DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE

Re: Loss of Dble Bass ability

This is a long term exercise that was givin' to me in college, that I then modified to make it harder and more effective. The original exercise was. Using pg. 5 in Stick Control, play each ex. for 1 minute with your feet. It takes 24 minutes.Start at 60 bpm and increase tempo 1 beat per minute each time you do the exercise. Play with heal down to isolate calf muscle. My version is this- HANDS & FEET together. Day-1. part 1. Pg 5, (ex. 1-24 ) 60 bpm (24 min). Part-2.-pg's 5-7. (ex.1-72) straight through no repeats.( @ 60 bpm it takes 9 min.). Part-3- Ex. #1 pg.5, double time (or 16th notes).1 min. heal-down. 1 min. heal-up. 2 min. heal-down. 2 min. heal-up. 3min. heal-down. 3 up. 4 down. 4 up. 5 down. 5 up.(part 3 takes 30 min.) Day-2 Part-1 pg.6 Parts 2&3 same as day-1 ( 61-bpm). Day-3 part-1 pg 7. Parts 2&3 same as day-1 (62 bpm). Each day you do ths exercise keep rotating pg's 5,6 & 7. Intire 3 part ex. should be played nonstop. @ 60 bpm it takes over an hour. (63 Min.) If you can't make it through the intire exercise don't increase tempo. ( note's on technique. All ex. should be played w/the B.D. beater coming fully back to the resting position. Off the drum head. Just like the free stroke w/ the hands. As an added hands technique, Part-3 only, when playing heal-down, hands play w/ fingers only. Heal-up play hands w/ wrists only. I also like my pedal tension to be as loose as possible, so I'm depending on bounce to return the beater to resting position. I also set my pedal up so the resting position of the beater is 90 degrees away from the drum head, like a full stroke position for the hands. Not like most factory pedal settings at around 45 degrees.) Good luck .....T
 
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double kick help

hey ive been playing drums practicly all my life(im 15).im self taught. lateley ive been trying to figure out how to use the double bass pedal. i can use it but i cant keep a continuios beat. could someone please give me some tips on how to inprove my double bass playing?
 
Re: double kick help

i tried this a few times:
sit down and get comfortable behind your kit. start playin double bass at a easy tempo for you. not real easy but not hard either. have a watch and time yourself. try to keep it going at the initial tempo for say 5 minutes. if that is to easy go to 10 and so on. once you get comfortable incorporate your hands at the same time doing different things. i've done this exercise maybe 3 or 4 times and i noticed a consederable jump in indurance and speed.
 
Re: double kick help

wishihadapearl said:
i tried this a few times:
sit down and get comfortable behind your kit. start playin double bass at a easy tempo for you. not real easy but not hard either. have a watch and time yourself. try to keep it going at the initial tempo for say 5 minutes. if that is to easy go to 10 and so on. once you get comfortable incorporate your hands at the same time doing different things. i've done this exercise maybe 3 or 4 times and i noticed a consederable jump in indurance and speed.
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lol. if i can get any beat at all going it gets all screwed up once i try to incorperate my hands into it. im trying to play songs like live wire and red hot by motley crue.
 
Re: double kick help

tama drummer 1474 said:
lol. if i can get any beat at all going it gets all screwed up once i try to incorperate my hands into it. im trying to play songs like live wire and red hot by motley crue.
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You're playing too fast. Play slow. Ridiculously slow if need be. You're not going to be able to get yourself up to 150bpm if you can't play 90bpm yet. Start very slow and gradually work your way up.
 
Re: double kick help

Don't try to walk before you can crawl so to speak.

Work on control and technique. Watch some of the tutorials. Go really slow.

RLRLRL at say 90bpm. try that excersize for 10 minutes to see if you can gain control. As days go by and you feel you can increase speed, up the tempo a bit. ( if you have a metranome that would benefit ).

If you find yourself being able to do this easy after say a week or two of practice. Maybe try something like this:

RLRR LRLL
 
Re: double kick help

Don't rush things, i did it an regret it now. I practiced 2-4 backbeat with 16'th on bass under it from 80 to about 140. When i got to 140 it sounded liek rubbish.

I started all over again and trained each foot speratly aswell.
The result: More endurance and power.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

Jeff Almeyda said:
Regarding heel-toe: I'm going out on a limb here but I HATE IT!!!

It usually sounds terrible on an acoustic kit.
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Not really. They just take work to smooth out, and sound great in groove playing (especially for "1e").

The two hits are very different and the continuous tap-dance motion is awkward while playing a song.
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But having that difference in the notes (it's not as stark if you smooth them out) gives you a dynamic feel with your feet that is similar to Moeller for the hands.

