The term you use; "playing clean" is the greatest lesson you've taught me. I've grown and developed so much because of that. Perfect sync(opation) of limbs, *clean"... All my practice revolves around this. I always had heard but never "got it" until you said that word and expanded on it. Thank you.
I love how there's a whole drumming community on RUclips that I'm addicted to. I'm sure guitarists and singers and plumbers have their own community, too, but... Ain't nobody got time for that.
I'm not even a drummer but I love watching these. I sometimes try to transfer some of these exercises to comparable issues on the guitar, I always find that they improve my rhythm quite a lot.
if nothing else, all musicians should learn about time signatures and subdivisions and work on good timekeeping, in the event an instrument must lead or solo
35 year drummer here. Been working in a Univ. dance Dept for 20 yrs. - 1) Muscle groups: gross motor and “quick-twitch”. Big muscles (hamstring/quads/“calf”) are slow, tiny muscles in feet are fast. 2) Muscles only contract or release. It takes more conscious effort to release muscles. Constantly engaged muscles are tired muscles. 3) Dropping weight. Familiarity of just how heavy YOUR leg is. Use gravity. There’s just so much here that can’t possibly fit in a U2b comment. 👍🏼love your videos!
As an oooooold guy working to get some rusty skills back ... I always enjoy your style and find the tips and coaching very helpful. Thanks! for sharing.
I grew up around drummers who beat the poop out of their kits. I find your style of playing almost mesmerizing. I’d totally watch an hour long video of you just riffing to some improv jazz or something!
Also in the ‘problems you don’t know you have’ category - I found I literally couldn’t play the hats heal down (Peter Erskine advocates being able to do both, and I realised I only ever played hats heal up) and it was because I was sitting too close to the hats and indeed to the drums generals. My leg / foot just didn’t work bending that many times. So I sat further away from the kit and moved the kick and hats away a bit and it really helped with a lot of other stuff as well as the original problem.
I just noticed this playing today. I always played heel up and figured i'd try it flat just for the hell of it and I had to back up a bit and just kinda did one of those "oh well no shit, you just never really think about it" moments
Jojo talks a lot about his sliding tecknique which is based on heel up but the back of your foot adds a second note. He´s basically playing doubles. And the beatdown shoutout was dope btw
Fun fact! Tomas had to change his technique when learning that song to playing lighter on the kick w/ more ankles for better accuracy and endurance. On the other songs, he sticks with his full, hammered in, bury the beater approach.
I have been heel up since 1966 when I was 9. I totally get feeling off balance, but it is almost always when I use my DW 9000 pedal, it's just too stiff for me. I found if I wear my old loafers instead of my usual sneakers I'm ok with it. Back in the 80's when I gigged weekly I found I could do doubles on boogie blus tunes all night long with a Speedking or my trusty old DW pedal. My foot would be just past half up the pedal and it would be automatic, no thinking at all! Love your stuff, especially your attitde and humor!!!! Thanks.
I can dig it. I did heel down for the first little bit of my deep dive into drumming, but just in the last two days discovered the things you mention where lifting to heel up allows my ankle more easy freedom of motion from having a greater range of motion before hyper extension of my ankle joint.
Good video with some nice insights about an important topic for drummers. Heel up or down seems to be equivalent to the traditional vs. matched grip debate: no easy or perhaps right answer, only what is right for each individual drummer. For me, heel up seems to feel more natural and ergonomic. Heel down has always felt awkward and unnatural. I just remember Dave Weckl saying that he sits on the very edge of the drum seat to get the most torque and flexibility in playing the bass pedal(s).
I have played drums for over 42 yrs and played heel down all those years. I was self-taught and it was all I knew. Recently I watched a video on foot technique and it was suggested that all drummers learn both. The explanation of the heel-up technique was the best I have seen and it made sense to me. So over the next few weeks, I started using heal up technique and it felt really awkward at first. I have some exercises that I do each morning and I forced myself to play heel up and day by day it became more comfortable. It has been about a month now and I am starting to use it in my impromptu playing as well. I have noticed difference in my pedal skill already. I am getting more comfortable at getting my pedals more into my playing. So, while I am still in the process of developing this skill, and I came a bit late to the party, nonetheless I am getting it and it is already improving my skill as a drummer overall..
