Drummonkeys.co.uk guide to bass drum technique Part 1
Bass Drum Pedal Selection
The type of bass drum pedal you own will affect your technique. Cheap pedals restrict the faster foot action required, due to their poor build quality. The monkey recommends one of the following: • • • •
DW 7000 and 5000 series BD pedal Pearl power-shifter single chain model (P101) Earl eliminator pedals Yamaha FP series
Try out different pedals and select one that has a smooth action and a light footboard. If you try all the pedals in your local drum shop you will soon start to develop a feel for the difference in he weight of a footboard. Most modern pedals have weighted and balanced footboards to help with speed. If you don’t have a lot of cash then save, it’s worth it in the long run. Single vs. Double A singl single e pedal will not prod produce uce the sou sounds nds a doubl double e pedal prod produces. uces. This is purel purelyy
because you use two feet forand a double pedal and one single, unless you have dualist pedal (v expensive, not recommended by for thea monkey). Try playing onea hand the same speed as both, this principle applies. Double pedals have their in almost all music styles if they are used correctly and tastefully. Don’t bash away on your BD just because you think it sounds good. Only do this if you’re a death metalists or something of a similar nature. But in order to develop this magnificent double foot technique you must first develop each foot separately, and then combine them. Single Foot Technique Single foot technique revolves around two techniques: 1-Heel up 2-Heel down
Both techniques have their place in playing and should both be considered. Heel down is obviously the simpler but tends not to produce speed and power, but does allow you to play softer slower notes for those songs that require a non-thumping bass drum. Heel up technique is similar to the use of fingers for fast single stroke rolls, but takes time to develop because more of the leg is being used. Firstly, make sure are sat properly at your throne. This means that your upper legs should be roughly parallel to the floor. Put your feet in a position that you normally would when you sit at any chair, this is the correct position (look at the education page at the article on body position and general kit set-up this will help u start to define the drum positions). To play heel up you will need to work on your balance in the chair. This requires correct posture. If you’ve ever seen a classical pianist perform (and I strongly recommend that you doTake because a humbling experience) you willonhave their very straight back. note itofisthis as it enhances your balance the noticed throne.
When you are only plying the main pedal you can use your hi-hat foot to balance yourself. This will come with time and practices so don’t get to frustrated. Once you have established this, start work on some simple bass drum technique builders. The following exercises will help develop general calf conditioning: •
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Do some gentle running (remember to warm up first), this will develop your calf muscles, and start to build up your fitness. This is an under estimated concept for drummers as it helps improve body condition (notably your heart which pumps oxygen to your muscles and allows them to work) and helps develop your ability concentrate when you are playing. General technique exercises will start to develop your control over the bass drum pedal. Use a metronome (if u don’t have one why not? get yourself one now!) and take each bleep as a quarter note, and repeat each exercise until you are comfortable with it. Make sure the notes on the bass drum are of even volume. After the beater has struck the BD head allow it to come back off the head. The kinetic energy in this backwards movement is what allows fast doubles to be played played along with continuous rolls. Practice both the heel up and heel down techniques.
Development of single stroke on bass pedal Bass drum quarter note exercise:
Bass drum 8th note exercise -
BD triplets (three bass drum beats to every one metronome bleep)
BD 16th note exercise
These four exercises will help to develop stamina and general technique. Practice them one after the other at the same speed. Start at a tempo which is below your current speed of playing (take every exercise you play slowly and work on achieving a good technique slowly before starting to speed up. Pay attention to what your body is
doing, use a mirror to look at the way your leg is moving) and speed up gradually. This is a method that you should apply when you practice. Development of double strikes Use the following exercises: The mummy daddy - this is played between the hands and the feet. Each bleep still stands for a quarter note which means you are playing a sixteenth note sub-divisions with your hands and feet. Repeat this exercise
Bass drum Triplets The following exercise will put bass drum doubles into an eighth note triplet feel, and remember to play this with a triplet feel (buy the album Synergy by the Dave Weckl Band and listen to track 11 cultural concurrence, this is an applied example of this pattern:
Or
Remember to start slowly, and build up. These two exercises will test your coordination. If you have a double BD pedal play the slave pedal instead of the hi-hat pedal. A variation on these exercises is to replace the Hi-hat with your hands and move them around the kit.
th
16 note exercise This exercise should help develop three strikes of the bass drum:
This is a brief starter to bass drum technique. No, seriously it is, this subject is huge
Recommend Books covering Bass Drum Technique Buy the books on bass drum technique by Ron Spangardi or Phil Solomon. If you’re interested in Phil Solomon’s book e-mail the monkey and well get a copy of the Phil Solomon order form to you through email.
You can now apply these exercises to your playing. Look at where doubles can be placed in the bar and move then around.
A Word From Mr Harland – foot rock and its application The 'foot rocking' action - using a combination of 'heel up' and 'heel down' when talking about the footboard and pedal. Its a case of using the ball of your foot on the downward first stroke to strike then drum, then using the natural momentum of the beater against the head with the movement of your foot to catch beat 2 with the rest of your foot (the sole). A well tuned pedal will greatly reduce the effort required to play doubles on the BD.
Spend a while making sure that you only use minimum effort to make that important first strike. The first strike comes from dropping your ankle on to the heel part of the pedal without actually using the tip of your foot. When you drop the ankle, do not use any muscle contraction, just drop our leg and the tip of your foot will follow due to natural movement. This will save you any necessary time or effort for the second immediately faster stroke to give an even and more effortless 'double beat'. Whatever your using for a pedal then make sure your comfortable with it, spend time with just the bass drum and the pedal. Adjust the tension, if you cant then u will need to invest in a pedal that lets you get the looseness that u want from the spring and bearing. With my power-shifter I can adjust the footboard as well as the tension of the pedal. I find that the pedal will help the drummer as much as the drummer can help him/her self once they have found the most comfortable positioning and tension for the pedal. It is another instrument in itself (the bass drum) so treat it as if you would with your snare or hi-hat placement. General advice from the hairy one Try the techniques mentioned here, and the ways to practice. The difference between even a moderately good drummer that practices with hands and feet compared to another who doesn't is massive. I also know that the one who practices and is more versatile will take better work and become more experienced due to his/her ambition and goal to become the best drummer they can, as well as becoming the most musically adapted individual. You are after all part of the music first, lay the groove with the bassist and then think of what you can add to the music be it dynamically or rhythmically.
All this t his ssaid, aid, jjust ust lliste isten n to wh what at yyou ou fe feel el co comfor mfortable table with a and nd pla playy th the e musi musicc an and d us use e techniques that you find easiest on yourself. Don’t over work something if it’s not going anywhere, it can always be taken back to the practice pad and the fundamentals of drumming: rudiments - single stroke roll/double stroke and paradiddle, and reading.
Look forward to future articles on bass drum technique from the creators of the monkey. DRUMMONKEY – at a drum shop near you www.drummonkeys.co.uk site - www.drummonkeys.co.uk
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[email protected] To purchase any of the mentioned books contact Poole percussion. Their web site is available on the links page ‘drum shops’
