General Music Chat

Any tips to mastering the Double Bass Pedal, other than the countless hours of practice??? Any input would be greatly appreciated

Go watch live performance of musicians who utilize the technique you seek.

Sure ... may be harder to observe a drummer technique that that of say a guitarist.
But that visual input is a great way of learning from some one whom has mastered the application of a technique.
Works in all disciplines.

Watch, listen, and experiment.

There are a whole lot of lessons on You Tube such as.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_gUavWmJF0

There was at least a page more. I bet if you go to a drum site they'd have more video too.

You Tube has been a great resource for me for the guitar, I've learned a lot from it....

Use BOTH feet!

Hey, thanks for your input fellas

First of all, do you have a metronome of some sort to work with? I use a Tama Rythm Watch and find it to be super helpful. Just set it to a slow bpm and work continuous 16th notes, upping the tempo gradually.

And ofcourse, the most simplistic answer is spending lots of time working up your technique, but also, I like to sit and run different double bass patterns while listening to my favorite metal and rock tunes. Stuff like quarter note, 8th note, 16th note, and 32nd note ostinatos just with the feet. Makes the practice time feel less monotonous.

I highly recommend the Creative Coordination and Creative Control videos by Thomas Lang. Intense stuff right there!

I would echo what has already been posted. Practice is key, watching other double bass drummers, and also finding the right pedals for you. There are many on the market. I currently use TAMA's Iron Cobras. You will aslo want to adjust your beaters appropriately. I set my springs all the way down to get the maximum speed and response. Something else that is helpful is finding the "sweet spot" on the foot boards. This is the spot, usually mid way on the foot board, where you get the feeling that your feet are in perfect sync. You will know when you find it. Its like being "in the zone" for athletes. Good luck.

If you want to play fast like Dave Lombardo, picture yourself running from the cops.