I have been drumming heel down for 10 years and I struggle a lot with any speed in the pedal.. So now I wanna learn as well.. Is there an update on you btw?
@@koopalovetoast2409 Actually Yes. I have gotten more comfortable with heel up playing after doing bass drum exercises every morning for 30 minutes. I use heel up in certian playing situations and still play heel down much of the time. I have been learning how to rock my foot back and forth between the ball and heel on my hat pedal as well and it has been getting more confortable as well. :-) Slow steacy steps is the sure way to see lasting improvement for sure.
The hip usage works everywhere Even in martial arts... Use hip and baaaaaam a blast of power.. using the weight as an advantage ❤️❤️ I've seen jojo talked about it on a video too about using the hip
Great video again. I really appreciate what you are doing on your channel. I've learned a ton from them even though I play bass not drums. I have a small nit-picky suggestion. Feel free to ignore it obviously. When you speak into your stereo XY mic at close range if you move just a bit from side to side your voice moves around wildly in the stereo space, especially if wearing headphones. Maybe don't pan the two signals so widely for that mic. Other than that keep up the good work.
I had a teacher who insisted that I play heal down when learning but all the drummers I liked were heal up players so I also learned that way too. Now I do both. Somethings feel better heal down and somethings feel better heal up. Just depends on what I want. But, I think drummers who starting out should probably try to play heel down for one important reason. Not burying the beater. Heal up can cause many people to bury the beater against the head. I know may will say that's OK to do, but it's at best limiting and more probably just simply bad technique. Like not being able to bounce a stick. Complete beater control should be the goal so you can do whatever you want when needed. Heel down is much much easier to control the beater and learn to bounce it. Once you have that feeling it's easier to apply it to heal up. Tommy Igoe said something to effect of "If you're burying the beater because that's the effect you want then fine, but if you're burying the beater because you don't know HOW to bounce it?....well...." that's just bad technique.
Thanks for your show, good stuff. I've always played this way, I thought about putting my heel down, tried it but hated it compared to what you're showing. I can't work out how people get any speed at all heel down, I'll easily concede my experience will of course not likely be many others experience.
I used to play by keeping my beater on the bass drum head. Later, my coach broke me of this habit and said it kills any resonance you could have from the bass drum. Thank you for your help, Dennis G Safford AZ
For spring tension to your weight, heel down , press footboard until the beater just touches the head. If applying to much pressure then vack off the tension until it feels good
When I was younger like 17 I was getting knee pain really bad when playing. Went to a drum school to see if they could help me, I was sitting too close. Needed to back up a bit. 90° degree angle with the legs
Yup, back and throne up helped me out a bunch too. Plus avoiding burying the beater in the head with full force trying to get louder helped me a bunch too. That allowed me to get better control and speed up as well.
Thanks for this lesson/tips are great. What I notice immediately is that the heel up technique is digging the beater into the head on all strokes. Do you agree that heel down enables more control over release of the beater from the head, or can you do either way with heel up technique?
Nice little lesson. I have been playing for approximately 25 years and still have not mastered the kick pedal. I don't know if having been shot in my right foot by a .22 cal. bullet had an effect but... What I am trying to accomplish right now is, 1. how far from the head should the mallet be before I actually kick it? , 2. What kind of tension should I have on the pedal in order to be successful with good hits on the head?, 3. how tight or lose should the bass head tension be in order to get the right response and sound out of the bass drum?
Love it! Thank you for this. I was taught to use both techniques and have defaulted to heel-up when I need more power. But my technique has been lax, and I often lose circulation in my foot, so I know I can do better!
Couple things, 1. Agree with Martin - shout out to Rob, very cool! 2. Might be beneficial to talk about the combo ankle, hip technique. almost like Moeller for feet. 3. I play electronic now so as to keep my family life sane, but the chipped hi-hat reminds me of days past where I drilled out quite a few cymbals because I loved the sound and could not part with them. Even buying the exact same brand and size same sound. There's a tip there about drilling out the crack to stop it from from progressing me thinks. :)
I had the exact opposite experience. I have no volume control playing heel up. I also have no TONE control, or rebound control. Suspending the entire weight of my leg inches above the ground just so I can feather a bass drum is just excruciating - it literally can't do it. Heel down solves all these problems for me. It's good enough for Purdie, good enough for me.
