I Got A Dilly Of A Pickle?

[ojay16]

Ok....... right now....or should i say for the past couple months i've been taking lessons. My teacher has me playing straight flat footed for both the hi hat and the bass drum pedal. He will not allow me to  use any other foot technique for either of the pedals and he personally does not use any other foot technique. My problem is I've been working on the samba and when trying to increase the speed at lets say between 150bpm-180bpm everything else that is played except for the bass drum is in perfect time. Do ya'll have any suggestions for what i can do in order to get my sluggard bass drum foot up to the desired tempo....playing flat footed alone....no heel-toe, no sliding...???????

[fretai03]

Find yourself another teacher who encourages your growth in techniques...

Or just do it infront of him anyway...

[ojay16]

I have definately considered finding another teacher....but i have auditions for college to prepare for in less than four months...sooooooooo?????

[jtoomer]

on that John Blackwell DVD he suggest using the same rocking motion as heel toe but move your foot lower on the foot board that way you don't have to slide your foot.  A good exercise I do is the one Carlin McCullar shows on gospel chops.  hope this helps, best wishes on your audition.

jtoomer

[JFunky]

Ok....... right now....or should i say for the past couple months i've been taking lessons. My teacher has me playing straight flat footed for both the hi hat and the bass drum pedal. He will not allow me to  use any other foot technique for either of the pedals and he personally does not use any other foot technique. My problem is I've been working on the samba and when trying to increase the speed at lets say between 150bpm-180bpm everything else that is played except for the bass drum is in perfect time. Do ya'll have any suggestions for what i can do in order to get my sluggard bass drum foot up to the desired tempo....playing flat footed alone....no heel-toe, no sliding...???????

...I'll break it to you this way.  Learn how to do both;  heel up and heel down.  The next thing is that you'll need to use a metronome and work out singles and doubles and triplets using it.  Quit trying to have a fast foot.  You need to learn how to control it.  Trust me.  I'm working on this myself and have spoken to Derico Watson and Chris Coleman about it.  Speed will come when you master control.  The ultimate thing is that you need "Patience and time".  You think Jeremy Haynes was doing that foot pedal bounce in a month?  Nope.  He worked it out.  At least 25 minutes a day will do you right. 

...the other thing is that you need to feel comfortable using your pedal.  John Blackwell says that you should have your spring tension super tight so that you can develop your muscles.  Well, I strongly disagree.  If you watch his DVD you'll see that he has to take his foot off of his hi hat to do doubles and triples.  Now, watch Jeremy Haynes and Chris Coleman do the same patterns.  They are comfortable and their posture is excellent.  It looks like they are just chillin' drinking lemonade.  Have your springs at a comfortable tension and then go up one or two turns so that it gives you a slight resistance but not too much.  Happy practicing.

[edough]

on that John Blackwell DVD he suggest using the same rocking motion as heel toe but move your foot lower on the foot board that way you don't have to slide your foot.  A good exercise I do is the one Carlin McCullar shows on gospel chops.  hope this helps, best wishes on your audition.

jtoomer

the Carlin piece on Gospelchops is a great exercise..
I would suggest that you do some research and present to him the findings.. on paper!
heel toe, heel up is my preference.

[tko05]

work on getting a metronome and start off playing quarter notes then go to eigths,eighth note triplets, sixteenths, sextuplets, and the 32nd's. Start off super slow!!

[Hotsticks1]

I wouldn't agree on paying for something I wasn't comfortable with.

[JFunky]

I wouldn't agree on paying for something I wasn't comfortable with.

...well it depends doc'.  In his case, I would probably find another teacher but there are very good teachers out there that break you down and take all of the bad habits away from you and mold you into a fine musician.  That teacher and the process might make you feel "uncomfortable" because the teacher and the material being used make you do things you are not used to doing.  So, it all depends but I know what you mean.

[eugenio]

Dennis on Bass Drum Technique
For double pedal or double bass: Practice rudiments (the above rudiments are a good start) with your feet in both the heel up and heel down position. This will increase coordination and strength.

For single & double pedal: Dennis feels the heel down approach offers more control.

Ive seen gerald and he has excellent control over his foot alone.

Also heel down improves your heel up playing.

Hope that helps