If you love metal or progressive rock, are looking at how to improve drumming technique, and want to improve your skills on the double bass pedal, this post will be the perfect starting point in helping you achieve your double bass pedal goals.
It’s going to introduce you to a great little exercise that will help you improve not only your control but also your speed on the double bass pedals.
This is just one of many exercises that have been developed for drummers who are looking to increase their double bass abilities, and it’s a good one. If you are new to the double bass, be prepared for this to feel a bit awkward in the beginning as you are learning to transition from one note length to the next.
Over time, however, your body will adapt and you’ll learn to transition smoothly through this exercise, as well as help you increase your tempo. Strangely enough, you will likely find yourself struggling to play certain note values at slower tempos more challenging than at a faster tempo.
This was the case for me when I first learned this exercise!
I would recommend practicing this particular exercise for at least ten minutes each day at varying tempos to keep your calves and thighs from becoming too accustomed to the routine.
So, what is this exercise you ask?
Great question, let’s find out.
This exercise consists of four parts and can be repeated or reversed however you see fit. The goal is learning to change note values smoothly and accurately with your feet. This is paramount to becoming a talented drummer on the double bass. Speed is important, but control is even more important.
To begin with, we’ll choose a slower tempo. Let’s start with 90 BPM. Begin by playing a typical rock beat with your hands. To make it simple, stick with playing quarter notes on the hi-hat, as the triplets will be easier to coordinate with our feet this way.
Don’t worry about the closed hi-hat shown below. You can use whatever cymbal you want. The hi-hat will naturally be open since you will have both feet on the bass pedals, I just chose not to notate it that way. You’ll have to forgive me 🙁
Next, we are going to start playing quarter notes with our feet while we maintain that quarter note rock beat with our hands. You might be tempted to play the quarter note bass notes with just your right leg, but make sure you alternate them right, left, right, left etc. (I haven’t notated it below). The snare should be on beats two and four.
You can count it like this:
one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, etc.
Once you’ve played this through multiple times and are starting to feel comfortable alternating your feet on the bass drum (which I’m sure many of you are already comfortable with), it’s time to step it up to the next level.
We’re going to change from quarter notes with our feet to eighth notes with our feet (remember to alternate them, it’s very important!). Make sure you are maintaining that same quarter note rock beat with your hands. The snare should still be on beats two and four.
If you feel that you’ve got this down, it’s time to step it up again. This time we’re going to change to triplets with our feet. This might be the trickiest part of the exercise, whether it be moving up to triplets from eighth notes, or moving down to triplets from sixteenth notes. Just keep that in mind, and don’t let it discourage you if you find your legs aren’t cooperating with your hands.
You can count the following as:
one-trip-let, two-trip-let, three-trip-let, four-trip-let, etc.
The image below only shows three bars, because as the quantity of notes grows, so does the size of the image. You can just play a repeating pattern for a certain duration of time and you’ll be good to go.
Finally, if you’ve got this far and are still feeling confident, we’re going to go one more step up and start playing sixteenth notes with our feet while still maintaining that quarter note rock beat with our hands.
This can be counted like this:
one-e-and-uh, two-e-and-uh, three-e-and-uh, four-e-and-uh, etc.
And there you have it. I hope you liked this tricky exercise to help get your bass drum independence on the right track. Once you get this exercise down and can consistently and smoothly change note values with your double bass, try switching to eighth notes on the hi-hat with your hands.
Let me know in the comment section if you found it tricky to coordinate the eighth notes on the hi-hat with the triplets on the double bass pedals.
Once you are comfortable with all this, try playing it both open and closed (as in playing the hi-hat with your left hand and the snare with your right hand). It’ll give you a nice mental workout for sure!
Make sure you practice this on a regular basis and don’t feel bad if you’re progress isn’t coming along as fast as you might have hoped. Stick in there and you’ll get to where you want to be. Trust me. Practice makes perfect!
What to do next?
If you are brand new to music, music production or are interested in learning to play the drums, you can check out my article: How to Use a Metronome for Drums
You might also want to check out this article: Acoustic Vs. Electronic Drums – Which One is Right for You?
If you are looking at buying your first drum set or any other musical instrument for that matter, take a look at Zzounds. They have a variety of acoustic drum sets and electronic drum sets for purchase.
