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How should I hold my feet when I play double bass?


bob the dentist

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I've been practicing the drums every day on my drummer's kit for the past week or so, and the only problem I see thus far is what the heck I'm supposed to do with my feet when i try to play faster on double bass...do i kinda hold my feet up and play with my ankles, or do i just play with my whole leg moving, or what?

 

:cry:

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I think you should concentrate on 1 foot first, like most right feet, it could be better. But everyone is built differently, so one technique might not work the same for everyone. There are many different ways. Jethro Tull's drummer used feet down (Doane Perry) and was extremely fast, While I have seen others like to use just the ball of the feet with heel up and some leg movement. Some use a "side to side" movement with sliding on the footboard, and there is a video in another thread that demonstrates "The correct double stroke" , So it all boils down to you and what works best.

I have tried them all , and still remain Mediocre at best. But I am at peace

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for playing fast I would definitely recommend your heels up. The best technique is exactly the same way your best stroke is with your hands. Playing the bass with your heels down is like resting your arms and only using your rists. I do play heel down when I feather the bass.

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hey thanks

 

i'm just mainly wondering about holding my feet up and using mainly my heels vs. using my whole leg...I see some drummers do double bass where their knees are moving up and down a lot and some where they aren't, so I was just wondering if one is right and one is wrong, or what...i guess it's just preference -_-

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I was taught the motion comes more from the hip so my knee does come up. Its almost like someone has a string attached to your knee pulling upward. I also use the ball of my foot and my heel is in the air. Using the heel/toe method you can also get two beats from it as well.

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hey thanks


i'm just mainly wondering about holding my feet up and using mainly my heels vs. using my whole leg...I see some drummers do double bass where their knees are moving up and down a lot and some where they aren't, so I was just wondering if one is right and one is wrong, or what...i guess it's just preference -_-

 

Knees parallel to the ground. Feet parallel to the ground. Use the ball of your foot to move the pedal. Heel up, but feet parallel to ground.

 

At slow tempo's you can use your leg to propel the beater. For faster tempos, your ankle will propel the beater when your leg can't move any faster.

 

It's kind of like your hands. There is a certain point where you wrists cant move any faster and you have to use your fingers to gain speed.

 

Double bass should be the least of your concerns. You really should learn to go "Boom chuck, boom chuck" and make it feel good before any of that other stuff. I know what you're thinking, "I can play boom chuck no problem" but I know you are not making it stinky......and I don't even know you. :)

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I, for one, reccommend holding your feet at the end of your legs... tis a much better place than mounting them on your ears!

 

Seriously, it's all gonna come down to what feels good to you, taking into consideration possible physical pain or injury (sprians, pulls, cramps from improper posutre, etc)...

 

For example, I play heel up, with my foot about 1/2 way down the pedal for almost everything I do, even the really fast stuff. That works for ME, it might not work for you... experiment, try new things, but keep in mind that other than techniques that cause physical pain, there is no hard and fast right or wrong way.

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