If you’re going to be a good drummer, developing your bass drum technique is just as important as developing your hands. While it’s possible to play the drum-set without an incredibly fast foot, you will always be pretty limited in what you can play.
I personally was inspired by John Bonham’s playing with Led Zeppelin on “Good Times Bad Times.” I recommend you check out this tune if you haven’t heard it yet. Bonham played amazingly fast and clean double strokes with a single bass drum on this track.
Here are my recommendations for developing your bass drum technique.
The first thing I recommend is to set your throne(stool) at the proper height. This is important for leverage and control, as well as comfort. Set your throne at a height so that your legs are at approximately a 90 degree angle. This means that your thighs will be basically flat, horizontal with the floor. This is the most natural position to play in. If you sit too low, you can create lower back problems. If you sit too high, it won’t enable you to play with your heels down, which you’ll want to do, at least some of the time. Sitting too high also forces you to play up on the balls of your foot all the time. This creates unwanted tension in your hips and thighs, which will eventually slow you down.
You should also sit at a comfortable distance from the pedals, not too close and not too far. Get as relaxed as possible.
The next thing I recommend is to get a hard felt beater, if you don’t already have one. It has become very fashionable the last several years for drummers to play with plastic beaters. I feel this is a mistake if you’re really interested in playing to the absolute best of your ability. Plastic beaters are heavier, and therefore take more effort to move, resulting in less speed. John Bonham, along with all the really great drummers of the past, played with hard felt beaters. With a hard felt beater, you will still get plenty of punch and volume, but you won’t have to sacrifice speed like you will with a hard felt beater.
I’m not incredibly picky about bass drum pedals. I find that in order to play my best, I set my pedal spring at a medium tension. If the spring tension is too tight, it will force you to play exclusively heel up, with a lot of leg motion. Again, this will create tension in your hips and thighs, and ultimately slow you down. I’ve found that a light pedal seems to work best, as far as optimum speed. I’ve always liked Pearl and Tama.
That’s all for today. The next bass drum technique lesson we’ll discuss developing your ankles, and control over the basic stroke. See you then!
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