# Tips on Getting Quicker on the Double-Bass.



## wvarnado (Apr 11, 2011)

Hey everybody. I've been playing for a while but I just can't seem to get any quicker on my Double-Bass. So any kind of tips would be really appreciated. Stay Metal.


----------



## ghostred7 (Apr 11, 2011)

I'm not a drummer, but hear my drummer talk about this a lot. Some of the things he does is work on foot position on the pedals (toe vs. heel, etc). A lot of it also plays into the mallets on the pedals, position from the kick, tensions on the chain/spring, etc. Sorry i can't give specifics, but those are things you can play with to at least test.


----------



## thedrummerkid (Apr 11, 2011)

Practice. Practice. Practice.
If your left foot is not keeping up, set your kit up lefty with a single pedal.
With this setup, reconstruct your playing and learn to play some classic favorites of yours (I did some old skater punk and 70s rock).
Whenever you feel comfortable, switch back and work on metal again.
It's a long process which took me 4 years to get where I am.


----------



## yingmin (Apr 11, 2011)

The metronome is your friend. Do rudiments with your feet, and make sure you're staying with the click.


----------



## rogrotten (Apr 11, 2011)

Here are a couple of things I do to work up my speed on the double bass
start off by playing eight notes at a comfortable tempo ( 120 bpm for example). I play 8 bars with my right foot and then change to the left I do that every 8 bars. Then I change every 6 bars...4.....2... until you play 1 bar per foot ( I normally play 4 of each). then pull up the tempo by 5 bpm and start again with the 8 bars (take short brakes of 30 sec-1 min between the tempo changes). Do this until you reach a tempo where you find it hard to finish this exercise. Slowly work up the tempos it takes time to go to high tempos.

Another exercise I do, is work eight notes with each foot at a certain tempo and every "x" number of bars I change to sixteenth notes with both feet (alternating singles), then you go back to the eight notes with each foot and so on and so forth. Note that depending what foot you're using to play the eight notes you will change the leading when doing the sixteenths. I'm not sure I explained myself very well so a visual representation might help

| R R R R R R R R| LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR | L L L L L L L L |...

ALWAYS work with a metronome and be patient it takes time to be fast and precise. 

I hope this helps, if you have any questions let me know


----------



## Steve08 (Apr 11, 2011)

First off, you should be figuring out what your maximum speed is. If you want to get better at double bass, then you should be practicing... double bass.

So, that is your first goal. Find out the highest speed that you can sustain, controlled, without screwing up, for at least a minute. You want to make sure that you're sitting properly behind the kit and balancing right since I assume you're rolling with heel up.

Basically, whenever you're building up speed, all you are doing is increasing headroom, which in my mind is the tempo range that you can comfortably sustain for at least a minute. Once you know your top speed, try and go past that, until you hit a barrier that you absolutely can't play at. Then, back it down to where you'd be playing faster than your limit but you can still control it. All you do at that point is just play at that tempo, really, whether it be bursts like two 8th notes and then four 16th notes and so on, or maintaining a steady flow of 16th notes. Something that's really useful is to pick a tempo that is near your limit but that you can control, and then see how long you can keep playing at that tempo. You don't really need to go any longer than 10 minutes, although some people like Alex Micklewright go for about 20-25 and George Kollias once did it for 2 hours haha.

ALSO, one important thing to note is that you should be aware of how the motion changes for heel up playing. At say, 120 bpm it'll be all leg, and anything past 210 (maybe 220) is going to be mostly ankle motion. So with that in mind, don't be trying to play wicked fast with only your legs. There should be less motion from your legs and more from the ankles at about 180-190ish, not a whole lot but enough. In addition, I shouldn't need to motion this, but ANY (I really mean ANY) practice should be done with a metronome. And both of your feet should be comfortable playing separately at your goal tempo, so like if your goal is 16ths at 200, you should be able to play 8th notes at 200 on either foot. If you can but it's just falling apart in terms of putting both feet together, then you need to back it down to a comfortable where you can and keep practicing at that tempo to build muscle memory.


----------



## yingmin (Apr 11, 2011)

To add on to what steve08 said, a critical part of trying to get faster at any aspect of playing is to get better at the tempo you can currently play at. Really examine your technique, make sure that your playing is tight and consistent, that you're relaxed and using good posture, etc. There are so many things that you could potentially be doing to hold yourself back that if you can identify and eliminate your bad habits, getting faster will happen automatically.


----------



## Epyon6 (Apr 20, 2011)

OK i used to have this problem years and years ago probibly worse then you I sucked at double bass. I donkt know exactly what type of music your trying to play but for me (and i believe this is the best way for any drummer) do NOT use your entire leg UNLESS doing accented notes for power or if your doing like lower to mid tempo 16th notes (its just like playing with your hands you dont use your enitire arm). I always use my ankles for doing 32nd notes, when you wanna fly use your ankles, its less movement, which means you wont fatigue as fast and quicker response. I dont know what pedals you play on but this is best for longboards. It also works on the pedals with heelplates but you dont get as much momentum because you have more leverage with the longboards. You have to find the sweet spot on your pedal which is about the middle where you have the best control. Sometimes when you feel your pedal not responding as fast to your playing I slide down the pedal a bit and then back up to "catch" the pedal on the way back up. I learnt by one of the masters Derek Roddy. Watch his videos on youtube and watch his feet and legs, his legs barely move. I strongly suggest this book and video. Remember just cause your fast doesnt make you good, practice with a metronome at a speed your confotable with, dont be upset if you have to start slow, we all have once. 

Amazon.com: Derek Roddy Blast Beats Evolved DVD: Derek Roddy, R. Scott Johnson: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: The Evolution of the Blast Beat By Derek Roddy (9781423460169): Derek Roddy, Joe Bergamini: Books

Also heres a good video to start out with, its not the whole video with the feet but itll show you with his hands what to do with your feet, i believe the full video of it is on the dvd i put in the link. As he said in the video this excercise does help more your endurance rather then speed, but it deff does help speed alot too mainly for beginners.


Dont forget to make sure your spring tension is equal on both beaters, dont be afraid to spend hours on setting them both, I have you need to feel confortable dont make it too loose but dont make it too tight, only make it tighter when your muscles develop more and the tension your at you feel like your flopping the pedals around. I hope this all helps you if you got questions about this just ask id be happy to help you. Good luck man.


----------

