Learn How To Play Double Bass Drums
Playing double bass drums is great fun but there are few things you need to keep in mind while you start to learn this drumming technique:
Don’t forget to exercise on a daily basis so that you don’t pull a muscle while playing. Before you start drumming, make sure that you stretch a bit. It is usually recommended to do a few calf rises for a couple of minutes before you start. It is very important to master heel down as well as heel up techniques for a better learning experience. It is not difficult to learn the heel down technique, however, many drummers don’t find it easy as compared to heel up. Place both your feet on the foot pedals so that it gets covered completely. Then start playing a rhythm and follow one
beat after another. Try not to raise your feet
from the pedals because it is important for your
foot to remain on the footboard to get better
control on the motion of every hit.
When you practice the heel down technique you might feel the muscle in the front of your calf is training. This means that the right muscles are in use, but avoid overdoing it. In the heel up technique of drumming, you need to place your feet on the foot pedal in the same manner as you will do in heel down technique, but your heel will be lifted off the pedal.
There must be a constant contact between the footboards and your foot so that you are able to achieve more control on the complete movement for every hit. Start kicking one beat followed by the other. Just make sure that you are resting the pedal beater on the bass drum between hits. This is important for giving your muscles some time to relax. In the heel up technique you will feel the strain in your thigh and not on the calf. Again, remember – don’t overdo it in order to avoid irritation or pain.
These techniques are essential to master because based on it you will be able to determine whether you want to play double bass drums with the heel down or heel up technique. Once you have figured this out, play 16th notes alternating right-left-right-left and gain speed gradually. Before you increase your speed, you must learn how to play the 16th notes perfectly. Then try the reverse and do it left-right-left-right. You can try patterns of different kinds and keep on repeating in order to improve. There are several websites on the Internet, especially designed for beginners who want to learn double bass drumming. You can find a lot of e-books and resources with the help of which you can get to know more about different pattern suggestions. Also look for the essential drumming rudiments like double stroke rolls, single stroke rolls, Flams, Paradiddles, Flamadiddle, Flamaque and many more.
After mastering the 16th notes move on to 32nd notes, then 64th followed by rolls. Once done, get a piece of music played in concert band and try playing the snare part on your feet. If you feel that after completing this process you can roll on the bass without hesitation and a lot of perfection, decide the kind of music you want to learn with the drumming rudiments and then implement them.
Tips To Remember:
Don’t forget to practice on a daily basis. After waking up, exercise for some time. Since double bass drumming is not an easy skill to master, don’t get frustrated if you are having difficulty. With time and a lot of practice you will start playing beautifully. In case you are planning on double pedal, you need to build strength in the required areas. In the initial stages of learning double bass drums avoid playing fast speeds otherwise it will turn into an unclean double bass. Start slow and gradually increase your speed. Calf strains can happen if you don’t stretch everyday. Any form of exercise or stretching for athletes is also effective for drummers. If you are careful about these details and ready to put in a lot of hard work, no one can stop you from mastering double bass drumming skills.