My foot won't work

[DestinationDrumming]

Hi Guys,
Done a search and most seem to look at how to get your foot going at 150+bpm and I'm soooooo far away from that.

I've been drumming for 9 months now and having lessons twice a month. Being a little older I maybe only get a few hours to practice each week. The problem I have is getting to consistently hit 16th notes with my foot. Either comes out too fast or not at all. I play heel down.

I'm learning a fairtly straightforwards groove at around 73bpm with one note on the last 16th of the bar and one on the first 16th of the next bar but I can't consistently hit either or hit the second 16th at the same time as the highhat on the first 8th note (if that makes sense)

I tried to slow down and get 16th notes on my foot at 60bpm but I can't even manage that!

Any suggestions? or should I start at a tempo I can manage and take it from there?

Thanks a lot and Merry (what's left of) Christmas
Kevin

[Michael G]

Put the metronome for aside for a few weeks and start doing this.

Everyday for 10 minutes (5minutes each foot) just go through quarter notes, eighth, triplets, and sixteenth notes. So it should go like this.

1 2 3 4 keep playing and go into eights

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and onto triplets

1 triplet 2 triplet 3 triplet 4 triplet.... and so on to sixteenths then back to start.

It doesn't seem like much but after 5 minutes your foot will be burning. I myself am amazed at the results from just a few weeks.

This is an exercise from Joe Morello.

[Michael G]

Put the metronome for aside for a few weeks and start doing this.

Everyday for 10 minutes (5minutes each foot) just go through quarter notes, eighth, triplets, and sixteenth notes. So it should go like this.

1 2 3 4 keep playing and go into eights

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and onto triplets

1 triplet 2 triplet 3 triplet 4 triplet.... and so on to sixteenths then back to start.

It doesn't seem like much but after 5 minutes your foot will be burning. I myself am amazed at the results from just a few weeks.

This is an exercise from Joe Morello and will really help develop you foot speed.

[jonescrusher]

Put the metronome for aside for a few weeks and start doing this.

Everyday for 10 minutes (5minutes each foot) just go through quarter notes, eighth, triplets, and sixteenth notes. So it should go like this.

1 2 3 4 keep playing and go into eights

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and onto triplets

1 triplet 2 triplet 3 triplet 4 triplet.... and so on to sixteenths then back to start.

It doesn't seem like much but after 5 minutes your foot will be burning. I myself am amazed at the results from just a few weeks.

This is an exercise from Joe Morello and will really help develop you foot speed.


Good exercise, but why put the metronome aside? Bizarre advice that will make your practice time less effective. IMO destinationdrumming try the exercise with a metronome.

[foursticks]

Are we to do that excersise heel up or heel down? Or both?

[Salicete]

DD- I agree with jonescrusher abut the metronome, keep it on. It is a good tool that will help build that internal clock that will help you keep time, and its a good measure of your progress.

I would suggest you try heel-up exercises. That activates a larger muscle group than playing heel-down. Why is this good? larger muscle groups have more power, and for most are easier to train.

I am a fellow "older drummer" and sometmes it just takes me longer to pick up new skills. My teen-agers get on the kit and seem to assimilate things in no time at all, where I struggled for ages. It just takes time, keep at it.

[zambizzi]

I can *definitely* relate to this...I feel your pain brotha!

I've been playing on and off for years (I'm 28 now) and *just* recently started taking lessons...maybe around 4 mo. ago. I'm right-handed but always played left-handed (snare on right, fl. toms on left...etc.)

I know...sounds goofy...but it was comfortable (except for fancy fills) but no one ever "corrected" me. As a result...my left foot became much more controlled and faster than my right. However, my left hand benefited from increased independence and speed...there's always an upside, right?

Anyhow, when I began formal lessons a few months ago I switched to a right-handed setup - cold turkey. It was like coming out of a coma and learning to walk again...it sucked. The worst part of it all was how slow and sloppy my right foot is/was. Whereas I was easily playing 16th's on my left foot for hip hop beats...my right foot just *would* not do it. And, the coordination between my left-hand on the snare and right-foot on the kick was not pretty at all.

