Can I play Tool's "Schism" with a single bass pedal?

gobears10

Member
Hey there! I hope this is the right place to post this :)

So I love the song "Schism" by Tool. The problem is, I don't have a double bass pedal as proggy metal isn't my usual playing style. I can play through most of the song, until the end with the sextuplets.

You can see the part here at 6:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRrvXJChXqA

It looks like he's hitting the floor tom, followed by two double bass hits on the right and left foot. Is it possible to single bass this? I know there are techniques like heel-toe and slide, and I can kinda do them but it's hard for me to make it consistent like this. Maybe I just need to practice more!

What do you guys think? Thanks :)
 
Yes, if you can do doubles that fast, no problem. No need for heel-toe or slide, you can just do doubles with a motion similar to Moeller method used for the hands.
 
I would love to see the outro played on single pedal, not to say it can’t be done, it would be something to behold.
 
It's not the speed of the notes themselves that would be the most difficult part, it's the number of doubles you would have to play in succession. It's easy to play doubles fast, but you need economy of motion to keep them going.

I'd play the doubles this way (shown at 4:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMvrO_cbirg
 
It's possible, but you'd have to bound the pedal pretty fast, and therefore play lighter, quieter notes. Nothing wrong with this, but it won't have the same sound as two legs forcefully playing the same notes.
 
If your feet are fast enough, you can double the speed playing between hats and kick. The single kick will be at the same speed as Danny's doubles. Harder? Extremely. Another option, absolutely.

His feet aren't going all that fast really. The toms are the main source of what's going on there.
 
Listen all the way through, seems tolerable - now, specifically the outro part around 6:34 or so, that may stop you in your tracks...
 
One of my students played it with one pedal at the student recital yesterday, and he killed it! I'll post a video of it once I'm finished editing.

B.
 
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