Perhaps you were sitting too low, higher throne works better for heel up. That way you aren't so much suspending your leg in the air, it's hanging down from from the throne.
@@tomtrottersdrumsesh3688 I sit on a rock n soc, and it’s always as high as it’ll go. I’ll do heel up if I’m playing load, or doing heel toe stuff, but for regular volume or quieter, it’s all heel down.
I use heel down for quiet notes and for releasing the beater and I use heel up moving the entire leg from the hip, the knee, the ankle and the toes, just like with the hands, for the louder notes.
Since you asked who talks about this, Steve Smith’s Drumset Technique and History of the US Beat DVD set addresses bass drum pedal techniques nicely. And yes, Jojo Mayer’s Secret Weapons 2 is all about pedal technique.
And rather than sell you one technique or another, Jojo teaches you all of them so you decide for your own which works better, rather than convincing yourself that one technique can do everything.
omg thanks so much for that video, you explained that sooo well :)) this is helping so much already!! PS: i know this video is old but i still thought i should comment so he might see that people still watch and appreciate those videos very much :) seeing as it helps a ton because i struggle DEEPLY with my bass drum foot (especially tripplets are hell for me)
Seat height would be the most important for me. When my knee would be less than 90 deg. because it's not my kit and the throne cannot be adjusted high enough, I'd be forced to do heel down which burns out the tibialis anterior (shin muscle)---if the spring is not tight enough to push my foot back up. If you force yourself to do heel up, the thigh muscle will instead burn out, for trying to lift the entire leg to keep the heel off the floor. But if the throne is round (not anatomical) and too high---you'll get cramps. The throne is king!
Good lesson! Thomas Lang has spoke about pedal technique in several of his videos/clinics and specifically he speaks of both rudiments with feet and playing hands and feet together. Might have been his Creative Control dvds. But really I question his playing :)
I like the spring tension pretty low. I can feel the weight and power of the beater this way. I only put enough spring tension so that the pedal is not "lazy" on the return swing. Any more tension than that and I feel like it's just robbing energy on the down stroke.
Ya know you're right about technique, but something strange happened through the years. When I didn't think about my foot, it worked great for years. One bad night, and I started thinking about my foot. It really set me back. The more relaxed I am the better my foot works. Oh shit Rob just said it
I am curious. I was told not to let the kick drum press against the drum head after it is hit. I see in this opening of the video that you leave the beater against the drum head. Reason being that if you have to play a long set the best practice would be to allow the kick to come off the head and rest. Maybe there is two techniques? What are your thought or anyones thoughts?
I find one can play loudest without burring the beater. The sound is much larger letting the head react. I only burry for adding some tension. It feels that way. Looks like when you played louder you started burying and pp you were not. I think crescendos heel down with different rhythms both burying and rebound then heel up same thing has always helped. Then heel toe is the next thing to tackle.
Just starting out, and I feel more comfortable keeping my heel down because of the strain in my hip muscles from hovering my right leg. Am I doing something wrong?
Great stuff. I've always played like that but still have double issues in some places. You and Beatdown have been a big lockdown inspiration. By the way, brave to have shoe laces that long near a kick pedal. Trust me, I leant the hard way. Told you I had issues!
3 leverage points, not just 2; Ankle, hip, knee/thigh (forwards and backwards motion in relation to the foot and the front and back of the kick plate.)
for people who hae problems syncing their weaker hand with their base drum foot, try to do qarters on hi hat with eigth on snare drum and mix some drum patterns in and work towards staying in tempo and on point with your hi hat, snare, and drums, you can even write some things down, there are books for it but you dot really need them
My new-ish band's music has a lot of syncopated patterns on the double bass. Learning that stuff at high-ish tempos has made me concious of several problems with my bass drum playing: my left food plays with basically no technique, my right foot doubles are weak, slow, inconsistent and played with a strange technique, I sit too low etc etc. I've played the drums for 15 years and still my technique sucks. Now that I recognize these issues and re-learn them, I'm in a nice chimaera situation where my left foot has a better and more traditional technique than the right. Doubles are fine now, which makes hertas easy. I still have problems with the gallop, because playing those with double stroke technique leads to inconsistent spaces between the notes and bad sound. Anyway, nice video, I'll lift my throne once again I think.