So, I'm improving everyday...I'm playing decent hip hop beats and even some Bonham-esque grooves quite accurately lately...and here's what I did to boot-camp-train my right foot w/ good heel-down style:

1. Triplets w/ right-foot only, accenting the middle note. Start *veeeery* slow...say 60bpm...do it until comfy...then boost speed accordingly.

2. Diddles between right & left feet, between right-foot and each hand - this helps a lot to pinch out those 16th's on the end of the diddles as you speed it up.

3. Religiously using the "Marcus Williams Pattern" as demonstrated by John Blackwell here:

http://drummerworld.com/Clinic/John_Blackwell.html

4. Play along to a *lot* of techno/hip-hop beats. I don't even particularly like this type of music but the odd-pattern 16ths will definitely help to speed up your foot.

5. Play along to Zep - Bonham did all that stuff w/ one foot...and the music is so exciting it helps to inspire! You may not like Zep either...but again...the foot!

Ultimately, as my instructor pointed out, this is something that will improve slowly over time and will come w/ practice...*sigh*...such is life!

Hope this helps!

[Michael G]

I meant by saying "put the metronome aside" by don't worry too much about speed, which he seems to be doing and measureing it by the 'nome. Speed comes later.

[jonescrusher]

I meant by saying "put the metronome aside" by don't worry too much about speed, which he seems to be doing and measureing it by the 'nome. Speed comes later.


But use of a metronome is more critical the slower you practice something - if you wish to improve on a technique and get tight at it, there is no option but to use one. Get in the habit and you'll learn to love it (this applies to your question on improving independence - slow tempos with a click is absolutely essential when working on independence).

[emmerson]

But use of a metronome is more critical the slower you practice something - if you wish to improve on a technique and get tight at it, there is no option but to use one. Get in the habit and you'll learn to love it (this applies to your question on improving independence - slow tempos with a click is absolutely essential when working on independence).

if you constantly have a metronome youll be in time sure, but its not always about the timing ... you should slowly get your foot to get use to the motion of triplet feel, 16th's etc before you start trying to gain speed and getting your timing perfect

[Beat Spector]

Hello,
Stick to what smoothjazz said, nice exercise indeed. And yeah: stick to the metronome. So you can monitor your progress. That important for motivation.

But know this: in drumming and learning to drum, there were never, there are no, and never will be, shortcuts.
You wanne master something? practice practice practice practice.
You only got a few hours a week? ok, maybe you'll advance a bit slower. Try to search the most efficient way of working out. what feels best.

but can i be brutally honest? you know what helps on increasing your practice time? throw out your television set. I mean it. TV and whatching the crap that's on it is an incredible waste of time. Maybe that's put in a way that's to extreme. But really; try to limit yr time befor tv. PLay some grooves instead :-) To loud you say? Put sheets and towels on your toms. so you can practice around the kid even at night without bothering anyone. :-)

[zambizzi]

Beat Spector - good common-sense stuff man, well done.

Adding to what I said earlier, I also use a metronome when exercising on the kit...particularly for tracking the speed and accuracy gains on my bass pedal. However, it's also just as good to practice w/o it (in my opinion.)

And, I couldn't agree w/ you more on the TV comment. I used to come home from work and plop down in front of the TV w/ the family...now I eat a quick, light dinner and immediately get to work on the drums. I make a point to spend at least an hour (say, 5:30 - 6:30) and since my foot was (and is) my biggest weakness...I spend about 20 min. of that doing foot exercises lately.

When it comes down to it - it just takes time and practice...especially playing heel-down. However, (and this is my opinion) - that's the right way. I know guys who learned heel-up and could never get the speed or swing that they wanted...and had to re-train themselves heel-down anyways.

Also, one more thing - stretching. Any muscle in your body is going to be faster, more agile, and have more endurance if it is well stretched.

[DestinationDrumming]

Thanks Guys,

SmoothJazz and Zambizzi I've started to do the exercises and can begin to feel my ankle working much harder. I guess it'll take time. Beat Spector thanks for making me laugh, you are so right although I do quite a bit of pad practice whilst watching the telly.....drives the missus mad! :-)

[zambizzi]

I've changed my tune (bwuaha!) since last posting to this thread. I am now playing almost entirely heel-up after growing frustrated w/ the slow (or lack thereof) progress playing heel-down.

