| What exercises can I do to increase my double bass speed? |
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This requires a long answer because almost every single drummer that emails me asks this question - and I don't even consider myself a speed metal drummer. Sorry, but I don't have any secrets for quick results. The only answer I can give is that it takes lots of time and practice. I also get tons of questions asking if my pedal springs are tight or loose. The wrong thing to assume is that if you change your pedal tension you are going to play twice as fast. Depending on whether you play heel-up, heel-down, or heel-stroke your pedal tension could make a difference but the difference will be small. There are no quick fix answers. And even though I've mentioned that my spring tension is set tight, that doesn't mean that if you increase your pedal tension that you'll play faster.
In fact, I would say that pedal tension for a drummer is equivalent to weight lifting for a body builder. If you know anything about weight lifting, one thing is for certain - you don't start out trying to lift 100 lbs. above your head. (If you do you'll hurt yourself). The correct way is to start out with lighter weights while doing multiple repetitions to increase your stamina. Then after a week or so, the body builder begins to add more weight while still performing multiple reps. Continuing on with the process the body builder will get the desired results by gaining muscle tone, strength, and stamina. This is the same for the drummer with pedal tension and speed exercises. You can work with a system of gradually tightening your spring tension while increasing your speed. Here's a routine that I've used over the years that has worked for me. But before you start this program it is imperative that you learn how to play with a metronome. Why? Because practicing with a metronome is the best way to monitor your progress from day to day. It will also help your double bass control (keeping your strokes even) and consistency so that you don't slow down when your feet get tired. If you've never played with a metronome or don't know what to play when practicing with a metronome, I'll step you through it. We'll start at 120 bpm (beats per minute). This is a very slow tempo if you are used to playing fast double bass but this will help you to learn how to lock in with the metronome. Play your right bass drum exactly at the same time as every click of the metronome. With your right hand, play your hi-hat at the same time with the right foot to keep it steady. Don't speed up faster than the metronome. After you feel locked into the metronome play your left bass drum between every right bass drum/hi-hat hit. You are now playing double bass eighth notes at 120 bpm. Play at this tempo for a few minutes. Stop. Now increase the metronome speed to 130 bpm. Repeat the right foot and right hand together with the metronome clicks. Then add the left foot between the hits. Continue on increasing your speed. Most metronome tempos rage from somewhere around 50 bpm - 250 bpm. Keep repeating this routine until you reach 240 bpm on your metronome. After you've completed playing eighth notes to the metronome the next step is to learn to play sixteenth notes to the metronome. Sixteenth notes are twice as fast as eighth notes, which means - eighth notes at 240 bpm is the same speed as sixteenth notes at 120 bpm. Confused? Don't worry about it. Now set your metronome back to 120 bpm. Play 2 right bass drum strokes for every click... which means you're 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc... hit will be exactly with the click and your 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, etc... hit will be between the clicks. Again play your hi-hat along with your right bass drum strokes. Make sure you're locked in with the metronome then add your left foot between all your right bass drum strokes. You're now playing sixteenth notes at 120 bpm. Play 120 bpm for a few minutes making sure that you're not moving away from the click. Now, just like we did with the eighth notes, continue on increasing speed. Some of you will peak at 140 bpm, some at 170 bpm, 190 bpm, 200 bpm. Very few of you will reach the 240 bpm mark. Great!!! Now you've learned to play and STAY with a metronome. Make a note of what tempo is your peak and keep track of how long you can maintain that tempo. You don't have to go through this whole process daily but it's important to create a routine where you start at a comfortable tempo and work your way up to your peak. Focus on playing longer, increasing your tempo, and (if you want to) tightening your springs. Another twist to this routine is to create your own patterns by mixing sixteenth notes and eighth notes. Here's an example:  |