There are guys that have been playing for 40+ years and never stepped back and analyzed their own technique. Don't beat yourself up over it, you're already ahead by being aware. Good luck!
@@hillie47 Thank you for your nice words. :) I've personally never been too concerned of technique in general, musicality comes first. However, now I've reached a point where I can imagine musical ideas that I cannot execute due to lack of technical prowess. An advice I'd give to the 15-year old me is to practice basic technique more, both hands and feet.
I hate the bounce back I get when I bury my beater into the drum, sometimes 2-3 kick bounce backs. Some people tell me not to bury my beater to resolve the issue, but if I don't, my feet can never rest, or keep me balanced up on my throne.
I must admit that I have trouble following when you start getting all esoteric about Time. I'm not great, I'm not jazz. But it absolutely boggles my mind that people have to be told how to swing their own limbs about. Start playing a suitcase kit, Nate! That Samsonite sponsorship will happen.
@1:20 I LOMAO. Seriously though as light as your touch how the hell do you have so many broken cymbals!!? Thanks for the tips/chat! I gots ta get in on the 80/20 drinking game ;-)
![[Limbus Company - Teaser] Season5 - Oblivion](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8anKuEeZLeI/mqdefault.jpg)
Naah, i still got divorced.
Lol
The term you use; "playing clean" is the greatest lesson you've taught me. I've grown and developed so much because of that. Perfect sync(opation) of limbs, *clean"... All my practice revolves around this. I always had heard but never "got it" until you said that word and expanded on it. Thank you.
Yeah, until I started recording my practices I didn’t realize how bad I was. Now I’m mediocre and I couldn’t be happier.
Steve Gadd is the master at playing clean (& tasty!)! ALWAYS MUSICAL!! 👍🙂
@@stkittsdave1 😂
I had heard of that third kick exercise pattern from a drumeo masterclass and ended up writing a whole song around it
I love how there's a whole drumming community on RUclips that I'm addicted to. I'm sure guitarists and singers and plumbers have their own community, too, but... Ain't nobody got time for that.
Man I am super happy that you took care of the drum sound in your videos, your feel translates so much better now
p.s. someone who talks about the kick playing from the hip and the ankles is Dave Elitch for example
Dave Elitch is your man. He teaches all of this in detail
I'm not even a drummer but I love watching these. I sometimes try to transfer some of these exercises to comparable issues on the guitar, I always find that they improve my rhythm quite a lot.
🤣
if nothing else, all musicians should learn about time signatures and subdivisions and work on good timekeeping, in the event an instrument must lead or solo
When talking foot dynamics, I find it helpful to try and keep the dynamic of the ride constant instead of matching the BD.
So do I! That's what I was trying to do, even if I was failing 🤣
35 year drummer here. Been working in a Univ. dance Dept for 20 yrs. -
1) Muscle groups: gross motor and “quick-twitch”. Big muscles (hamstring/quads/“calf”) are slow, tiny muscles in feet are fast.
2) Muscles only contract or release. It takes more conscious effort to release muscles. Constantly engaged muscles are tired muscles.
3) Dropping weight. Familiarity of just how heavy YOUR leg is. Use gravity.
There’s just so much here that can’t possibly fit in a U2b comment.
👍🏼love your videos!
Great man, feel like I got a personalised lesson! No more tension complaints from now on
As an oooooold guy working to get some rusty skills back ... I always enjoy your style and find the tips and coaching very helpful. Thanks! for sharing.
I grew up around drummers who beat the poop out of their kits. I find your style of playing almost mesmerizing. I’d totally watch an hour long video of you just riffing to some improv jazz or something!
Phenomenal video! Developing that foot control can take some work! Heel up, all the way. Thanks for the lesson! Happy drumming, everybody!
