When I started learning double bass, I had a lot of the same problems that you guys have posted in comments. What really helped me get to the point of "being able to practice this exercise efficiently" is isolate your feet mainly getting your left foot up to your right foots Independence . If your right foot is doing double taps at 120bpm in a 16th note grouping but your left foot can only do them at 90 bpm then your single stoke speed with both feet will be 180bpm. Your only going to be as fast as your weakest link let you. Another thing that helped me is being able to play the up stokes to the click all the E's and A's Jojo Mayer talks about this in "Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer" and that helps a lot with cleaning up rolls so you have a much more balanced sound.
i realy like crancked up snares. i use a 14 by 3 and crancking the fucking hell out of it. it sounds very very good with tons of crack to it and also a short sound because of the shalow 3'' deep snare.
Double bass is so frustrating. It's really fun on those days when your feet seem to actually do what you want, but on bad days, when I cant even hold 115 bpm for more than 30 seconds I just get really pissed. Does anyone know any reason why my legs and feet could lock up on random days as if they just say "fuck it, not playing today"?
Coconut Crab I have this same problem. It seems like I can play on weekends but not during the week. I think it's because i'm more refreshed on days i'm not working. I'll come home from work and try to play and i'll just want to cut my goddamn feet off. Also, I noticed caffeine helps.
Coconut Crab i do that all the time, I think it's happens when you get frustrated and think that instead of being frustrated you can just stop and not be frustrated. idk, it's mainly a mental thing
+Coconut Crab So true! One day you feel like, oh I finally know the motion how to play more than 130 bpm and next day you think " hell, i will never make it up to 150-200
George is a great drummer and I find his insights to practicing very inspiring. But I will say the way I achieved my speed was to practice with my weak foot,in this case my left . My right was alrdy developed, I practiced various tempos only with my left foot .. Singles , triplets and doubles. I did this for about 30 mins a day and for the next 30 I would practice with both feet, with the last 10 mins I would do and endurance set.. All I have to say is that it made a huge( I mean HUGE!! ) difference. I now can play solely on my left foot if I needed to. I would practice to my fav songs with out double bass with my left foot. Of course doing all this was a bit awkward at first but man it really helped.. Derek Roddy also talks about practicing only with ur weakest foot.
i saw the derek roddy video and also started doing weak foot weak hand only coordination exercises and control exercises. im only on day 2 for this new routine and im already finding greater control with both my weak foot and weak hand. the saying always goes "youre only as fast as your slowest limb" and this will hopefully bring my overall speed up in no time.
MyTony40 I didn't think about this too much at first but before I took a break from drumming I remember struggling to get the ankle motion down to achieve high speeds and then noticed like you mentioned that my right leg was already able to played all kinds of singles, doubles, triplets, etc at various speeds but my left foot couldn't. training your weaker limb can have amazing results when it is working in combination with the right left.
A great exercise especially if you can't do 32nd notes at 80bpm, is to go down to 60bpm and do the full Day 2 Week 1 exercise. At that tempo you will still be using leg/ankle/foot and need to find the sweet spot to control at that speed. Once you can do this, bump to 70bmp and you should (relax) be able to do this. You'll find the feet/ankles do more work but you will be able to differentiate 60 vs 70. Now just inch up 1bpm a bar or so and you'll get up to 80bpm much more easily.
What I found helps me when my feet aren't working as I want them to is to focus on the tempo, the snare and hi hat and just have them lock in with the click. I try to feel the rhythm instead of thinking about how my feet aren't working and it helps.
Along with the Derek Roddy endurance exercise, this has helped my playing tremendously. I do both everyday for their full duration. To think think 6 months ago I could barely hold 120BPM, but now... Now it's something completely different! \m/
"This is a really easy one, just remember to play every day" It sounded easy until that last "every day" part, lol. Gotta have to try this one out, desperate as fuck with my double bass atm.
Forgot to mention that listening is important. Listening To the sounds of the drums and cymbals while you play. Is your playing sounding even? Also are you holding your breath? Remember to breathe and stay loose.
