Literally Cutting His Teeth: How Dave Grohl Taught Himself Drums by Playing With His Pearly Whites

When somebody has a fervent passion for something, they will stop at nothing to pursue it. If somebody wants to become a professional soccer player but doesn’t have a ball, they will make one out of duct tape and sponges. If somebody wants to become an engineer but doesn’t have the proper parts to build something, they will make do with the scraps they can get their hands on. In other words, no limits can ever prohibit a dreamer from pursuing their dream, and one musician that notion applies to is Dave Grohl.

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Before Dave Grohl procured a proper drum set as a kid, he went about teaching himself the instrument in two ways. First off, Grohl would create a makeshift drum set out of the pillows. This seemingly gave him the foundational skills to navigate a drum set. In addition to that tactic, Dave Grohl would also play drums with his teeth. Yes, Grohl, the Foo Fighters drummer, would clink, clash, and chomp his teeth to emulate the rhythm of a drum kit.

Speaking on why Kurt Cobain did something similar while interviewing on The Howard Stern Show, Grohl divulged why he and many other musicians utilized their teeth to learn the drums. Grohl told Stern, “I think what happens is that when you discover music and you start getting really into it, it’s like an obsession,” and “You’re basically just utilizing any resource to do it.”

Dave Grohl’s Unhappy Dentist

Evidently, chomping and grinding your teeth on a frequent basis is going to lead to some dental issues. Unsurprisingly, it did for Dave Grohl, as he had some tooth deterioration at a very young age from playing the drums with his teeth.

He recalled to the BBC, “I started doing it when I was a kid, and I was at the dentist, and he’s looking at my teeth. He says, ‘Do you chew a lot of ice?’ I said, ‘I don’t think so, why?’ He said, ‘Well, your teeth have an unusual amount of deterioration.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, wait! I can play drums with my teeth!’ He’s like, ‘What?’ And I made him put his ear close to my mouth – and then he kicked me out.”

While Grohl likely paid the dental price for playing the drums with his teeth, it was certainly not an empty expense. Rather, it was an investment, an investment that would ultimately lead Dave Grohl to become one of the greatest and most popular drummers in the history of music.

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