Also in the ‘problems you don’t know you have’ category - I found I literally couldn’t play the hats heal down (Peter Erskine advocates being able to do both, and I realised I only ever played hats heal up) and it was because I was sitting too close to the hats and indeed to the drums generals. My leg / foot just didn’t work bending that many times. So I sat further away from the kit and moved the kick and hats away a bit and it really helped with a lot of other stuff as well as the original problem.
I just noticed this playing today. I always played heel up and figured i'd try it flat just for the hell of it and I had to back up a bit and just kinda did one of those "oh well no shit, you just never really think about it" moments
Jojo talks a lot about his sliding tecknique which is based on heel up but the back of your foot adds a second note. He´s basically playing doubles. And the beatdown shoutout was dope btw
Fun fact! Tomas had to change his technique when learning that song to playing lighter on the kick w/ more ankles for better accuracy and endurance. On the other songs, he sticks with his full, hammered in, bury the beater approach.
I have been heel up since 1966 when I was 9. I totally get feeling off balance, but it is almost always when I use my DW 9000 pedal, it's just too stiff for me. I found if I wear my old loafers instead of my usual sneakers I'm ok with it. Back in the 80's when I gigged weekly I found I could do doubles on boogie blus tunes all night long with a Speedking or my trusty old DW pedal. My foot would be just past half up the pedal and it would be automatic, no thinking at all! Love your stuff, especially your attitde and humor!!!! Thanks.
I can dig it. I did heel down for the first little bit of my deep dive into drumming, but just in the last two days discovered the things you mention where lifting to heel up allows my ankle more easy freedom of motion from having a greater range of motion before hyper extension of my ankle joint.
That is a sweet sounding kit.
Thank great teacher!!! You are my inspiration, and a great musician!!!!
Nice video, good tips and refreshing approach. Thanks for making and sharing it with the webz
I got a little burnt out on your channel but I'm back. And I see you're at a new studio
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time/effort to adding transcription to your video. Nice touch.
Good video with some nice insights about an important topic for drummers. Heel up or down seems to be equivalent to the traditional vs. matched grip debate: no easy or perhaps right answer, only what is right for each individual drummer. For me, heel up seems to feel more natural and ergonomic. Heel down has always felt awkward and unnatural. I just remember Dave Weckl saying that he sits on the very edge of the drum seat to get the most torque and flexibility in playing the bass pedal(s).
3:52 “smooth transition of power” he says early Jan 2021. Nice.
Disclaimer - this was written and recorded Fri, Jan 1.
This is so funny
There's an 80/20 drinking game? Tell me more!
This needs to happen. Next survey post.
4 beers, 1 water, repeat?
Thanks! ..you hit all of my current challenges on the Kick 🥲
Having the intro roll back at the start feels so much better!
I have played drums for over 42 yrs and played heel down all those years. I was self-taught and it was all I knew. Recently I watched a video on foot technique and it was suggested that all drummers learn both. The explanation of the heel-up technique was the best I have seen and it made sense to me. So over the next few weeks, I started using heal up technique and it felt really awkward at first. I have some exercises that I do each morning and I forced myself to play heel up and day by day it became more comfortable. It has been about a month now and I am starting to use it in my impromptu playing as well. I have noticed difference in my pedal skill already. I am getting more comfortable at getting my pedals more into my playing. So, while I am still in the process of developing this skill, and I came a bit late to the party, nonetheless I am getting it and it is already improving my skill as a drummer overall..
ruclips.net/video/qZxclfvhCJk/видео.html
You and me both. I’m self taught and my foot pedal control sucks.
I’m here to improve.
Day 1…. Wish me luck.
@@RexyFan Consistent daily practice is key so I shall be excited to hear of your progress in the future. May your work bring much improvement.
I have been drumming heel down for 10 years and I struggle a lot with any speed in the pedal.. So now I wanna learn as well.. Is there an update on you btw?
@@koopalovetoast2409 Actually Yes. I have gotten more comfortable with heel up playing after doing bass drum exercises every morning for 30 minutes. I use heel up in certian playing situations and still play heel down much of the time. I have been learning how to rock my foot back and forth between the ball and heel on my hat pedal as well and it has been getting more confortable as well. :-) Slow steacy steps is the sure way to see lasting improvement for sure.
