly, you're never too old to play drums!
Congratulations and glad to have you here in Drum Chat.
The pedals you mentioned are actually considered one and referred to as a double pedal, double bass pedal or double bass drum pedal. It's simple really. For anyone that wanted to play double bass drums but didn't want to carry two bass drums, this pedal was designed so that you could play both feet on one bass drum. It was one of the greatest inventions of our time as far as I'm concerned and it changed drumming dramatically. Drummers are now setting records with speed drumming on just double bass playing using a double pedal. Check out Tim Waterson. Here are some other double bass drum links:
Double Bass Tips
Double Bass Drum Lessons
When you first get a double bass pedal, it can be a little intimidating, but hang in there. Once you get over the hump of getting used to it and learning a few basic exercises, it's not that bad. The main thing is to have patience. At first, you'll feel like you're starting all over again. But after much repitition, you'll be getting it.
I'm not the greatest double bass player but I'm glad I acquired a handful of chops on the double pedal. It gave me the ability to do so much more with passages in some songs.
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