Heel down bass drum technique book

You feather a bass drum by striking it very lightly with your bass drum beater. Basic bass drum technique generally falls into two categories. Heel down makes it easier to play softly and with more control. Heel up playing gives the potential for louder playing as you will be raising and dropping the upper leg to produce the sound. Jazz drummers workshop feet first modern drummer magazine. Drum tips double bass playing, double bass drum secrets. When i play heel down it feels like im working a lot harder because im trying not to bury the beater. The freehand technique uses the snare drums rim as a fulcrum and lets drummers play two notes during each up and down cycle. Practice playing a steady beat on the bass drum using the heel down technique. You can play the bass drum with a range of techniques, most of which can be boiled down to either heel up or heel down. Heel down double bass drum foot technique james payne. There are two basic ways to press down on a bass pedal, heel up and heel down. Having said that, a two year child can use the heel down technique on a drum set. A band leader, classical percussionist, clinician and author, steve houghton is also the associate professor of percussion and jazz at indiana universitybloomington, and is on faculty at the henry mancini institute.

This technique allows for the beater to bounce easily off the head, producing a more resonant bass drum tone. Drummers who play heelup might want a higher angle for the footboard, while drummers who play heeldown often prefer a lower footboard angle for less fatigue. Get double bass secrets and links to double bass drum books, videos, tabs, and double bass drum lessons dvd. This technique would later be applied to the bass drum, giving birth to the heeltoe bass drum technique. I use heeltoe in the jojo mayer single double bass way.

I dont use heel down very often but its a great tool to have in your pocket for those times when you want to bring the volume down, and. I had been frustrated for years at not being able to technically. The heel up technique worked great for loud rock music. Some drummers have really good speed using the all heeldown method, but i. He takes the time to debunk some of the more common myths associated with the heeltoe technique as well, like foot size, type of footwear and bass drum pedal. Experiment with both techniques and find your own favourite. Heelup in heeldown technique, the entire bottom portion of the foot remains on the pedalboard as the lower leg and ankle push down. Heel down and heel up are the two basic methods for playing the kick. He does so by taking you through 6 beginner to advanced examples taken from the 15hour long bass drum secrets 2. Brad allen bass drum control and strength in this lesson we will discuss the development of bass drum control, as well as ankle strength. Standard, toeoperated, bass drum pedals require the user to have both leg coordination and strength, both of which can be troublesome for the average drummer.

Good technique on the bass pedal will help you play faster and with more power. This technique is used primarily for playing fast double strokes on the bass drum, and can be compared to the pushpull technique used with the hands, since the concept between the two is very similar. This allows the bd head or hh cymbals to ring freely. The key to a successful drummer is knowing how to play. Heel up hihat technique when i started playing heel up on the bass drum to get louder, i naturally started playing heel up on the hihat. This techniques origins are often credited to my favorite drummer papa jo jones. The tighter the tension, the faster and stronger the rebound will be from the pedal. Many bass drum pedals for example, yamaha fp9, 9500 and 8500 series models also allow separate adjustment for the footboard angle.

Through ergonomic studies it was proposed that a heeloperated bass pedal could alleviate these issues. The biggest takeaway from this video, however, is to be patient. If i need to play faster than what i can do heel down, i use heel up and ankle pivot. If youre a beginning drummer, the free lessons in this series will get you started the.

It was first popularized by jazzfusion drummer kenwood dennard, but has since been perfected by johnny rabb, whose appropriately titled book the official freehand technique is the bible of this skill and covers lots. Feathering technique off beat with michael aubrecht. Contents of secret weapons part 2 include bass drum technique fundamentals including heeldown and heelup playing, playing in vs. Follow these five tips to improve your bass drum technique. When i wrote bass drum control in 1964, it was at the request of drummers who.

The bass drum beater is usually made of hard felt or wood. In the picture diagram below, you can see the leg starting its downward motion, which will in turn make the beater leave the surface of the head, since the ball of the foot stopped exerting as much pressure on the. It is recommended that you develop double bass drum technique, single bass drum technique, heel up technique, and heel down technique. The heel down technique is great for jazz and light rock, it has less volume and offers more control and precision. There are a number of things you can try to boost your drum technique. Its important that you develop a good understanding of the heeltoe. I highly recommend it, in addition to his yt videos. Just practice consecutive strokes on the bass drum and practice double. The heel down technique worked great for soft bands. That being said, you will only practice the motion of heel up single strokes. Heeltoe technique news newspapers books scholar jstor august 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message. Heeltoe technique free bass drum technique lessons.

In this free video drum lesson, jared falk teaches you how to use the heeltoe technique within drum fills. They had heard me use a lot of bass drum in my solos. In this post, ill address this technique in two ways, 1 describing the mechanics of the technique i recommend, and 2 providing you with a written exercise sheet as a pdf 9 exercises to build bass drum double strokes, that you can download and print out and use to give some structure to how you practice developing the technique. I also recommend playing along with the simple exercises in this video from drumeo to. Begin from a position where the heel of the foot is suspended off the floor. Actually, this is no different from fidgeting actually. In actuality, its the ball of the foot or toes both times. However, after practice most people are able to play the kick drum a lot faster with heel down. Take the time to read through this article to get a few tips and tricks to help develop your bass drum technique. One of the things that is great about this book is that the cd gives some. The technique is similar to the hand technique in that you tap from the heel down position almost allowing the foot board to leave your foot.