The hip usage works everywhere
Even in martial arts... Use hip and baaaaaam a blast of power.. using the weight as an advantage ❤️❤️
I've seen jojo talked about it on a video too about using the hip
Great video again. I really appreciate what you are doing on your channel. I've learned a ton from them even though I play bass not drums.
I have a small nit-picky suggestion. Feel free to ignore it obviously. When you speak into your stereo XY mic at close range if you move just a bit from side to side your voice moves around wildly in the stereo space, especially if wearing headphones. Maybe don't pan the two signals so widely for that mic.
Other than that keep up the good work.
excellent video. there is no shortcut to developing good kick drum chops.
I had a teacher who insisted that I play heal down when learning but all the drummers I liked were heal up players so I also learned that way too. Now I do both. Somethings feel better heal down and somethings feel better heal up. Just depends on what I want.
But, I think drummers who starting out should probably try to play heel down for one important reason. Not burying the beater. Heal up can cause many people to bury the beater against the head. I know may will say that's OK to do, but it's at best limiting and more probably just simply bad technique. Like not being able to bounce a stick. Complete beater control should be the goal so you can do whatever you want when needed. Heel down is much much easier to control the beater and learn to bounce it. Once you have that feeling it's easier to apply it to heal up.
Tommy Igoe said something to effect of "If you're burying the beater because that's the effect you want then fine, but if you're burying the beater because you don't know HOW to bounce it?....well...." that's just bad technique.
Thanks for your show, good stuff. I've always played this way, I thought about putting my heel down, tried it but hated it compared to what you're showing. I can't work out how people get any speed at all heel down, I'll easily concede my experience will of course not likely be many others experience.
I used to play by keeping my beater on the bass drum head. Later, my coach broke me of this habit and said it kills any resonance you could have from the bass drum. Thank you for your help, Dennis G Safford AZ
Every word you said is 100% correct.... Bravo
Thanks for validating the heel up method. Any experienced drummer should be able to play both ways. I appreciate your page. Always on point.
For spring tension to your weight, heel down , press footboard until the beater just touches the head. If applying to much pressure then vack off the tension until it feels good
When I was younger like 17 I was getting knee pain really bad when playing.
Went to a drum school to see if they could help me,
I was sitting too close. Needed to back up a bit.
90° degree angle with the legs
Yup, back and throne up helped me out a bunch too. Plus avoiding burying the beater in the head with full force trying to get louder helped me a bunch too. That allowed me to get better control and speed up as well.
Love your channel THANK YOU ! One person comes to mind in regards to bass drum precision , speed ,dynamics .....Virgil Donati! Peace from Detroit MI.
1:22 and has brushes love it!!! 😂😂😂😂
been having trouble with my weak foot playing double kick lately I'm gonna try to start practicing these with both feet thanks man solid lesson!
Love the jazz tune you referenced, really cool tune!
great tips i am going to use this info to improve my weak foot on the kit
Thanks for this lesson/tips are great. What I notice immediately is that the heel up technique is digging the beater into the head on all strokes. Do you agree that heel down enables more control over release of the beater from the head, or can you do either way with heel up technique?
Nice little lesson. I have been playing for approximately 25 years and still have not mastered the kick pedal. I don't know if having been shot in my right foot by a .22 cal. bullet had an effect but... What I am trying to accomplish right now is, 1. how far from the head should the mallet be before I actually kick it? , 2. What kind of tension should I have on the pedal in order to be successful with good hits on the head?, 3. how tight or lose should the bass head tension be in order to get the right response and sound out of the bass drum?
Love it! Thank you for this. I was taught to use both techniques and have defaulted to heel-up when I need more power. But my technique has been lax, and I often lose circulation in my foot, so I know I can do better!
Couple things, 1. Agree with Martin - shout out to Rob, very cool! 2. Might be beneficial to talk about the combo ankle, hip technique. almost like Moeller for feet. 3. I play electronic now so as to keep my family life sane, but the chipped hi-hat reminds me of days past where I drilled out quite a few cymbals because I loved the sound and could not part with them. Even buying the exact same brand and size same sound. There's a tip there about drilling out the crack to stop it from from progressing me thinks. :)
I had the exact opposite experience. I have no volume control playing heel up. I also have no TONE control, or rebound control. Suspending the entire weight of my leg inches above the ground just so I can feather a bass drum is just excruciating - it literally can't do it. Heel down solves all these problems for me. It's good enough for Purdie, good enough for me.
