Pedal Technique

innman

Junior Member
Hey,am new here so be nice :p

I have been recently teaching myself drums on an electric drum kit. (One of the pads with the buttons for pedals)

As I am just starting I feel that I have tended to strike the bass with my heel instead of the conventional 'heel up' or 'heel down' technique. So that my toes are always touching the floor and use my calf muscles to apply the force down.


I am a Design student and have thought about designing a pedal that you can strike with your heel so that your toe is always in contact with the floor. Thus reducing the amount of muscles that we use.

As a beginner I find this way of striking a pedal is a lot easier and a lot less painful as when I play using the other techniques my legs seem to ache after about 15 minutes, where as when I strike with my heel I can seem to go on for a lot longer.

I just want to know what you experts think of this technique and whether it would be a good choice in designing a pedal for such a problem.

Thanks and looking forward to some opinions.

Chris
 
Hey, Chris

It sounds like you may have stumbled upon a technique similar to the one that I use and teach to my students. I make most of my strokes with a movement that feels very much like snapping my heel down to the ground. You can see me demonstrate the details of this in my bass drum DVD. In any case, you don't need to design a special pedal for this. As you'll discover, the technique works fine with a normal pedal!

Best of luck to you!

Matt Ritter
Bass Drum Techniques For Today's Drummer
www.UnBuryingTheBeater.com
 
There is already that kind of pedal you just desribed. I forgot the name but there is link to this pedal somewhere in forum.
 
hmmm..

i would have thought that if your toes are in constant contact with the floor that a normal pedal would not move as you are only tapping your heel to the ground where your toes dont move.

thats the way i do it anyway.
 
hmmm..

i would have thought that if your toes are in constant contact with the floor that a normal pedal would not move as you are only tapping your heel to the ground where your toes dont move.

thats the way i do it anyway.

Since a normal pedal has a moving footboard, there is definitely more nuance involved when playing a normal pedal than when just playing on the floor. However, the basic stroke feels similar to what you described. Instead of keeping my toes in constant contact with the floor, I keep them in constant contact with the footboard.

Matt Ritter
Bass Drum Techniques For Today's Drummer
www.UnBuryingTheBeater.com
 
The specialty pedal linked in the previous post looks like a fun gadget to play around...but, I would urge you to become comfortable using standard drum equipment. You might end up regretting it if you build your technique around a device not typically found in drum stores, rehearsal rooms, etc.

In any case, enjoy your journey with drums. Best of luck to you!

Matt Ritter
Bass Drum Techniques For Today's Drummer
www.UnBuryingTheBeater.com
 
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