From the course: Drum Set Lessons: On the Beaten Path
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Basic foot technique
From the course: Drum Set Lessons: On the Beaten Path
Basic foot technique
- Now we're gonna talk about foot technique, and there's essentially two common foot techniques, heel-up and heel-down. On the heel-up technique, you're doing exactly what it sounds like, you're lifting your heel-up, and you're playing the bass drum beater with the toe and the ball of your foot. So, heel-up sounds like this. (bass drum beats lightly) Okay the other technique is heel-down, and that's putting your entire foot on the bass drum pedal, and swinging the beater that way. (bass drum beats lightly) Now you can use these two techniques interchangeably, and I think most drummers actually do. I know when I play quiet, I like doing the heel-down technique, I get better control. For things like jazz and soft passages, I like heel-down. For rock and louder bass drum parts, I like playing with my heel-up. So both of these techniques are totally valid, totally interchangeable, you should really learn them both and get comfortable with both. And that'll give you the widest dynamic…
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