Im having problems with heel down bass drum technique. The concept of feathering was used primarily in early jazz music. Ive been told that you do not want to bury the beater. How to use the heelup and heeldown bass drum techniques. Heeltoe technique is a foot technique that drummers use to be able to play single strokes or double strokes on the bass drum, hihat, or other pedals. In this advanced drumming video series, learn tips and techniques to improve your drum playing ability tenfold. The next technique is heelup, where the players heel is lifted off of the pedal. But as i got more experienced and played in different musical situations, i had a need for a medium volume bass drum technique that had the power of the heel up method but did not mash the beater into the bass drum head. This book s thoroughness is reflected immediately, as topics like throne height, pedal tension, heelupheeldown technique, hihat fundamentals, and general practice tips are all covered in the introduction.

How to practice heel up technique movement without a drum. I am able do this by suspending my foot over the bass drum pedal with my heel up, and using only my toes to contact the pedal. Once you can play a steady beat using both techniques try to find the beat and play along with playalong cd 3. The first is heeldown technique, where the players heel is planted on the pedal and the strokes are played with the ankle. Heel down single kick pedal pro drummers drummerworld forum. The first motion of this technique comes when you let your leg come down freely on to the bass drum pedal, performing a heel stroke. Heel up generally affords you more power and, in the extreme sense, speed. Therefore, proper bass pedal technique is extremely important for playing the bass drum effectively. Heel down is indeed betteras long as you have your throne adjusted this way. If i need to play fast with a lot of volume, i use heel up and the weight of. One of the things that is great about this book is that the cd gives some very good information about foot technique, pedal adjustment, seating position, and head tuning to get the results you hear on the cd. This stroke is good for quiet playing and quick syncopated rhythms. Use either heel down or heel up ball of foot technique when playing.

Still shot from 1964 performance today i want to briefly discuss feathering the bass drum. Most people tend to naturally play the bass drum pedal with the heel up. The technique is an asset when playing double kick pedals or two bass drums as it allows for drum rudiments to be played with the feet. The spring tension should be set so the beater does not contact the head when the foot is resting on the pedal. Now that you know the proper technique for playing the bass drum and getting a good rebound, practice the following exercises. Strictly technique bass drum control modern drummer magazine.

Bass drum foot technique how my feet have evolved learn. Start slow and with a metronome to understand the motions, and even try tapping it out on the floor before you sit down on the drums. These are just a few bass drum essentials every drummer should know. One of the most frequent questions for drummers is heel up or down on the bass pedal. Bass drum secrets includes over 15 hours of video training to help you improve your bass drum speed, power, and control. In order to develop bass drum control and strength, i always have my students practice flatfooted, with their heels down. Modern drummer gives this book an 8 out of 10 and says. Heel down is nice because its really easy to play quietly. In this installment from his video tutorial series on the fundamentals of using a drumset, steve demonstrates how to use the heelup and heeldown bass drum techniques. When i wrote bass drum control in 1964, it was at the request of drummers who wanted exercises to practice for hands and bass drum. In this free drum lesson, jared falk breaks down the heeltoe technique for you, showing you exactly how and what to practice to develop it.

The first disc is an exceptionally thorough explanation of bass drum foot techniqueall the way from heeldown single strokes to hybrid techniques that enable one to perform multiple strokes efficiently. Heel down this technique requires you to lay your foot flat on the whole pedal, and use your heel to pivot your foot and play the bass drum. Stanton demonstrates the heel down and heel up techniques for playing the bass drum. Heel down has potential for more subtlety and nuance as the stroke is controlled by the smaller muscles in the calves and toes. Heeldown the heeldown position is just what the name implies. Strictly technique bass drum control modern drummer. You use either flat foot, heel up with ankle pivot or heel up and leg thrust. Now most drummers have heard of both of these, yet they choose to only practice one.

Drum set technique the bass drum kick drum is played by your right foot. Colin baileys videos are based on his book, bass drum control which is a comprehensive but immediately usable book for a beginner up to very advanced, similar to stick control for hands. Heel up makes it easier to play faster and with more power. This method amounts to pressing down on the hihat with the ball of my left foot while lightly tapping my left heel or just bouncing my left leg in time with the music. Bass drum technique is one of the most widely overlooked aspects in effectively playing and studying the drums. Rome wasnt built in a day, and neither was larnells foot technique. Griffin double kick drum pedal model p available at. If you snap back with the foot to the up position, the pedal will rebound back up to your foot which is all ready to play the next stroke. For example, it should be placed so the bass drum can be played with heel down and the hihat with heel suspended without losing balance. Learning proper bass drum technique at an early stage is key. Learn heel down, heel up and how to unbury the bass drum beater. Ill be explaining the benefits of both heel up and heel down drumming, and how you will be able to improve your overall foot technique when drumming. In heelup technique, your heel rises slightly off the pedalboard, while the ball of the. The term heeltoe is used because of the appearance of the heel pushing down on the pedal followed by the toe.