I wish at least I could play songs like : Gods of My World by Borknagar Wolfshade by Moonspell I troldkog Faren Vild by Ulver Falling Snow and Not Unlike the Waves by Agalloch (cant play the double bass paterns). Also I can say it is kind of strange for me. My right foot is my main foot. But for some reason,I think I have better control on my left foot. That also goes when playing ankle motion. I can play longer time with my left one,but my with right one,I can not keep consistency
me too. Does someone understand his 16 week system completly? For example let´s take the first day: Does it mean to do exercice: (1A for 4 minutes in tempo of 80 bpm) but how many times on this day?
@@blackmoondragoon4862 I hope in the last year you have already been answered! But it seems you only play the exercise given once a day (as indicated). I would see this as a starting point, however, and you may find it more beneficial over time to play the exercise a few times a day, however you may find playing along to music that pushes you to be more beneficial. To answer Marek's question, you start at whatever tempo works for you. If you can't play at 80, then try at 70 or 60 and build up from there. And if you can't jump from 80 to 95 in week 5, try going to 85 instead, or even 82 if that's too much. The beautiful of exercises like this is they scale to wherever you are at in your own personal ability level :)
@@davidpardy exactly what I did So at the start I struggled with the 32nd notes and 80 bpm however I went down to 70 even 60 just to get comfortable with the technique then eventually increased the bpm by 5 every few days or so and now I’ve reached 80 and feel comfortable This is an extremely unrated double bass video/dvd, George Kollias is just such a beast!
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 If you are asking me, than not. I had only snare and kick pad to train and I wasn't practising at all (no time). Finally in March this year I bought my first kit ever, Roland TD17KVX, so basically I'm learning everything, not just doublebass drumming :).
It's like George says anyway, understanding the different tempos feel until it is muscle memory and automatic. Just don't rush into a higher tempo at first...
Does someone understand his 16 week system completly? For example let´s take the first day: Does it mean to do exercice: (1A for 4 minutes in tempo of 80 bpm) but how many times on this day?
Was wondering if anyone has some tips for developing that ankle motion. Specifically I was wondering if it's something you just have to practice as slow as you need to and build up speed, or if it's one of those things you just almost start to do naturally as you build up speed practicing with your whole leg.
Luke Nolin I suggest you go at maybe 130 BPM and overexaggerate the ankle motion and focusing on clean hits, if 130 BPM is too much for you, you can go down. But 90 Bpm is minimum and Then just build your way Up slowly...
it's very hard to start slow with this because the technique sort of requires the speed to work. You can practice slowly by putting something under your heels and then tapping your toes, it prevents you from using thigh muscles, and you can do it standing. Skipping is good too. if you play at 70-80 bpm mixing 8ths 16ths and 32nds it should also help to get the motion, play a bar of 8ths and then one of 16's with one beat of each being 32nds, iterating which beat is 32nds, that works out the same as 16th's at 160, so it should force you to get the proper motions, without giving too much fatigue
This will sound unhelpful but it is really going to vary from person to person. Generally people crank up spring tension to the max for better control and have a beater angle of about 40 to 50 degrees. What I would recommend though is work up to that tension and change your pedals gradually. Try and get used to the new feel before moving up or it can be really straining to play. Also if you get the chance, you might want to check out some other pedals. I'm not saying to buy new ones but there are some out there that are specially made for speed, like Axis or Trick pedals. Hope this helps.
I have so much trouble with double bass. I'm not sure why cause I can play very fast single bass with my right foot and my independence is fairly good as I can play some sambas and basic jazz. Not sure if maybe I should just give it up and switch to single bass pedal and just not try to play metal and accept it or keep trying.
Its a slow process. I have been playing since i was three. I stopped playing for a year, and when i started playing again i had some problems, but im a pretty decent double bassist. Is that even a word? Well i just came up with a word.
Jurmu No, that is not correct. You're not a bassist because you use a bassdrum. You're a drummer. A double-bassist would indicate a bass player using a double bass/upright bass.
I can't do the 32nd notes at this speed, it's too sloppy. I'm afraid if I lower the tempo, I won't be using the ankle motion during the 32nd notes. What should I do?
