Hi! I'm a prog drummer who's been playing double bass for 10 years now, but it's been pretty sporadic over the last 2-3 years so I'm trying to get into a consistent practice routine for the first time (I've previously only practiced with the songs I needed to play), and I'm having some issues getting past 16th notes at 130 BPM, which I've been able to do before.
First of, I'm conflicted over whether to bury the beater or not. I know a lot of drummers do it at slower tempi, but 130 feels like the spot where I'm no longer able to bury it, but it also feels too slow to let it rebound without it getting sloppy. Any thoughts on this? When I play slower, burying the beater feels consistent, but the moment I stop, my pedaling gets real sloppy and I struggle to control the beater.
Secondly, I'm trying to figure out what the best foot position is for the ankle technique (I'm sitting pretty high), and after my calves started to burn I realized I was playing with my heel angled pretty sharply away from the pedal and only the ball of my foot making contact (a lot of the drummers I've watched have their feet a lot lower even when only the ball of the foot is touching the pedal). I've watched a ton of videos but I'm still not able to understand what the optimum foot position is.
I'd appreciate any feedback!
Edit: I'm trying to focus as much as possible on developing my ankle technique and not pumping my legs up and down like I've done in the past.
First of, I'm conflicted over whether to bury the beater or not. I know a lot of drummers do it at slower tempi, but 130 feels like the spot where I'm no longer able to bury it, but it also feels too slow to let it rebound without it getting sloppy. Any thoughts on this? When I play slower, burying the beater feels consistent, but the moment I stop, my pedaling gets real sloppy and I struggle to control the beater.
Secondly, I'm trying to figure out what the best foot position is for the ankle technique (I'm sitting pretty high), and after my calves started to burn I realized I was playing with my heel angled pretty sharply away from the pedal and only the ball of my foot making contact (a lot of the drummers I've watched have their feet a lot lower even when only the ball of the foot is touching the pedal). I've watched a ton of videos but I'm still not able to understand what the optimum foot position is.
I'd appreciate any feedback!
Edit: I'm trying to focus as much as possible on developing my ankle technique and not pumping my legs up and down like I've done in the past.