Perhaps you were sitting too low, higher throne works better for heel up. That way you aren't so much suspending your leg in the air, it's hanging down from from the throne.
@@tomtrottersdrumsesh3688 I sit on a rock n soc, and it’s always as high as it’ll go. I’ll do heel up if I’m playing load, or doing heel toe stuff, but for regular volume or quieter, it’s all heel down.
Strengethen your hip flexors
I use heel down for quiet notes and for releasing the beater and I use heel up moving the entire leg from the hip, the knee, the ankle and the toes, just like with the hands, for the louder notes.
I saw something similar in a drumeo video on the Moeller technique applied to the kick and hihat, very good tutorial
3:45 someone with the name Marthyn Jovanovic. He always talk about stuffs like this, kick technique using hip flexor...ankle and stuffs.
this absolutely makes sense, thank you !
Note:: Please ignore my kick question left on a different video. This installment covers what I needed. Thanks for your insight and talent!
Your snare sounds so good!
I'm going to have to learn how to do that slightly early first note on the double deliberately. There's a fun shuffle beat in there.
That's exactly what I thought. That's a hip feel.
Since you asked who talks about this, Steve Smith’s Drumset Technique and History of the US Beat DVD set addresses bass drum pedal techniques nicely. And yes, Jojo Mayer’s Secret Weapons 2 is all about pedal technique.
And rather than sell you one technique or another, Jojo teaches you all of them so you decide for your own which works better, rather than convincing yourself that one technique can do everything.
Great video. I have a terribly weak bassdrum foot so great to have something to work on. 10 out of 10. 5 stars.
omg thanks so much for that video, you explained that sooo well :)) this is helping so much already!!
PS: i know this video is old but i still thought i should comment so he might see that people still watch and appreciate those videos very much :) seeing as it helps a ton because i struggle DEEPLY with my bass drum foot (especially tripplets are hell for me)
Heel up definitely helped me out a long time ago............also, a nice Camco(1983) Chain-drive pedal works wonders! Great video!
haha man that single pedal bleed bit in the beginning was great
I use a roller skate case (accidental delivery) for my kick pedal. It’s the perfect shape!
Seat height would be the most important for me. When my knee would be less than 90 deg. because it's not my kit and the throne cannot be adjusted high enough, I'd be forced to do heel down which burns out the tibialis anterior (shin muscle)---if the spring is not tight enough to push my foot back up. If you force yourself to do heel up, the thigh muscle will instead burn out, for trying to lift the entire leg to keep the heel off the floor. But if the throne is round (not anatomical) and too high---you'll get cramps. The throne is king!
Good lesson! Thomas Lang has spoke about pedal technique in several of his videos/clinics and specifically he speaks of both rudiments with feet and playing hands and feet together. Might have been his Creative Control dvds. But really I question his playing :)
I find that counting the subdivision or rather the 'and" on any given Rythm helps from being too early or late. 1+2+3+4+ or 1 e and a 2eanda ect.
I like the spring tension pretty low. I can feel the weight and power of the beater this way. I only put enough spring tension so that the pedal is not "lazy" on the return swing. Any more tension than that and I feel like it's just robbing energy on the down stroke.
Thanks! Love this one
How do you keep your beater from dribbling on the head when you use a small kick drum like an 18"?
Ya know you're right about technique, but something strange happened through the years. When I didn't think about my foot, it worked great for years. One bad night, and I started thinking about my foot. It really set me back. The more relaxed I am the better my foot works. Oh shit Rob just said it
Sweet video, thank you!
I am curious. I was told not to let the kick drum press against the drum head after it is hit. I see in this opening of the video that you leave the beater against the drum head. Reason being that if you have to play a long set the best practice would be to allow the kick to come off the head and rest. Maybe there is two techniques? What are your thought or anyones thoughts?