I'm much more comfortable now that I've been training my foot w/ the heel-up method...the 16th's are more accurate, faster, and more fun to play. In fact, it's more enjoyable to play the whole kit this way now that I've gotten used to it.

My drum teacher tells me that eventually I'll use both and switch between them seamlessly...I can see that...but heel-up is working great for me now.

[DestinationDrumming]

Thought I'd update you on my progress.

A while back now my regular drum teacher was on tour and I had a stand-in. We started discussing where I was up to and I was explaining that I was trying to work on my foot speed. He helped me to look at the way I was sitting at the kit and demonstrated that I had a tendancy to lean forwards which threw my weight onto my feet and made it difficult and painful.

To some of you who have been practicing and playing for years this may seem obvious but to me this was a real revelation. Since then i have been concentrating on my seating position and this has been helping sooo much. I'm still not lightening fast but i can keep up consistent 16ths at 73bpm but the real difference is that I'm having to put in way less effort. The sound out of my kick is now amazing to what it was before so much more punchy and composed.

So thank you so much for your help

[jonescrusher]

Interesting, if you ever move to a double bass pedal, you'll find that it's actually better to lean forward as this improves balance and control needed for double foot patterns.

[DestinationDrumming]

Ah, not even dallied with the idea of a double pedal until I can get the best from a single. If I'm having trouble with a single I gues a double means double trouble!

Interesting about the differences in technique. I was finding that my foot was sliding forwards because of the weight to the point where it would start to interfere with the beater.

[dea]

In order to get the most of your practice, you must incorporate accents. It doesn't matter how slow you have to play it. Force yourself to do it. Its horrible to have to slow down just to incorporate accents, but its worth it. The change in dynamics will also implicitly add musicality to your playing.

Don't worry about pristine technique, and solid timeing at first. Just focus on getting your ankles to change the dynamic level ( hard soft, soft hard, etc. ). After your ankle can do this, in a sloppy way, then start to incorporate the metronone. Keep the accents going, even if your have to play slower.

I tend to take a phonics approach first. Then I dig into detail. I want my body to work with me before I focus on the details. Of course, everyone's learning style is different.

[DestinationDrumming]

Thanks, I'll try that too.

[Michael G]

I am interested to know how that Joe Morello foot exercise worked for you as it did for me. How did it go with that?

[zambizzi]

Great, I'm glad you're seeing some progress. When I started out my kick-foot was my weakest link as well and it was extremely frustrating sometimes.

I'm with you, I'm not sure that I'll ever go for a double-pedal. I've played them, as well as a double-bass, and I'm not really crazy about it. I don't really need it for the type of music I"m playing and in my opinion - a lot of drummers abuse it to the point where bass notes are *way* overplayed...to the point where it detracts from the music. To each his own, I suppose.

To build upon what someone else had mentioned - accents...very important, in my opinion. I do triplets, diddles, doubles, etc. *all* using accents on the kick. My kick warm-up routine consists of triplets w/ displaced accents and a shuffle (1-ah, 2-ah, 3-ah, 4-ah) w/ accents on 1,2,3, & 4. I try to ghost the "ah" notes as much as possible...allowing for some nice speed and musicality when playing grooves. At this point I'm not progressing fast but am happy w/ the speed and sound of my 16ths on the kick....I'm doing nicely-accented triplets w/ a single foot between 95 and 110 bpm...they start to get a little sloppy past 105 but I can hold it for a little while before that happens.

For what I play, I'm not aggressively pushing for more speed now, just style & control.

Good luck, keep pounding on that foot!

[DestinationDrumming]

Thanks Zanbizzi, I was trying the accents today. I like the way that I'm begining to have a sound rather than just a few kicks nailed together.

Thanks Smoothjazz, The Morello has been great. I use it bacause I don't have to think about it. It's just so simple. I run training courses and find when I have a little down time I can practice (without a metronome - could be a little distracting!) without even having my kit there.

Just have to hang on in there and keep going.