Jesse's Drums Lessons: Double Kick Philosophy

[CWMlolzlz]

thanks for the insight. I just got a double kick for christmas and im keen to take it further than just playing straight fast cramming.

[ryukintakeda]

I agree with everything you said. No problem there. Good philosophy, I support it. Your actual technique is pretty weird though. You sit VERY close to your bass drum and it puts your ankles at a very poor playing angle. Also, You need to release the beater off the head much like you talk about releasing the stick off the drum. Burying the beater on double kick passages is really hampering your sound and likely your endurance. Not that everything needs constant double kick... but you never know

[JazzzRockFuzion]

@ryukintakeda Thank you for your comments and input! A couple things:

1) I sit relatively close to my kit because it puts everything within comfortable, ergonomic reach. If you notice, I also sit relatively high (i'm 6' tall), so my playing angle is perfectly comfortable, despite what it may appear to you.

[ryukintakeda]

@JazzzRockFuzion Continued: Flo Mounier uses some kind of weird slappy thing in his video but otherwise everything he says is great. George Kollias uses some weird heel swing thing, but also everything else he says is similarly great. They are much better than I am. They have their quirks but all the core ideas are the same.

[JazzzRockFuzion]

@ryukintakeda 2) I'm of the mind that releasing the beater between every kick is a matter of context (dynamics and speed)... Keep in mind that most kick drum heads are tuned VERY loosely...they don't offer the precise rebound of a snare or tom. Therefore, keeping the feet 'planted' between kicks actually gives you more control and precision in the end. I've never had endurance or 'sound hampering issues'. In fact, I get regular compliments at metal shows for playing even and NOT using triggers.

[ryukintakeda]

@JazzzRockFuzion Once again we agree. Not trying to put you down or anything. I also do not use triggers and people have often refused to believe it in a live context. I think acoustic sounds better in everything other than extremely fast technical death metal. I am also 6'2" so I know what its like to have long legs too. check out these 1-VjuOTctdM & iMGqhYVwOJA

[JazzzRockFuzion]

@ryukintakeda I checked out your Floating Double Kick tutorial (which was great btw), and we essentially play in an identical fashion, my friend! :) I have to point out that you also leave the kick beater 'planted' inn-between slower strokes, which is exactly what I (and most drummers like Portnoy, Donati and Lang) do. You may be confused by my sandals here, which aren't hugging my heels, hence creating an 'optical illusion' as you watch.

[tricky12321]

thats why triggers were invented haha

[MrWolfboy234]

soz youre good on snare how long do you pratice a day???

[percrussion]

I hope soccerdanny's kidding. You're completely right about everything you mentioned. I notice when guys play, they use their entire legs to play double kick. After I watched the Dave Weckl videos I really got into his philosophy of doing the least amount of work possible while playing drums, and that's why hes so smooth. I also think many drummers don't look at the bass drum as an instrument, they just see it as a sound. You don't go about hitting the hi-hat the same way you hit the snare drum.

[Awesomenessocity123]

Mandles.

[loss7y]

i love the set up.. the toms really close and low the the snare :D

[chaoticfirearm]

Thanks for the video man, I'm definitely going to try being more smooth and less tense with my playing. Much appreciated.

[Lundgrendrums]

I think that your philosophy about double kicking is absolutly right. If you practice in a relaxed tempo that feels right, the fast kicking will come automaticlly after a wile!

[soccerdanny619]

awesome job the way

[soccerdanny619]

was the first solo thing u played blink 182? 2:04

[JazzzRockFuzion]

@soccerdanny619

Actually, it wasn't based on a specific tune or drummer...it was just an example that I played off the top of my head. It's the type of fill that has been used by a ton of different players in different applications- something most drummers can recognize and relate to.

[soccerdanny619]

@JazzzRockFuzion o ok =)