Ankle Technique in 5 Steps - Double Bass Drumming Lesson 

What would be ideal? I know drums are super relative to the person but what's this path look like? *double bass pedal tensions are super dif* *noob* thanks :)

​@@alanissexy99 you set the spring so tight or loose, that if you contract your calf muscles you should barely touch your pad/drumhead.

@@t.jakstadt2690 whoaaa!!! 🤯🤯 i feel it

@@alanissexy99 haha you're welcome. I had the same whoa effect 👍😁. The next thing I did was to find my comfortable bpm. Mine is around 190bpm. Because this midtempo BPM 150-180 is a combination of calf and thigh/hip muscle. For that I had first to get used to the motion of pure calf (above 180) and pure thigh/hip (0-140). After I found my tempo of 190 (first try where your bpm is and then try to match with metronom) I tried to built my muscle memory and I am still at this point. My next step is to combine my left and right foot at 190. But there is still some practice to do. Patience is key 🫡😎

@@t.jakstadt2690 bro, 🤯

Hahaha Love that!

Pro 🫡😎 Thanks :)

You're so right lol, totally not that swivel technique. Retitled it. Good of you to give constructive criticism 😁👍

Practice slow to fast, and fast to slow gradually. 4x a week for 1 month. Rest for 1 week. Then repeat it.. Stick with it for 2 years.

You're awesome 👍

I will agree with that 100%. I just learned of this channel last night when he sent me a link to a tutorial about adjusting the spring tension for bass pedal. Very good video. Detailed and easy to follow. He is a very good teacher, and he is considerate enough to communicate with people who ask questions. Most of the other channels for tutorials won't answer at all.

Glad it was helpful!

Let's GOOOOO!

I was about to make this exact comment. I have adhd and I do this everyday

haha same, took that as an advantage barely needed practice

adhd isnt a thing, you are on pills and it shows

Me too on the floor 300bpm but when i put the feet in the board it’s like i have welded ankle 😭

True that. bigger muscles have more power. But if you're talking upwards of 240bpm++ very few have the physique, health and fitness to be able to use hips that fast. That's also why triggers exist for a lot of extreme metal drumming and is being used even by the best of the best.

Upper legs try to relax, although they are involved with supporting the lower leg so they can do the work. But only minimal, and definitely don't want them sore

Swivel is a great fast technique 👍

Hey my pleasure:) thank you!

You're past the first few hurdles. Apply the same mindset to get there, all the best 💯

Thank you too!

Oh I use wd40 to oil my springs and bearings that's all. but I didn't do much research in that department

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ I see. Thanks for the reply sir. Keep creating this kind of videos. Drumming community needs you :)

Hahaha my pleasure, Though still need to put in the correct work too

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ yepppp, I will definitelly work on this, thank you so much!

Yes on the floor is just to practice those calf muscles. That's why there's the Pedal technique step too. The reason for the heel being lifted off the pedal is to activate calf. if the heel stays on the pedal. you're forced to use your shins. And think about the construction of the pedal. It's tilted upwards and thus your foot rests higher up if parallel to the ground. So your heel will be a little higher up if you're maintaining the same foot position as on the floor. Your video shows that you're too used to doing it fast with no lower tempo control. I was like this too. You must start from the ground up and understand how to do it ULTRA SLOW like I did in step 2 of the video. Or even slower than that. Like just hold your heel in the air first in the pedal position. THen move it gently up 1 sec, then down another.There's nothing wrong with your legs. Its just you have to reverse the habits you've built for your right leg. And that involves stopping the fast things you're doing at the moment and concentrate on learning these motions from scratch and in as relaxed a manner as you can. You're suffering from too much tension in that right leg(probably not just the ankle)

Adding on to that I really suggest taking 2 weeks off of practicing anything with your right leg (dead serious) One of my students got into the same trouble with over-tension and fatigue. And I forced him to take 2 weeks off of any practice and come back later. Another handful of people on my discord also had the same problem and 2 weeks of rest allowed them to recover and go in the correct direction. He was surprised at how he was able to start to grasp the swivel motion after coming back to it 2 weeks later. It's very important to recognize this tension and not fight against it by working harder or in the same way, you will just continue to build tension and things will get even worse. After your 2 weeks off, resume practice, start with relaxation top of your mind. Only trying to tense the working muscles correctly. Seriously just take it slow with the right ankle. Or in deliberate long steps to learn that motion. And climb the ladder 1bpm every week. It's hard for people to accept snail but steady progression, so they usually don't want to do that until they get stuck for 2 years and they finally come to me for lessons, and I force them to up 1bpm per week and they finally get it. I've seen that too many times. By the way join the discord, all this can be discussed there and me and another frighteningly good double bass pro drummer will share our thoughts and feedback and even help you and give you extra videos and stuff for free. discord.com/invite/rEFFZtkwJj

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ I really appreciate these replies. I feel you really understand exactly what I'm going through which is something I haven't felt with any other teacher. I'm already in the discord by the way I just haven't visited for a while. By the way where are you based at? I'm gonna be in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia at the end of the year /beginning of 2024. I'm living as a digital nomad for the moment so I travel a lot, that's why I mostly can practice on the floor at the moment and sometimes I rent a rehearsal space wherever I'm at. If I travel anywhere near where you are, I'd love to pay for a lesson with you and get to meet you. I really appreciate what you do brother.

