Best drummer I’ve seen do this technique is Jimmy Chamberlain from Smashing Pumpkins. When it’s combined with ghost notes like he does, the sound is so full and groovy
I’ve been mostly heel down, but after watching this definitely going to give it a try. I’m also a heel down kick drum player, so it’s nice to see someone promoting that too 👍
Very helpful lesson , thanks! I really appreciate your deep dive into the small details of weight on pedal, shoes, the small nuances of getting the exact sound wanted, etc. Just having a better sense of what’s possible and desirable is encouraging. Thanks again - you’re a terrific teacher. ☮️🙏🥁🎶
I agree with changing foot position as the speed increases. If you want nice slow, smooth open/closed HHs you probably want heel down. Even at fast tempos with only occasional opens, it seems easier. It looks like I play with a floating foot which allows easy position changing. Sweet child of mine intro++ yeah I'm stomping on it to get a really heavy chck sound on the close. I often use my hh like a second bass pedal so I can play it the same. I keep my hh's slither thin apart most the time, with minimal tilt
Hi Stephen. Watched your video on HH foot heel up. Put in to practice over the weekend and FINALLY, my hi hats sound like they should do. Many thanks and keep up the great work.
@Stephen Clark this is the best ever. As a new drummer, trying to master the drums is difficult enough. But for me, add in disabling nerve damage and it gets even harder. There are so many "tips" and "lessons" on YT but, your's are always the best. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all this varying content. However, you always provide clear instructions on the fundamentals. Someday I will can do this! Lol!
Knowing which type of shoe and what characteristics you are looking for from it is an under-discussed thing. Love to hear you talk about why you always wear the slippers. Neil Peart always wore the dance shoes until his later years.
1st year beginner, Roland TD-17 with the VH-10 HH. I struggle to play the chicks in the song "Transmission" by Joy Division on time, well now I know why, of course I play heel down, plus my left foot has been kinda slacking during the first couple of month. Will try the heel up approach
Ahh .. the footwear dispute. I come from (church) organ and there too are two major and one minor fractions: one plays in special shoes (slim and with a heel), one play barefoot ... and I am part of the third, which plays in socks. So I am used to it and it works just fine for the drums too. And there are a few exotic ones, too. I have seen a picture of a French lady which has to be quite famous because she is/was organist at a French cathedral ... and used to play in High heels! Hard to imagine doing a sideways heel-toe walk with that. Maybe I have seen some female drummers do that too? I don't remember ...
Stephen, I put your name out there with Rob Brown. I hope your not mad but between you and him I've progressed so much. Maybe you guys could work to bridge the gap between new and experienced drumming. You both are great!
Great lesson! Concerning the dilemma hihats close to you = uncomfortable for your feet: I indeed switched to a hihat stand which can be tilted. Sure, it comes with additional costs. But it was worth it. Before I was not able to achieve a comfy feel with a regular "straight" hihat stand.
hey stephen! im a left handed drummer but i set p my kit the traditional way n play open handed...so i play my kick drum heel up n my hihats heel down...following your example i played my kick with heel down n it felt pretty comfortable n easy to play but muscle memory kept bringing my heel back up when i wasnt paying attention or when i wanted to do something harder that ive always done heel down...but yeah obviously if i keep practicing heel down thatll go away...the problem with the idea of playing the hihat heel up is then ill lose balance completely...heel up bass n heel down hihat im balanced...heel down kick n heel down hihat im balanced...so i guess what i need to work on is switching my feet huh...cuz now i play kick heel up hihat heel down...so yeah ill practice switching my feet up n see how it goes...cuz i cant play hihats heel up when im playing my kick heel up that just makes me loose balance completely...thanks for all the non glamorous lessons ur great!
Hi, again a great lesson!!! Thanks for the advice on position of the hi hat compared to snare and its height above it, I was always wondering about that. And then the impro at 14:35, it struck me! Is this from a song? Again, thanks. Really cool
Ive been pretty happy lately with where ive gotten my heel toe and slide technique on the bass drum so i thought i should start actually focusing on keeping time more with my hi hat pedal. So far ive been playing heel down and im starting to realize how much of my balance relies on that foot staying heel down. So now ive decided to learn to play heel up until its as comfortable or more than heel down then i can decide which is best or use both simultaneously as i do with slide and heel toe on the bass drum. Anyone who read this far, do you think having a super stable drum throne is necessary? Ive been using modified barstools cause i prefer them to my budget thrown and while they are reasonably stable im certain a decent quality throne
I'm hi hat heel down, but my coordination is very much a work in progress. If I try heel up I feel like I'm about to fall off my throne totally lacking a sense of balance.
The throne is the most untalked about thing. I need a new one cuz I realize mine is creating a weird posture and I've had it for years and more recently come to the realisation that it's holding me back in a lot of ways.my ass is seated weird and it's making me sit more on the edge but it's making my bass drum foot weird
@@NintenDub I'm beginning to think the throne is my issue too, the round throne feels like I'm falling off if I'm not heel down. Granted, I came back to drumming after like a 6 year hiatus so I'm def rusty
Thanks! I feel like switching to heel up on the hi hat is helping. However, it gets really difficult for me to keep the left heel bouncing at quarter notes to keep time during grooves around 125+ bpm. Do you recommend more practice or at this tempo would you switch to half note bouncing?
I find it somewhat inconsistent. For your right foot you argue in another video that you can play soft and loud, all speeds, all heel down, and that it is just a matter of muscle building. On your left foot you argue you can not play fast or loud with heel down? Why is there a difference? I'm a beginner, and I struggle with my balance when playing right foot heel down and left foot heel up. And also coordination: I find it challenging to coordinate left and right foot so that they both "hit" at the same time, because foot movement is different.