I have the same problem. Been trying this for years and still can't get it. It's so frustrating. Please will someone reply with a solution to this problem.
You can always practice slow tempos with just ankle motion to get the feel for using your ankles. Besides don't think about your ankle motion at slower speeds, ankles will naturally come into play when the tempo is too fast for your entire legs to be moving. But at slower tempos to practice with your ankles, imagine you are bouncing a basketball but with your foot.
I notice that you swivel your left leg while your right leg doesnt it stays straight ! I quess what ever gets you there is the key ? Swivel one, swivel both, aslong as the beat comes out correct is what matters. You have great vids btw.
When I started learning double bass, I had a lot of the same problems that you guys have posted in comments. What really helped me get to the point of "being able to practice this exercise efficiently" is isolate your feet mainly getting your left foot up to your right foots Independence . If your right foot is doing double taps at 120bpm in a 16th note grouping but your left foot can only do them at 90 bpm then your single stoke speed with both feet will be 180bpm. Your only going to be as fast as your weakest link let you. Another thing that helped me is being able to play the up stokes to the click all the E's and A's Jojo Mayer talks about this in "Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer" and that helps a lot with cleaning up rolls so you have a much more balanced sound.
+Stephen Martin This is a great tip.
I know this is about double bass but that snare, Jesus Christ
i realy like crancked up snares. i use a 14 by 3 and crancking the fucking hell out of it. it sounds very very good with tons of crack to it and also a short sound because of the shalow 3'' deep snare.
holy snare!!
Double bass is so frustrating. It's really fun on those days when your feet seem to actually do what you want, but on bad days, when I cant even hold 115 bpm for more than 30 seconds I just get really pissed. Does anyone know any reason why my legs and feet could lock up on random days as if they just say "fuck it, not playing today"?
Coconut Crab I have this same problem. It seems like I can play on weekends but not during the week. I think it's because i'm more refreshed on days i'm not working. I'll come home from work and try to play and i'll just want to cut my goddamn feet off. Also, I noticed caffeine helps.
Jim Schultz I keep looking at drummers like Portnoy and Jason Bittner who make it look so damn easy. :P
I get this to. It's the most infuriating thing when you practice every day. It's probably a mental thing.
Coconut Crab i do that all the time, I think it's happens when you get frustrated and think that instead of being frustrated you can just stop and not be frustrated. idk, it's mainly a mental thing
+Coconut Crab So true! One day you feel like, oh I finally know the motion how to play more than 130 bpm and next day you think " hell, i will never make it up to 150-200
Excellent exercise! Great Master George Kollias, my favourite drummer \m/
George is a great drummer and I find his insights to practicing very inspiring. But I will say the way I achieved my speed was to practice with my weak foot,in this case my left . My right was alrdy developed, I practiced various tempos only with my left foot .. Singles , triplets and doubles. I did this for about 30 mins a day and for the next 30 I would practice with both feet, with the last 10 mins I would do and endurance set.. All I have to say is that it made a huge( I mean HUGE!! ) difference. I now can play solely on my left foot if I needed to. I would practice to my fav songs with out double bass with my left foot. Of course doing all this was a bit awkward at first but man it really helped.. Derek Roddy also talks about practicing only with ur weakest foot.
i saw the derek roddy video and also started doing weak foot weak hand only coordination exercises and control exercises. im only on day 2 for this new routine and im already finding greater control with both my weak foot and weak hand. the saying always goes "youre only as fast as your slowest limb" and this will hopefully bring my overall speed up in no time.
Thanks for this advice. I kinda always knew i should be doing that, but as you said - it feels awkward at first!
MyTony40 I didn't think about this too much at first but before I took a break from drumming I remember struggling to get the ankle motion down to achieve high speeds and then noticed like you mentioned that my right leg was already able to played all kinds of singles, doubles, triplets, etc at various speeds but my left foot couldn't. training your weaker limb can have amazing results when it is working in combination with the right left.
Back in 88 watching a tommy aldridge video....thats what i did...im a left handed drummer...so i started developing my weak right foot...
