heel toe progress @ 6 months

[NUTHA JASON]

i started working on steve smith's heel toe methods in july. i try to do a bit every day but at least one or two extended 20 minute sessions a week. the aim is to get neat even speed but also have it all so automatic that i can solo over it with my hands.

this little solo was recorded at 159 bpm mainly as a test of the 'audacity' software i downloaded. the bass is a little uneven at times but i am happy with the progress so far. my goal is to play beautiful neat strokes at 180 bpm while doinf stuff on top.

[fusssion]

WOWZA!! That was WAY cool!! Very nice Jason!

[Tim Waterson]

i started working on steve smith's heel toe methods in july. i try to do a bit every day but at least one or two extended 20 minute sessions a week. the aim is to get neat even speed but also have it all so automatic that i can solo over it with my hands.

this little solo was recorded at 159 bpm mainly as a test of the 'audacity' software i downloaded. the bass is a little uneven at times but i am happy with the progress so far. my goal is to play beautiful neat strokes at 180 bpm while doinf stuff on top.
NJ
Just got a chance to listen to your solo
NICE yes the constant release does make it easier to keep the endurance up.
keep us posted.
Tim

[NUTHA JASON]

thanks fusssion and tim.

yeah it is one of the huge drawbacks of being self taught in that i have for 14 years buried my beater in the head and the idea of keeping it off the skin is still new to me. i'm having to adjust my whole balance on the throne.

its kind of like when you first learn to rimshot... you tend to use it sparingly out of fear that instead of an enormous crack you get a wimpy rim click. but i have faith...heck i can rimshot effortlessly and without fail these days so the constant release thing will also come. i use it in gigs already mainly as a rumble under the cymbals at the end of songs or during the pumping sections.

j

ps: as an aside tim, i know i argued with you before over the foot pivot thing but i have since decided to start learning it for my right foot. the reason is that i see so many great drummers using it.

[Pearlrules]

Awesome stuff Jason!

[tomgrosset]

That was really impressive. Everything was implemented very cleanly. I haven't really heard much of your playing either so it was really cool to have heard you show off your talent.

[Tim Waterson]

thanks fusssion and tim.

yeah it is one of the huge drawbacks of being self taught in that i have for 14 years buried my beater in the head and the idea of keeping it off the skin is still new to me. i'm having to adjust my whole balance on the throne.

its kind of like when you first learn to rimshot... you tend to use it sparingly out of fear that instead of an enormous crack you get a wimpy rim click. but i have faith...heck i can rimshot effortlessly and without fail these days so the constant release thing will also come. i use it in gigs already mainly as a rumble under the cymbals at the end of songs or during the pumping sections.

j

ps: as an aside tim, i know i argued with you before over the foot pivot thing but i have since decided to start learning it for my right foot. the reason is that i see so many great drummers using it.
Great to see you are keeping an open mind on the swivel It rocks
PS my right foot can fly up to 140 and be relaxed using the swivel so I know the potential is there
Tim

[Wegadrummer]

Wow Nutha, that was just amazing.. As tim said, keep us posted! We want to hear/see the progress.

[frank0072]

Wow Nutha, are you competely self taught? I think I will stay self taught too (money issue), and clearly it's possible to become a great drummer then :-).

[NUTHA JASON]

too kind. but i have loads of dvds and am a qualified teacher myself so i have some advantages. get a teacher even for a few one off lessons where and when you can.

that said, progress for me is always steady but slow. its like growing bonsais. you have to be persistent and patient and always try to keep a big picture in mind.often i lose sight of that and try to gain a chop too fast and when i can do it i am happy but its not perfected ... not mastered as it were. someone once said: 'a good drummer practices until they get something right...a great drummer practices something until they cannot get it wrong.' i wish the latter were true of everything i do kit wise.

j

ps: thanks wega

[intooder]

Very nice, Nutha. I've always gotten the impression from your posts that you were more of a technique drummer, but that solo had some solid feel and bounce to it, in addition to great sticking. I must say, I can hear a bit o' Phil in there (a more 21st century one). Keep it up.

[NUTHA JASON]

lol. thanks intooder. i hope i become more of a technical drummer one day. at the moment its all about not pissing my band off every gig but doing it with style.

j

[Latin Groover]

That was great Jason. Your foot is coming along really well. In the call and response part at the start you showed some good bass drum control, keep the progress posted. And for 16ths at the start, where you doing all the quater accents with the right, or parradiddles? It sound like all one hand to me.

[NUTHA JASON]

just straight RLRL sixteenths with various hands accenting. its a thing i saw bonham doing on the dvd. i recorded this to test out the software and suddenly found myself in heeltoe-ville so i decided to stay there and do hand stuff over it which is kind of why i didn't develop the call and answer bit further. its fun to do that stuff tho. and it would have made this a bit more of a drum solo ...maybe next time.

j

[Latin Groover]

How close do you sit to your bass drum? Do you find that you have to sit a little closer to do the contant release? Because i play pretty much all heel down unless it calls for heel up, so naturally as i play heel down the bass drum is a few extra inches away, but i just find it really hard to attempt the contstant release as it feels like my foot is just too far away, and i dont push the bass or anything and i dont play further away than average or anything (im actually pretty short) i just find its 'not right'. although i can do it fine when the pedal is closer but then i dont stand a chance at playing heel down, so any tips (TIM...cough...TIM) cause its a great technique to use for accents, say for accenting the qurters in 8ths etc.

[NUTHA JASON]

i play very 'square'... the angle between my torso and the top of my thigh is 90 degrees and the angle between my thigh and my calf is 90 degrees. so my thigh is parallel to the floor. i find this is a happy medium between reaching out for the pedal and being right on top of it. i can play comfortably heel down or heel up. i would suggest putting your seat where you normally do and then put tape on the floor. then play all different styles and then move the seat forward 1 inch then play different styles. etc until you find that you cannot comfortably use your primary bass technique then back it an inch. there may be a period of adjustment but as with all things make the changes subtle. mark the most ergonomic position with tape and spend a few weeks adjusting your techniques to this new position. the height of your chair is also very important to how far you have to reach.

j