I have been working on legit doubles ala Lang et al.
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"Legit" doubles? I think both ways are legit, I guess maybe it's just preference. I work on both, because I find just one way to be limiting.

Yes, after a few hours you will be able to go faster with heel-toe but maybe the reward isn't as great in the long run. After all, we want to play music, not just fast notes right?
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Again, heel/toe doesn't just have to be used for trying to break records. If you really smooth them out and work them into your "everyday" playing, I think you'll find just how musical they are. They're especially great with rock, because they give you more volume, and I've found it adds a bit of dimension when using them on "e&," "&a" and "a1" for instance. And you ever notice how many programmed grooves with something like "a1&2" will have the "a" accented? I've found the best way to smoothly achieve that is with heel/toe, and the more you can simulate the programmed groove, the more viable you become in today's musical landscape.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

ok, i found the thing that helped me progress the most was to:

1) RAISE THE THRONE up higher so that the top of my legs were angling down rather than sitting level, thus raising everything as well

2) USE MY ANKLES, i cant stress enough how much this helped me, by using ankles and not moving the top half of my leg at all, it helps with endurance, speed and stops RSI (repetative Strain Injury)

3) DONT TENSE UP, the more you tense up, the more energy you use and the higher the risk of RSI. Try and play very loose.

4) after administering all the above, USE A METRONOME. just gives a clear indication of how you're progressing and helps if you ever go into a studio.


pretty much common sense, but helps tremendeously. I found improvements after just 2 weeks of light practice.


May the forks be with you.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

I've been practicing double bass heel down and i feel it is much more relaxing. With playing heel up in a groove situation and not just repetetive 16th notes, i notice there is a shift in my weight and balance which is discomforting. What do you guys think about heel down double pedal? I know both Travis Smith and Dave Weckl play heel down and Smith is one of the biggest names in metal right now.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

Heel down is the best way to play double (in my opinion):

1) stops RSI
2) easier to go faster
3) Easier to do quick fills
4) Requires less energy, therefore, more endurance is made.


May the forks be with you
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

I've got the dw9000 also, but it took a while before I really knew how to adjust the pedals to the way I wanted them. here's a little story of my experiences playing double-bass.

I found out that playing with heavier beaters is harder. I play double-bass with the standard DW beaters that come with the dw9000. They are pretty heavy. Now, after a lot of practicing I get more volume and it takes more strength to keep them going in contrary to playing with less heavier beaters. And it is harder to maintain the power at the same level of your kicks(at high speeds) as when kickin slower.

I also tried other beaters, from sonor, I'm talking about the beaters that Thomas Lang uses on his new dvd. They are much lightlyer than the dw9000 originals. When I tighten up the springs a little bit more and use those ones I can play faster.

But I see it like this. When you practice with heavier beaters your muscles will get stronger and you'll need more endurance. Then when you try others you'll need less energy. Bassball players regularly train with a heavier bat than the one they use in the real matches.

I know there's another side to this theory, or maybe even more. All the hours you spend on training your double-bass playing, all the days =) It's a lot of time. Maybe you want to be certain of your result because switching from heavy beaters to less heavier wasn't that easy for me.
BUT in the end you make the same motion, your kicking your pedals down so it can't also be that much different.

hope some db players will try different beaters now =)

Jeroen
 
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Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

Thanks for the input guys.

I've had more time to learn to adjust these pedals more, I think I've found a good adjustment for them.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

The biggest issue for me while playing double bass is that playing heel up works so much better than playing heel down. Also if you move your feet to about halfway down the pedals you will have greater speed and more control over what you play.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

I thought it was the other way around. "Stay real close to the bass drum...You get volume from back there, but the speed comes from up the front of the pedal..." Tiger Bill
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

Excluding the heel-toe technique what are some good techniques for a little extra speed? My feet are too big to manage heel-toe and I can't afford axis pedals :)
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

constant release whichis a similar motion but imo alot more consistant. This is the technique Steve Smith uses, watche Derricks video to learn it, i think that one of the guys from the drumbassadors uses this technique as well. On their clip on their DW page he starts to dbls from a low tempo and speeds it up etc but from what i can see ( not much only his legs) jit seems to be of a similar motion, although we cant really see so, yea see Derricks foot technique clip.
 
Re: THE DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE THREAD

Can anyone help me out i have an iron cobra double and it is awesome but when i play my right foot is at the top of the footboard and my left is in the middle of the footboard however when i play fast my left feels much more comfortable than my right and my right knee is starting to hurt as i push down ive tried keeping my right foot in the middle but it keeps moving up, is there anything anyone can suggest. I would be very greatfull
 
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