Is there any link of Derek Roddy's video?
very underrated drummer...
advertising these days hides true talents
There is still people who think that Lars Ulrich is one of the best drummers ever... Ignorance...
@@xBaphometHx One of the most influential drummers for sure. :) but definetely not best.
Τrue, but anyone who likes Death Metal know how talented George Kollias is.
was the original comment sarcastic?
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 nope. not at all
A great exercise especially if you can't do 32nd notes at 80bpm, is to go down to 60bpm and do the full Day 2 Week 1 exercise. At that tempo you will still be using leg/ankle/foot and need to find the sweet spot to control at that speed. Once you can do this, bump to 70bmp and you should (relax) be able to do this. You'll find the feet/ankles do more work but you will be able to differentiate 60 vs 70. Now just inch up 1bpm a bar or so and you'll get up to 80bpm much more easily.
What I found helps me when my feet aren't working as I want them to is to focus on the tempo, the snare and hi hat and just have them lock in with the click. I try to feel the rhythm instead of thinking about how my feet aren't working and it helps.
Along with the Derek Roddy endurance exercise, this has helped my playing tremendously. I do both everyday for their full duration. To think think 6 months ago I could barely hold 120BPM, but now... Now it's something completely different! \m/
How are you doing now on the double kick?
"This is a really easy one, just remember to play every day"
It sounded easy until that last "every day" part, lol.
Gotta have to try this one out, desperate as fuck with my double bass atm.
SK-Drums so 5 months since your comment, did you stick with it and have you improved?
i thought i was the only drummer in the world swiveling only on my left leg, i start to believe that i am doing just fine
Your the best drummer I know
drumming is not only about speed..
precision is key!
Forgot to mention that listening is important. Listening
To the sounds of the drums and cymbals while you play. Is your playing sounding even? Also are you holding your breath? Remember to breathe and stay loose.
Great Teacher
I wish at least I could play songs like :
Gods of My World by Borknagar
Wolfshade by Moonspell
I troldkog Faren Vild by Ulver
Falling Snow and Not Unlike the Waves by Agalloch (cant play the double bass paterns).
Also I can say it is kind of strange for me. My right foot is my main foot. But for some reason,I think I have better control on my left foot. That also goes when playing ankle motion. I can play longer time with my left one,but my with right one,I can not keep consistency
I'm out even on day one. I can't play 32nd notes on 80bpm.
me too. Does someone understand his 16 week system completly? For example let´s take the first day: Does it mean to do exercice: (1A for 4 minutes in tempo of 80 bpm) but how many times on this day?
@@blackmoondragoon4862 I hope in the last year you have already been answered! But it seems you only play the exercise given once a day (as indicated). I would see this as a starting point, however, and you may find it more beneficial over time to play the exercise a few times a day, however you may find playing along to music that pushes you to be more beneficial.
To answer Marek's question, you start at whatever tempo works for you. If you can't play at 80, then try at 70 or 60 and build up from there. And if you can't jump from 80 to 95 in week 5, try going to 85 instead, or even 82 if that's too much.
The beautiful of exercises like this is they scale to wherever you are at in your own personal ability level :)
@@davidpardy exactly what I did
So at the start I struggled with the 32nd notes and 80 bpm however I went down to 70 even 60 just to get comfortable with the technique then eventually increased the bpm by 5 every few days or so and now I’ve reached 80 and feel comfortable
This is an extremely unrated double bass video/dvd, George Kollias is just such a beast!
did you learn how to play after so many years?
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 If you are asking me, than not. I had only snare and kick pad to train and I wasn't practising at all (no time). Finally in March this year I bought my first kit ever, Roland TD17KVX, so basically I'm learning everything, not just doublebass drumming :).
I do unweighted leg squats every day (arms out in front of me) 45 a day atm.
It's like George says anyway, understanding the different tempos feel until it is muscle memory and automatic. Just don't rush into a higher tempo at first...
Day 2 seems impossible.....
Does someone understand his 16 week system completly? For example let´s take the first day: Does it mean to do exercice: (1A for 4 minutes in tempo of 80 bpm) but how many times on this day?
