double bass

[pcmckay]

Hey guys. Well I'm trying to teach myself double bass. I'm trying different foot positions, seat height etc. with zero results. I think my biggest problem is finding my balance. I have been playing single pedal for about thirty years, when I try to play double I can't even get my feet to move at a decent speed. Also when I try to get faster my feet just twitch and it is very sloppy. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

P.S. Does anyone know what technique Jason Bittner uses. by looking at the clips on this site it looks like his legs don't raise up very much and the movement is manily in his ankles. I have tried to play like he does in those clips but it's not working very well.

[ThisSpitefulSnake]

Well, how long have you been practicing double bass? It's going to take time. A lot of time, you won't be able to just do it like that.

[Class A Drummer]

Just Practice 16th notes. You'll get it going. I have no formal training or anything with foot technique but i caught on fairly quickly with some practice.

Just do what feels comfortable. Some people find that they can go faster by bringing their feet closer to the heel plate because of the extra resistance. Idk.

The more you practice fluid 16th notes, the quicker you will pick up on that crazy heavy metal speed. Gotta get your muslce memory of RLRLRL on the feet going.

When it comes to actually incorporating 16th notes in music, i find leading with your left foot is easier for some reason. It may feel awkward at first but i think you will kind of enjoy doing it with your left foot leading. Also, if you do that, you can get a cool double bass feel even if you only have a single pedal/bass drum (left foot on hi hat leading).

[pcmckay]

Well, how long have you been practicing double bass? It's going to take time. A lot of time, you won't be able to just do it like that.

I wasn't expecting to sit down and start playing like Jason Bittner, what I meant was that I was trying to get my foot positioning like his. It looks like he barely raises his knees and everything is from the ankles.

[Ian Ballard]

I wasn't expecting to sit down and start playing like Jason Bittner, what I meant was that I was trying to get my foot positioning like his. It looks like he barely raises his knees and everything is from the ankles.

A couple points:

If you've been playing single for that long, you're going to have to train your left foot to be fairly close to your right, muscle-wise and mental control-wise. The best way to do this, is to reverse your kit (this will help your weak hand, too) and play through some basic pattern books, and/or isolate your left foot to play singles, doubles and all the patterns your right foot plays, to the best of your ability. This takes time, but it's worth it!

Second, the most efficient and music-friendly way to increase speed, is through metric modulation. Try not to just arbitrarily speed up and slow down (rubatto). Start with quarters (with a click, preferably and at a comfortable, slow pace) and move up to 1/8ths, 1/8 trips, 16ths, 16th trips... etc, etc. This way, you can accurately gauge where you begin to have problems, and you can keep attacking that rate of tempo.

[Jsk36]

I hear some people practice rudiments using double bass, like rlrrlrll rrllrrll, you know.

I don't know much about double bass since I have only tried it mabye twice at a guitar center, but I would practice some basic rudiments with them to try and help with coordination and feel etc.

[7DaysToTheWolves]

I practice rudiments, and increasing my speed everyday for an hour or two. Just depends on how I feel.

[Daphfz]

P.S. Does anyone know what technique Jason Bittner uses. by looking at the clips on this site it looks like his legs don't raise up very much and the movement is manily in his ankles. I have tried to play like he does in those clips but it's not working very well.

Bittner uses the heel toe method in some of his faster drumming. These guys are right it takes alot of time to develop double bass skills, and most likely it will take anywhere from 3 to 9 months(if u practice everyday for 30mins), to get it right.

[7DaysToTheWolves]

Bittner uses the heel toe method in some of his faster drumming. These guys are right it takes alot of time to develop double bass skills, and most likely it will take anywhere from 3 to 9 months(if u practice everyday for 30mins), to get it right.

Agreed, it takes awhile to build up anything if practiced right.

[kjsm]

you'll be just happy enough with your technique the day before judgement day
that said it wont take that long to be any good...but i practised every day pretty damn well and i remember having it for about 2 years where sometimes i just had to give up for a while
dont dampen your spirits, everyone is different and we all have things we excel at etc
i just mean i look at the amount of time some people on here say it took them to get to 200bpm single strokes with flawless tehcnique and sound and im skeptical..a couple months? nah be more paitent and in my experience, dont think about them too much.
otherwise you'll agre with and pay for that awful joe stronsick system (where his typical get-rich-quick style webpage appeals to your emotions like 'ever wanted to stand oer your drum with a knife in double kick frustration' or something like that - AVOID).

[RICHY-18]

the way i do it!!!

1st - sit on your seat make sure your comfy
2nd - make the angle of my knees 90 degrees from my shin to my thigh
3rd - put my feet flat on both of the pedals
4th - bring my feet down the pedal to about half way! on mine i put my toes just under the word Iorn
5th - lift my heel up and down leaving my toes on the board.. just using my ankels to power the motion.

thats just my way, there will be many different ways

[HH60Gunner]

I reccomend going out and buying a kick drum practice pad. One of the reasons my double bass workouts in the past have been short was cause it gets repetitive and annoying to anyone that isn't you. So out of respect I would annoy them too long. So I went out and bought a parctice pad I hooked my pedals up to, and saw results very quickly. I just throw that thing right in my living room and practice double bass while watching tv or what not. I also bring my snare stand inside and put my stick practice pad on it, with another practice pad on that that has sort of a snare sound to it. I use the bottom pad sort of as my hi-hat and the snare sounding pad as my snare. Then incorporate them all together while I practice. It may sound silly, but it works for me.

[pcmckay]

Thanks to everyone that has posted so far, there are some really good suggestions. Thanks again for the input.

[Big_Philly]

This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPD-eNi2ngk) has some really useful exercises starting at the 2:30 mark (the whole video is pretty useful but it applies to double bass training from 2:30 through 4:00 or so). This strengthens your left foot and makes it grow used to playing in different timings relative to either your left or right hand.
Unless you know you've got rock-solid timing, do this to a click.