DOUBLE BASS TECHNIQUE

Speedy

Senior Member
I recently got a double bass kit by pearl. I was wondering if there was any good techniques to build my double bass speed.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

well you might just try playing only with your feet to gain coordinaton, then add in some tom work like triplets. it just boils down to practice. mainly trying to bring them into a piece of drumming.

check out the double bass drumming i have on video at www.kevinmillerdrumer.com

i don't get into until about 1/2 way thru but it is distinctive

for me it is all a matter of feel. i dont really paly double bass drum but think of trying it again.

good luck and be clean and tasty
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Play all the rudiments with your feet as you would play with your hands. It works!
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

look on the dave lombardo homepage, there are some exercises which helped me build my speed...first you have to set up your two basses in a way that feels comfortable to you(as close together as possible usually), for practicing just look on the lombardo page, it`s really got me started as well. now after two years i am able to play most slayer and slipknot stuff for example with double bass, but there is also faster stuff in the extreme metal genre
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Hey MFB isnt that something danny carey does to?
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Look up Bobby Jarzombek in drummerworld. youll find a video with some sick double bass-skills. you cant learn anything though, its just some cool drumming. (would like some more videos of Jarzombek)
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

A book that one of my drummer friends recommended for me was, "The Encyclopedia for Double Bass Drumming" really a good book. Give it time, it isn't going to happen over night or even a few nights. In fact, the virtuoso Mike Mangini, explained that it took him 11 years of woodshed and practice to get to the point where he is.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Speedy said:
Hey MFB isnt that something danny carey does to?

Quite probably. Most double bassing drummers, especially the technical ones (RE: Carey, Bozzio, Donati and indeed Portnoy) almost certainly practice this way. I don't think Lars did... I'm not a big fan of Lars anymore tbh. I've got paradiddles going fairly smoothly, but otherwise my double bassing is pretty mediocre.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

I've been playing double bass for about a year and a half. I'm at the point where I can play any Slayer song comfortably. So I'd say I'm pretty fast with my feet. Just like everyone else says, it all comes down to practice. There are times where you'll get frustrated, but you must keep going. Do the rudiments, play comfortably at a certain tempo and increase it by 10 everytime in about two minute intervals. You can increase the time of the intervals as you wish. But just keep practicing! Good luck man.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

a simple opinion, watch creative control of thomas lang he is the best playing double bass, better than lombardo, puff, and you will notice what you have to do
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

well im strange i lean to one side when doing a blast beat i find i get more speed that way, well when i do i can do blasts of up to 280 bpm well.... according to my reader thats the speed
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

First work on controle and independence with your double bass, and speed will follow.

Do some paradiddles with your bassdrums. Than do one paradiddle on the bassed and combine it with an other paradiddle with your hands on for e.g. the hi-hat.

You also can play a paradiddle with your feet and just doing left-right-left-right-... with your hand. Just be creative.

I must admit it's insane doing this and you'll need a lot of courage to do it. But if you'll be able to practice like this, you'll be playing awesome in a short time.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

my teachers just given me some dbl bass excersizes, maybe ull find them helpfull:

theyre all played with 8th notes on the hi-hat and 2 and 4 on snare (and a metronome), and I do them starting on the right and starting on the left:

1) 1-1
2) 2-2
3) RLLRRLLRR....
4) 3-3
5) 4-4
6) paradiddles
7) paraparadiddles
8) paraparaparadiddles

ok so basically what other people have already said, but oh well :p
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

I say play triplets with the metronome. Overall, it helps your single stroke (probably what you'll be using most of the time) as well as your tightness. I find in the begining, I started playing then fell into flams by the end.... man was that EVER frustrating.

Also, start SLOW. Dont try going as fast as you can because that will just lead to bad technique!!!
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Go to Virgil Donati.com, and join his master classes...You will learn all the double and single bass drum techniques and excercises you will ever need...Virgil is a master with his feet, and even better with his hands...Sometimes i can't beleive what i am watching...
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

i leab back a little bit, and put my feet on the middle of the footboard, then relax my legs, then go at it.
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

Here are a few i do.

We all do paradiddles, but it's cool to experiment, and see what you can come up with. A drum teacher i once had taught me a rudement called the compound paradiddle, which was a single, a double, and a triple all joined together, to form...

RLRRLRLLRLRLRRLRLRLLRLRLRLRRLRLRLRLL

Complicated, eh? Well, after mastering this between my hands, i thought i might as well do it with my feet.

So, i play a groove. You'll notice there are 36 strokes, which cancels out as 9 quarter notes if they are 16th notes. So, playing in 9/4 with that as your bass drum pattern works out like this...

Code:
      ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦
      1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a5e+a6e+a7e+a8e+a9e+a
Hihat o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---  ¦
Snare ----O-------O-------O-------O---O--- .¦
RBass o-oo-o--o-o-oo-o-o--o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-- .¦
LBass -o--o-oo-o-o--o-o-oo-o-o-o--o-o-o-oo  ¦

There are multiple ways of voicing this. For instance, you can do this...

Code:
      ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦
      1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a5e+a6e+a7e+a8e+a9e+a
Hihat o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--  ¦
Snare ------O-----------O--------O-----O-- .¦
RBass o-oo-o--o-o-oo-o-o--o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-- .¦
LBass -o--o-oo-o-o--o-o-oo-o-o-o--o-o-o-oo  ¦

or...

Code:
      ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦
      1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a5e+a6e+a7e+a8e+a9e+a
      123451234512345123451234512345123456
Hihat o----o----o----o----o----o----o--o--  ¦
Snare -----O---------O---------O-------O-- .¦
RBass o-oo-o--o-o-oo-o-o--o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-- .¦
LBass -o--o-oo-o-o--o-o-oo-o-o-o--o-o-o-oo  ¦

or even...

Code:
      ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦   ¦
      1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a5e+a6e+a7e+a8e+a9e+a
LH    o-o-o-oo-o-o-o--o-o-oo-o-o--o-oo-o--  ¦
RH    -o-o-o--o-o-o-oo-o-o--o-o-oo-o--o-oo .¦
RBass o-oo-o--o-o-oo-o-o--o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-- .¦
LBass -o--o-oo-o-o--o-o-oo-o-o-o--o-o-o-oo  ¦

That last one is insane.

HTH!
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

i downloaded some videos off limewire of a guy called derek roddy.... they seem to be shot with a handycam, but he's got this cool practice routine that i've been trying out (well, not exactly the same thing, more like my own tailor-made routine, but inspired by his).....
www.derekroddy.com

he plays drums for a band called hate eternal, and he's got some FAST feet.... i mean, REAL FAST! hahaha. he's kinda cool, so even if you're not into that music, his ideas are great to build speed and endurance. endurance being the key word here.....
i bought an iron cobra db a month ago and only started practicing seriously last week....
in addition to half an hour of practicing my routine (that's similar to roddy's), i also do some rudiments with my feet and also write out some lengthy grooves with adequate db parts and just play them out.... its kinda helped.....
whatever you do, use a metronome to track your progress......
 
Re: Double Bass Chops

I started using Stick Control two days ago. I've only done the first 72 single stroke patterns. But, in 2 hours, I've gone from about 120 to 150 comfortably. I can do most of the faster but a lot of the patterns have 3 or 4 of the same foot in a row, and my left foot isn't comfortable up to speed yet doing 4 in a row.

Maybe someone can republish this classic book and rename it "Pedal Control". Or maybe some of these speed freaks can write a book and call it "Pedal Control"!

stu
 
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