Once a day
Was wondering if anyone has some tips for developing that ankle motion. Specifically I was wondering if it's something you just have to practice as slow as you need to and build up speed, or if it's one of those things you just almost start to do naturally as you build up speed practicing with your whole leg.
Luke Nolin I suggest you go at maybe 130 BPM and overexaggerate the ankle motion and focusing on clean hits, if 130 BPM is too much for you, you can go down. But 90 Bpm is minimum and Then just build your way Up slowly...
it's very hard to start slow with this because the technique sort of requires the speed to work. You can practice slowly by putting something under your heels and then tapping your toes, it prevents you from using thigh muscles, and you can do it standing. Skipping is good too. if you play at 70-80 bpm mixing 8ths 16ths and 32nds it should also help to get the motion, play a bar of 8ths and then one of 16's with one beat of each being 32nds, iterating which beat is 32nds, that works out the same as 16th's at 160, so it should force you to get the proper motions, without giving too much fatigue
I got a pearl demonator p-932 double pedal, is it recommended to train my double bass workout on it?
I got tama 200 pedal. Single chain. What would be a good setup for them. Such as spring tension, beater angle etc.
This will sound unhelpful but it is really going to vary from person to person. Generally people crank up spring tension to the max for better control and have a beater angle of about 40 to 50 degrees. What I would recommend though is work up to that tension and change your pedals gradually. Try and get used to the new feel before moving up or it can be really straining to play. Also if you get the chance, you might want to check out some other pedals. I'm not saying to buy new ones but there are some out there that are specially made for speed, like Axis or Trick pedals. Hope this helps.
Its not hard to play as fast as Kollias; it's more difficult to play as timely and articulate as he does.
I have so much trouble with double bass. I'm not sure why cause I can play very fast single bass with my right foot and my independence is fairly good as I can play some sambas and basic jazz. Not sure if maybe I should just give it up and switch to single bass pedal and just not try to play metal and accept it or keep trying.
never stop trying,play with a click xtrmly slow and keep up the good work till u have progress
I'll keep trying, thanks
Its a slow process. I have been playing since i was three. I stopped playing for a year, and when i started playing again i had some problems, but im a pretty decent double bassist. Is that even a word? Well i just came up with a word.
Lol. Cool ill keep trying
Jurmu No, that is not correct. You're not a bassist because you use a bassdrum. You're a drummer. A double-bassist would indicate a bass player using a double bass/upright bass.
I can't do the 32nd notes at this speed, it's too sloppy. I'm afraid if I lower the tempo, I won't be using the ankle motion during the 32nd notes. What should I do?
I have the same problem. Been trying this for years and still can't get it. It's so frustrating. Please will someone reply with a solution to this problem.
You can always practice slow tempos with just ankle motion to get the feel for using your ankles. Besides don't think about your ankle motion at slower speeds, ankles will naturally come into play when the tempo is too fast for your entire legs to be moving. But at slower tempos to practice with your ankles, imagine you are bouncing a basketball but with your foot.
+Daniel Gonzalez okay dude thanks. I will try. I'm never giving up. I want to reach 180-190bpm. I'd be happy with that.
+James Owen hey man! whats ur experience up to now?
+James Owen how are your feet 8 months later?
Wondering if this will be good if I use ankle weights too 🤔🤔
no not really, unless they're on your toes. If you want exercises that'll help, take up boxer's skipping
Hello
faster faster! !
Not gonna lie. Day one of learning to play slow is Fucking hard lol
And doesn't even need triggers
Okay, You're fast.......
got my db pedal last week, practised 30 min every day, I think Im faster than him next month
Slayer No he can play like 220 Bpm or more so... STFU
@@viktorbjornstad_drums2nd440 he can play 300+, he's doing 280 here like it was nothing ruclips.net/video/Mnxm1qh_1rw/видео.html
HEY THIS IS YOUR TEACHER CUT THE CRAP OUT ''THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO SHORT CUTS'' TO THIS
I notice that you swivel your left leg while your right leg doesnt it stays straight !
I quess what ever gets you there is the key ?
Swivel one, swivel both, aslong as the beat comes out correct is what matters.
You have great vids btw.