The BIG Detail I Got Wrong About The Kick Drum 

Another benefit to knowing your ideal pedal set-up - recognizing when you don't have it due to factors beyond your control (crappy house kit, cramped space etc.). One of the reasons great drummers sound great on any kit is probably not because they can play anything on any given pedal, but because they know how much they can get away with on any given pedal.

This was the best explanation for how to actually play my kick that I have run across as a long-time musician and beginning drummer. Implementing this instantly stopped me burying the kick and made it a lot easier to go faster. Thank you so much for making this and sharing. Brilliant! 🍻

I agree with this video 100%! I can't tell you how much this echoes the process I went through with bass drum technique. I had pretty much exactly the same lightbulb moment about a year ago. I started playing halfway down the pedal with slightly more spring tension, letting the beater rebound and never looked back. Almost never have the "bounce" problem anymore!

I actually bury my beater a lot when i play backbeat and i‘m very relaxed that way, i often just don‘t bury my beater when i play Jazz with a ringing bassdrum

Hey nate, I just signed up for the free 3 videos you're putting out and just wanted to thank you for it and the videos you make. Keep it up man

Thanks for another good lesson. All of the points you mentioned are things I have found to work for me. Thanks especially for mentioning moving your toe back to the middle of the footboard, which seems for address a myriad of issues (for myself & my students). I can think of one other variable that you didn't mention, and that is whether a person is letting their heel rest between strokes (as in the constant release technique). When I rest my heel & bring my toe slightly up after a stroke, my toe acts as a damper & stops the beater from wobbling, thus preventing the accidental ghost notes. I have found this to work on even very loose spring tensions.

Nate thanks for going over this.... thumbs up

Great video! Great channel!

I've learned new ways to help my sloppy kick drum playing thanks for the pointers big N

I'm a self taught drummer, and in my 20-years of playing I've never had any bass drum issues. I quickly figured out if I put high tension on the spring, and set the beater at around 2.5 o'clock, I get the power I need, the speed I need, and none of the shin or foot splinting issues I see other drummers have. I also don't understand people's abstention of burying the beater in the head. I get a perfect punch and a lot of volume without sacrificing any notes when I play.

Setup a super thanks tab so I can send a few dollars for helping me This was great information and tips. You saved me a lot of learning time trying to figure this out on my own. If I ever would have. Thank You so much

I always teach students to not be afraid of "burying the beater". It's a much more natural feel, just don't do it too hard. It's the best way to get the timing of the notes to feel and sound better. And it really depends on what style and what volume you're playing at. Feel the music and let the vibe of what's going on lead you as far as foot technique. The reason I started teaching this way is because I would get a lot of jazz students who wanted to play more pop/r&b, etc without sounding so light. This is where I had to tell them that the real "umph" comes from playing solid, powerful, yet consistent purposeful notes on the snare and kick drum. Kick pedal power is like a firearm - it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it LOL.

all the years I've been playing I've realized like you said putting your foot in the center of the pedal will allow more rebound. Also not sitting so close to the kick helps. Another thing I found is allowing the beater to swing back and not force it against the kick drum head

This is wonderful, thank you!

Thank you!! This is so accurate

That was a freaky flashback - I played that same Barcelona kit for several years!

Great video 👍

'Accidental ghost notes'. Fck me. I asked myself 2 nights ago, how can I stop rebounding into t base after hard dubs. Fair dinkum, and here it is. Grt lesson Nate dog. 🍻✌️

Great points here 👌🏽

I'm 6'4" and being that tall creates problems for drumming altogether. In most clubs on stage you don't have the luxury of sliding the throne back or raising the seat height. Playing my kit at our own gig is never a problem. The guys in the band know I need more room than most drummers and I'm a welder so I modified my throne to go high enough. The gigs where I share a kit with 2 or more bands it gets sketchy. I never have to play more than one set of music when sharing the gig. But If I do have to play an extended time on someone elses kit, it can be a long, sub-par night. Thanks for another great and informative video. I always learn something!

I have a mental block, playing 3-4 8th notes on one consistently, my foot hesitates and locks. Before the first note.

Thanks for this Nate, the bass drum is my weak link so I’ll give it a go‼️✌️🇦🇺

I just bought the pro Trick 1 pedals have had them over a month and still making adjustments for ideal setup.

