any hints for bass drum? 23:26 on Monday, June 13, 2005
0 votes
(mark)
this is my first year (freshmen) and i want to try out for the 2nd base drum. i was wondering if anyone could give me tips or hints on playing correctly, posture, ect. it would really help A LOT. thanks.
Re: any hints for bass drum? 04:27 on Wednesday, July 13, 2005
0 votes
(Marcel)
hiya, I read your letter on the internet. If you want to play with two bass drums play heel up, sit straight up and play simple hand to feet combinations e.g. snare: RLRL Bass: RLRL
snare: RL bass: RL etc. (if you left-handed start off with left)Or try to learn from my on-line lessons on my website
Re: any hints for bass drum? 18:36 on Friday, September 02, 2005
0 votes
(KHSbass)
Its all about technique.
Keep your elbows bent at
a 45 degree angle with
the malled head in the
center of the drum head.
Keep relaxed, but not loose.
if you need to play faster
than you can, then angle your
wrists a little inward so
you can use your fingers to
control the mallet
Re: any hints for bass drum? 22:11 on Wednesday, September 07, 2005
0 votes
(PODrummer9209)
Hell yeah play tenors, playin snare and base is a waste of talent.
Yeah, Sl, let`s see you play triplets gridded onto cheese chuchuttas and come out without your fingers smoking. Snares have a lot more talent than you think.
Anyway. Bass drum. 2nd bass seems to be one of the easier parts, purely a fill-in beat I think. But anyway, important nonetheless. Keep a constant `1e+a 2e+a...` or `1 + 2 +` beat in your head, depending on the piece. One of our cadences has 16ths tied to 8ths and it screwed up the 3rd bass dude til BD had him count 1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a... out loud. He nailed it. Mkay... Technique. Keep your elbows bent, shoulders back, hands almost straight out from forearms. Don`t swing with your arm, use the muscles in your palm and turn your wrist. Contrary to popular mantra, fingers are essential in fast pieces. We march a 208 ballad in our show this year, and if you don`t use your fingers to help the stick move, you`re screwed. We`ve already had a nosebleed from losing a mallet >_< All in all, same basic technique as snare and tenor, just less rolls. Or none at all. Yes, basses roll. Trumpeting arrangement of Star Spangled Banner, Double Beat 2004, etc etc. Just listen =)Well I`m-a go. Just practice, that`s all you need to do. Try getting a pair of bass mallets or put weights on the striking end of some sticks and stand a pillow between your legs to practice. It works well, I played 3rd bass last year. Freshie snares own!
I am a bass drummer, i.e. "waste of talent", and have marched in both an Independent Open indoor line, and a Division I Drum and Bugle Corps. Until you become an acomplished drummer and do something with your "all-mighty" tenor playing skills, you might want to watch what you say. Having no respect for any other section is going to get you absolutely nowhere in the drumming world.
Sorry, back to the original reason why i was posting...bass drumming is more complicated than you might think. If you like, you can send me an e-mail of IM me for more advice
i played the 5th bass drum freshmen year. When playing the bass drum, dont EVER lean back, cuz when u do u'll feel great but once u get home its gonna hurt like a mutha fuka. Keep ur elbows beant at a 45 degree and NEVER look ur knees. u'll usually alternate hands when playing. if u have any quesitons just email me at
1. The hardest part to do is just getting started. Everything after
that is easy though. All you need to do is pick your pad and sticks. So
easy, yet so hard. But you want to get better, right? That's not gonna
happen sittin on the couch eating potato chips.
2. Okay, so once you have your sticks and pad, you also need to have a
metronome. You should never be practicing without it. None of us have
perfect internal metronomes, and we as a line definitely have problems
keeping full note values or rests. If you're playing eights or some
other exercise though, try playing it along with music. I don't want
you to have to play in a sterile environment all the time. We want to
play music and be able to groove.
3. Try to stay away from any distractions. Focused practice is the only
way to go. I'd rather you have focused practice for 15 minutes than in
front of the tv for an hour mindlessly drumming. It's important you
practice daily. It's very easy to become worse just missing a day of
practice.
4. When trying to learn music, repetition is the best way to go.
Snares, we did this last friday. Chunk the music in units of 4
measures. After a few reps, turn the music over, and try it memorized.
If you choke, rep it a few times with music again and then try again.
Once you finish with those, take the next four and do the same thing.
Then try all eight measures. Don't get discouraged if you're not
getting it. That's what repitition is for. Being a percussionist means
having a lot of patience. This is what we all signed up for.
5. Alright, least but not last, whenever you start practicing, have a
short term goal to accomplish, whether that means not letting your
pinky finger slip under your ring finger if you're a snare player, or
just keeping your pinky on the stick while playing matched.
Something to keep in mind with all of this is to just RELAX! If you
don't have chops to play, you're obviously going to have sore muscles,
and that's normal, but you don't want any tension at all. Drumming is
all about playing with the most efficiency possible. No extra muscles.
Remember, it might not be tension in your hands, but in your face,
legs, whatever. Any tension while you're playing is probably bad
tension...if you're not marching.
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