I find one can play loudest without burring the beater. The sound is much larger letting the head react. I only burry for adding some tension. It feels that way. Looks like when you played louder you started burying and pp you were not. I think crescendos heel down with different rhythms both burying and rebound then heel up same thing has always helped. Then heel toe is the next thing to tackle.
Man has more broken cymbals than I have dreams
Resent ably slow 😜. Perfect use of the BeatDown quote. Interesting take here on exercises. Thanks for these
Nice advice, so I video-recording my self, and, yep, I need to work on this :-)
Why are all your cymbals cracked? Thanks man, helpful video.
Just starting out, and I feel more comfortable keeping my heel down because of the strain in my hip muscles from hovering my right leg. Am I doing something wrong?
Great stuff. I've always played like that but still have double issues in some places. You and Beatdown have been a big lockdown inspiration. By the way, brave to have shoe laces that long near a kick pedal. Trust me, I leant the hard way. Told you I had issues!
3 leverage points, not just 2; Ankle, hip, knee/thigh (forwards and backwards motion in relation to the foot and the front and back of the kick plate.)
for people who hae problems syncing their weaker hand with their base drum foot, try to do qarters on hi hat with eigth on snare drum and mix some drum patterns in and work towards staying in tempo and on point with your hi hat, snare, and drums, you can even write some things down, there are books for it but you dot really need them
1:19 HILARIOUS 😂🤣
My new-ish band's music has a lot of syncopated patterns on the double bass. Learning that stuff at high-ish tempos has made me concious of several problems with my bass drum playing: my left food plays with basically no technique, my right foot doubles are weak, slow, inconsistent and played with a strange technique, I sit too low etc etc. I've played the drums for 15 years and still my technique sucks.
Now that I recognize these issues and re-learn them, I'm in a nice chimaera situation where my left foot has a better and more traditional technique than the right. Doubles are fine now, which makes hertas easy. I still have problems with the gallop, because playing those with double stroke technique leads to inconsistent spaces between the notes and bad sound.
Anyway, nice video, I'll lift my throne once again I think.
There are guys that have been playing for 40+ years and never stepped back and analyzed their own technique. Don't beat yourself up over it, you're already ahead by being aware. Good luck!
@@hillie47 Thank you for your nice words. :)
I've personally never been too concerned of technique in general, musicality comes first. However, now I've reached a point where I can imagine musical ideas that I cannot execute due to lack of technical prowess.
An advice I'd give to the 15-year old me is to practice basic technique more, both hands and feet.
@@samuliauno8163 how is the band
Man that snare is a cracka!
Isn't heel down better for feathering in jazz?
I hate the bounce back I get when I bury my beater into the drum, sometimes 2-3 kick bounce backs. Some people tell me not to bury my beater to resolve the issue, but if I don't, my feet can never rest, or keep me balanced up on my throne.
I thought this was Tony Shalhoub's alien gun dealer from the first MiB film. Nice to see him branching out.
Why would you criticize another youtuber like that?
For some reason that beat at the 10:28 mark reminds me of Tangerine Dreams Dr. Destructo from the Thief soundtrack. Good stuff 👍
Wait so is your spring tension high or low? I’m confused haha
5:43 PREACH ON MAN people do soooo much overthinking with some of this stuff lol
I must admit that I have trouble following when you start getting all esoteric about Time. I'm not great, I'm not jazz. But it absolutely boggles my mind that people have to be told how to swing their own limbs about.
Start playing a suitcase kit, Nate! That Samsonite sponsorship will happen.
3:51
Yea, smoother on the drums than in real life, it turns out 😳
how can you be relaxed when you are holding your leg up?
4:54 I didnt hear anything about the kick pedal spring tension. It was all about foot technique... or did I miss something ?
i’m very good at playing other parts of a kit. i just can’t seem to do the kick drum. even a single pedal
Is this video about playing the bass drum?
Does anyone else do both heel up and heel down? Like why do you have to do one or the other?
@1:20 I LOMAO. Seriously though as light as your touch how the hell do you have so many broken cymbals!!? Thanks for the tips/chat! I gots ta get in on the 80/20 drinking game ;-)
What's the story with his cymbals ?
I can't find the tuned, dial.