Gotta say….. after 35 years of playing, you’ve addressed the BIGGEST issue I’ve faced.

when using backline, I take my own sticks, cymbals, snare and kick pedal, my spring tension is very loose, Weckl, Buddy recommend using low tension, great for burying it hard when needed, or easy doubles

Foot resting on center of plate, beater should be an inch from the head. Excellent rule-of-thumb tip.

Ayy saw that snap of you rolling! Didn’t know you did jiu jitsu. How you getting on?

Sitting on my throne and bouncing my legs/feet into their most comfortable position, and then dragging my hi-hat pedal and kick drum pedal to where my feet have rested naturally, has had the most positive effect on removing any tension or balance issues in the lower half of my body. This is the one area where I realized i wasn't man-spreading enough, lol.

I'm 2 months into learning the drums. I did a lot of research before I started playing to learn good fundamentals from the start. I've probably took a tape measure to my kit 20 times now trying to find the perfect height for me lol. I can't seem to get away from burying the beater tho so I just play that way. Today I started learning a song with a quick double kick. I know it would be much easier for me to play if I didn't bury it. Thankfully it's not like I have years of doing it this way so I'm going to start trying to learn how not to bury the beater

I notice the b roll jamming for a lot of your videos is some sort of around the kit improvisation over a metronome (I assume?), is there a video where you break down that exercise and why it’s one you focus on a lot? It’s the one right at begging of the video.

6:00 thanx!!

Oh man, I've struggled with accidental strokes for years. I've only just recently fixed the issue. Still takes focus.

You can play even farther back on the pedal. A lot of double bass guys will play with the ball of their feet 2 or 3 inches up from the heel plate for quick ankle strokes. When you’re swinging the beater, the farther back you pull your foot the more swing the better will have the the “wider” the notes will sound. Check out David Diepold for someone who plays very far back.

Your sound is impressive

My 20 year old Eliminator, give or take, started giving me fits with unwanted ghost notes. I first tried adjusting the spring tension. Didn't help. The other multitude of adjustments didn't help either. Solution? Buy a new Red Line Eliminator. Problem solved. Still have no idea what's going on with the first. Now I'm going to sell both Eliminators because I bought a used Demon Drive to audition. I liked it so much I bought a brand new Demon Drive only black, from Japan. Forgot the feel and response of a direct drive pedal.

I never thought much of the kick drum except to get sounds I wanted out of it. Then other drummers would comment 'how do you do that with your kick' ? I always reply " I use my right foot" 😂 air of mystery is always fun.

love your videos brother, but I have to put my 2 pence worth in here. I live for doubles . I've tried every technique to try and perfect my single foot doubles. my doubles are fat and my big toe rubs against the chain . that's how far forward my foot is. I can play doubles in flip flops , barefoot or even steel toe capped boots, or 'bastards' as they are known in Wales. Point is whatever the angle of attack just keep practicing . took me about 3 years before i could pop out doubles at will . keep the vids coming dude.

Gracias

Tension is your friend

I like rebound but as a studio guy I hear great double kick notes from other drummers untill the beater starts getting buried from a long session and dampens the notes. I actually had a drummer point this out years ago while recording him we noticed during mix down the notes were not consistent Drummers with low rebound I expect the beater to get buried everytime for a consistent sound/ note. Thank goodness for studio editing software

The throw distance of the beater is a factor, as is the tension of the bass drum head.

Inch off the head... what a great rubric, especially for a player like me that has a habit of heel up smashing the crap out of the pedals a lot of the time.

Get a one piece footplate. Aka Joe Morello DW or Axis.. and move the beater up an down to suit. Spring tension medium..Simples.

You need to get Jojo Mayer’s dvd on foot technique. Check it out, it will help you

I never bury the beater is it good to learn how to do that I've been playing for quite a while now I never had a buried the beater someone give me some advice please

Nate, you still play heel up, so this is still only for those who play heel up. The difference between heel up and heel down is not just about the heel. Each method requires different mechanical actions from the leg and thus the position of the whole leg has to be considered relative to the position of the heel in each case.

I would advise anyone who wants to learn how to properly play the kick drum to check out Dave Elitch

So you messed up. What I'm not supposed to love you anymore? Not going to happen friend. Keep up the great work!

Just throwing out a thought - playing ghost notes on a snare is what we're taught and play. Why don't we play ghost notes on our kick drums? Why not both?

