dwforever

Junior Member
Okay guys, something is wrong here...
THREE years of double bass practicing and my feet have not got an ounce better. I am still just managing to clap out eigth notes at 160bpm...

I just dont understand...my pedals are good, im heallthy, I have fast hands. Why am I not progressing?
 
Okay guys, something is wrong here...
THREE years of double bass practicing and my feet have not got an ounce better. I am still just managing to clap out eigth notes at 160bpm...

I just dont understand...my pedals are good, im heallthy, I have fast hands. Why am I not progressing?

Have you made sure you can do quarter notes at 160 with both feet individually?
 
Can you twitch your feet? I bet everybody can.
Get your feet into twitching as fast as you can, then work on getting your feet in sync.

Look up "ankle motion". It might be a matter of a few days until you see stunning results. But the control won't be there yet.

That would be the ticket for the faster stuff. But continue to work "from below", that is - no twitching but building control - which eventually will result in speed, too.
 
How many different techniques have you tried?Heel up,heel down?Play with the ball of the foot,or slide?Standard/long board?Bury the beater head or come off the head.Tight or JAW batter.What type of beater head?Springs loose/medium/tight.Hole in reso or not.Bass drum size?

Do you start slow of just go right to full speed?Are your beats clean and even before you accellerate?Two singles or a double pedal?

Can you play rudiments with your feet or just singles,doubles and triplets?

Steve B
 
How are you doing when you play a single bass drum pattern? Do you cope better? Are you faster? Do you have better control? Better accuracy? ...if you can answer yes to my questions, then is your weak foot that's the problem, practice a lot with the weak foot, lead your patterns with the weak foot, if the answers to my questions is no, then you have a technical problem, and you're using a technique(s) which doesn't allows you to access the velocity you're looking for, try some alternative technique(s).

Also, last but not least, ensure that the "settings" are spotless for you, for your style, and it's more than just tuning your pedals, the "settings" is much more than that, I did a thread on this subject, have a look at it, you might find it useful http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93800

Good luck and persevere, you'll eventually get there, soon or later.
 
I think feet are more difficult to master. We have years of study and books that have focused on our hands, but only recently have we begun to see the importance of good foot technique to accomplish speed, endurance and dynamics.

I would look to guys like Dom Famularo, Mike Mangini and George Kollias who have feet that are not only fast but just as strong as thier hands. Dom has showed me time and again that he can literally do with his feet what his hands can do. Just as fast and with just as much dynamic sensibility.
 
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