This weeks tip is specifically for double bass. Its about
Using your, Odd foot.
What do I mean by that? I refer to the, Odd foot as the foot you use for your hi hat and double bass patterns. The thing is, most drummers only use their Odd foot when they are playing double bass. I disagree. I use my, Odd foot to play single bass patterns as well. I do this for two very important reasons.
One: Both feet should hit the bass drums with the same amount of attack and impact as well. If one foot is hitting a bass drum weaker than the other, the double bass patterns will sound lopsided.
Two: When playing a set (especially live) its important to keep both feet warmed up so that when the double bass patterns come, your feet can attack them equally. Think about it. Youre using your primary foot through each and every song. The blood is flowing through all the muscles in that area, the tendons are warmed up and by the end of the first song, that foot is ready for anything. However, what about your odd foot? With the exception of a double bass part, your odd foot mainly stays on the hi-hat pedal and thats where it is likely to stay until a double bass part comes up. The muscles and tendons are not even close to the primary foot when it comes to being warmed up. How can someone expect to shoot right into a fast and/or long double bass part when one foot is not as prepared as the other is? Remember, long and fast double bass parts are not so much technique, as they are stamina! So whats the solution?
When Im playing songs that have a simple beat (usually during a guitar solo) I will switch over to my odd foot. Ill switch back and forth during a song as it works best for me. Again, its always a simple beat when I do this. Heres an example:
During the song, Angel of Death while I was playing with Slayer, I would employ this technique in the solo part. For those of you that know the song will understand better. The drum part during the solo is a simple kick/snare beat. The solo is broken up into roughly four parts with each part having four measures. I would play one part (four measures) with my primary foot and the next with my odd foot. I repeated this twice during the solo. This would warm my odd foot up for the infamous Double bass solo and by using my odd foot this way, I nailed that part every night!
Something else I should note is that when I am using my odd foot in this situation and a drum fill comes up at the end of a measure, I will switch to my primary foot for any bass drum hits in the fill. This just works best for me.
I really swear by this technique! Try it out and attack with conviction!
J