Intro music full clip?

Doubles with my non dominant foot is easy peasy. But double bass when I started was so freaking hard. Like trying to bounce two basketballs at once in sequence on time.

Use trick pedals way easier to adjust tension.

nice

Just call these vlogs 'Nate's Nuggets!'

I LOVE ACCIDENTAL GHOST STROKES ON THE KICK!!! Groves sound so much better.

In my humble opinion, you are sitting to close to the kit which is causing your leg to have a 'negative angle' that will already and inevitably be a source of stress and tension. Sitting further and allowing the legs to extend seem to fix this, toms can be brought in closer if that's an issue.

hey so whats the 80/20 about

How the heck! How the heck can you play with rebounce in heelup when there is the weight of your whole leg on the pedal? Do you have you foot lifted on purpose? When my foot rests naturally and means it definitely buries the beater.

At 5:41 it looks like you are sitting suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper close to the kick. I wonder if that contributed to the issues you were having.

if not playing Heel down -remind me again why is it wrong to not bury the beater? Cause the last 30 years i ve never had a problem with the bass drum or ghost notes etc and i am burying the hell out of him. Not burying the beater {in my book} is for heel down usually jazz players.

Uhhh ,pedals are mechanical! I started as a kid with a early 60,s Rogers Swervomatic!!! I stayed with that straight board pedal to this day!! I can pull trips with it!!! An aside,, Buddy played the same pedal until he died ! It didn',t matter what drum company was sponsoring him!!! He played the Swervomatic!! It,s biggest down side is the leather strap! Gotta find spares in case it breaks!

Think of your leg the same way as you do your arm when you’re playing singles your stroke changes when you play doubles you doing a different motion all together. I use much more wrist and focus on locking the stick in with the pinkey. Doubles and everything else is a matter finger manipulation. Where the beater is more of a drop of the whole leg from the hip where is quick doubles the leg is hovering balancing on your tail bone and 90% ankle so you’re constantly making adjustments. Play a grove where the base crescendos and decrescendos. Heal down focusing on controlling when you want to bury and tap. building to max volume with heal down then switch to the leg drop beater bury. Now your hip stays relatively locked your ankle is warmed up for its doubles work out. As soon as you start to fail then go back to the single beater bury and then back to heal down and give your leg a rest. Do several reps. Keep you hands on auto pilot and the pulse in the hats controlling the volume of the chick (heal up) and splash (heal down) independent of the volume of the base. It’s an exercise to see how many variety of sounds you can make and how you can control the volume versus just pure speed and power. Now you’re ready to play with any kick pedal with any tension. I think your problem is at you’re a beater is way too close to the drum head I have the beat her back at almost a 45 or where I could see the face of the beater if I were to just look at it. So now when you depress the peddle so the beater is in the 1 inch from the head position YOU FOOT IS STUCK TO THE PEDDLE. Now do your doubles with your ankle only. When your leg gets tired bury the peddle to rest the hip flexor for a couple bars. Focus on balancing on your tailbone and hovering that leg while your ankle goes crazy. Watch Jojos doubles and see where his beater is at rest to see what I mean.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E93sLV6FqRw.html

I think this accidental ghost note thing is commonly known as “bass drum fluttering”!

Never knew Sheldon played drums bazinga!!

This is probably a gatekeeper take but yeah, i completely agree that part of playing comfortably and relaxed is spring tension and angles and everything. That being said, im always a believer of you dont adjust the spring tension on someone elses pedal unless ya ask - and even then, just bring your own at that point. Ill always say every drummer has to bring their own sticks, pedals, and cymbals. I'd like to sayi snare too but i can let someone else play it as long as they're not a caveman basher (i am one too but i know how to get insane volume without denting heads and everything)

My problem comes from years of my foot buried in the injector pump of my truck..... Just saying

Pants dude

For all my drum buddies, drink plenty of water, once gout kicks in. Is no joy.

As great as a drummer as you are, I feel like playing at so many tiny NYC clubs has given you a skewed view of drums.

5 :15 im sorry but all I see is go go ga ga

reported spam in your comments that was masquerading as you.

Hard to watch

bla bla bla bla bla

In had to give up, you cut out your breathing, I could not breathe. Hectic, hektic faster faster. I did'nt even reach the point. But who cares.