Oh I'm in singapore, just a 20min flight south of Malaysia! Drop me a message on the discord telling me it's you

As a drummer i find it always works best for me when learning a new technique to break it down to the simplest elements and force myself to do it over and over very slowly until i feel my body adapting to the movement. Its usually harder to do things more slowly because we want to do everything quick these days but its worth every bit to go slowly and make progress with patience as the teacher suggests. ❤very good advice and lesson thank you 😊

Injury can reveal such things. I got injured before too from over practicing. All the best to learning the ankle technique

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ ❤️

Try to enable more support on your throne. Maybe get one with a bigger, better surface area. Make sure you're not sitting at the edge of your seat. Make sure it's at a height that allows you to move your legs up and down without overextension. My drume throne video might help ru-vid.comvWm3IRSNP9E?si=2sap-Uq7EHa7P_iN

That's the same thing that happened to me for a few years before I fixed it. Your muscles don't have control at the speed you want them to go at yet. So you wanna lower your bpm during practice, till you can get the motion in without the fidget and practice that 15minutes a day, 4 times a week, 3 days of rest. Repeat for 6 months.

You might have pedal settings that are not helping your movements. Try this video first ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iDlXB2NmM50.html

What spring tension do you currently have on your pedals and what pedals do you own? I think you can benefit from lighter and looser spring tension so your foot will have a better time controlling the pedal. Do share more info so I can advice more.

It's your peda position/settingsl and throne settings look at this ru-vid.comyOH2w_qLHVA?si=qWAcYSKnkt8WpY8R and then ru-vid.comvWm3IRSNP9E?si=KwBht1BEQNfJUELt

the muscle contraction comes from the calf, which pivots the ankle, which moves the heel up and down, and the thigh to a smaller degree. It's impossible not to move the heel up and down, unless you play heel down, then maybe that can be considered.

that guys got kharma coming his way. Hope you find it or get a better replacement!

Yes!

Force from the front is the shin technique. This video is the calf technique. Moving it from the heel. See my other video for shin technique ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kYHUk4j9e7c.htmlsi=bRtS5bSn3sYaVpPw

which one is better? I already can use the heel toe technique if that makes a difference @@ArtOfDrummingHQ

Good to hear!

Cheers!

sounds like you are trying too hard and too fast with your left foot, both which leads to tension and what you're describing. if you can play 140, your next goal should be 145 until that's what you can play comfortably. Then 150, 155, so on. I would also mix in some ankle technique day where you focus playing 170 with your left foot all ankle, but your focus should all be only on playing as relaxed as possible. Play with your right foot a bit, eyes closed just focusing on how you're playing and how loose you are, then left foot trying to mimic that strong foot.

It should not. Because it will be inefficient. Applies for any technique, you can look at the best players playing swivel or ankleor heel toe. The ball of the foot stays on the pedal. No wasted effort against gravity

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ if i use the slide technique instead of heel toe, does that mean i will be more inclined to use the shin swivel instead of ankle technique?

After each stroke I try to let my heel come back down to touch the pedal plate. and I leave it there in rest mode until the next stroke. Unless there's a whole series of 16th notes than there's no time to rest and my heel hovers a bit of distance off the pedal plate. ru-vid.comD-rfjTLyNAs watch this whole video to see me demonstrate that in action. It's a double stroke kick video but it also shows clearly how and when I rest.

@@ArtOfDrummingHQ thank you. What I'm a bit more concerned about is the foot on the hit hat. I can't be hovering my foot bc I lose balance and when not playing what I'm doing rn is resting my sole on the start of the pedal but not on the pedal since applying pressure to the pedal leads to closing the hit hat. But I can't find a vid about that everyone talks about the kick hehe

Ohhh just rest your foot on the pedal and close the hi-hat. Nothing wrong with that. it should be closed until you need to play open sounds.@@FabEnPeOr2

My pleasure!

HOpe it helps!

Thanks 👍

Thank you!

More ultra burning leg day here ru-vid.comvxtT_QfSZ8o?si=uG-oeCIXtI10nKIH

😂 👍

The dw5000 needs perhaps 6-7/10th of the way for 9 kgs. Although it's more important that you become comfortable and able to engage the proper muscles, a video would be better if you have one so I can see your tension and how it goes with your technique

Thank u for the reply? Where can i send u a video? Tomorrow i will make it! 🎉