Drum Lesson: Kick Drum Exercises #2

[morrisman64]

what kinda of pedal are u using?

[Mauroz19]

Great! But where is this lesson? It is in a your DVD? Why i'm buying all course...Thanks and sorry for my uncorrect English!

[daveclarkdrums]

@Mauroz19 Hi. This lesson isn't from my DVD - it's just for YouTube.

[lilcarubba]

benny greb much?

[daveclarkdrums]

@lilcarubba Hi. Only discovered Benny this year, and it seems we have some similar ideas. His DVD is definitely worth a look.

[jojogcontact]

Great video! Quick question, I'm trying to get a basic kit: High hat, snare, and base drum with the kick pedal (no toms or symbols). Any ideas on the cost of a kit like that? What brand is yours, it looks more portable than most base drums.

[daveclarkdrums]

@jojogcontact G'day. The bass drum I'm using is a 20x14 Ludwig Classic Maple. It's a great size. The snare is a 14x5 Pearl Virgil Donati signature. Most manufacturers will make a 20" kick, but sometimes they only have them in deeper sizes. Price really depends on where you are in the world and what brand you go for. That particular kick cost me about $1000 US 2 years ago.

[DamnCadies]

He's doing fat-back exercises - everyone should check them out. I haven't met a drummer who hasn't benefited from them yet.

[fipoch]

Thanks for the video! Can you someday post a tutorial on how you tune your drums? They sound very great especially the bass drum!

[daveclarkdrums]

@fipoch G'day. Planning to do more videos soon. Thanks for your comments.

[herrxav]

What are those hihats? Paiste Sound Formula?

[daveclarkdrums]

@herrxav Correct! Paiste Sound Formula Medium-Heavy Hats. 14". very clean, crisp hats.

[cmsavage]

Thanks for this video. Will have to try some of the techniques. I have a hard time loosening up my bass drum foot to do the double kick sound. But I'm hoping that I will be able to do these!

[BrightenHite]

the 1st beat is that Brainstew from greenday?

[daveclarkdrums]

@BrightenHite Good pick up. That's the thing about these type of exercises - you end up learning the beats to heaps of songs without even realising it.

[BrightenHite]

@daveclarkdrums haha yeah, great lesson! thanks :)

[matsutakneatche]

great lesson, thx.

[atedj]

What did you put in your bass drum?...any suggestions

[daveclarkdrums]

@atedj A blanket is good as you can move it around easily. Pillows work well, or maybe just some old clothes. I try not to put too much stuff in there as it can choke the sound.

[lukekelly96]

you seem to be missing more than half of your drums man

[Betotube18]

You look like a combination between Rafael Márquez and Andrés Iniesta LOL

[daveclarkdrums]

@Betotube18 Thanks...I think!

[truebolt]

why does your left leg move and does that help in any kind of timing?

[daveclarkdrums]

@truebolt Yep. Looks like you've answered your own question. It's not necessarily a conscious thing, but I think it's important to move with the music. Some people nod their head, or bounce a bit - I move my leg!

[TioVouche]

Thank you dude, it was very helpful.

:-)

[Rimshot247]

I take the plastic lid off a laundry soap container and cut the rim off, it fits perfectly over a standard felt beater and gives it more punch!.

[oscwildle1]

i watched this just to hear your kick drum and it was exactly what i was looking for!!! i love that there is a nice BOOM to the kick. i'm trying to find how to make my 20" sound as big as possible. any suggestions as far heads and tuning? Thank you

[daveclarkdrums]

@oscwildle1 I tune both batter and resonant heads fairly loose (resonant a fraction tighter than batter). I use minimal dampening - just an old rug in this one I think. Batter head is a Remo coated Powerstroke 3, reso is the stock Ludwig front skin.

[XxStrongDrums1996xX]

@oscwildle1 Put a Powerstroke 4 drum head from Remo on there. Tune it so that the wrinkles in the head are gone, then bring it up about a quarter turn. Put a coated ambassador on the resonant side of the drum (or any medium weight single ply head. For a bigger sound, don't use a port) and tune it to the same pitch as the batter head, and then bring it up about 2 quarter turns. If you really wanna go big, do what I do. Tune the resonant head to the timbre of the shell.

[mafiouso]

feels like i have a brain injury trying to get my body to work interdependently

[AlterBridgefanc]

Very good lesson.You should add notation too,it's quite hard to understand for beginner.

[daveclarkdrums]

@AlterBridgefanc G'day. Notation can be found on my website, daveclarkdrums

[SessileNomad]

i actually liek the sound of that kick

[GenericNintendoKid]

the pedal of your dw 5000 is on backward.

[daveclarkdrums]

@GenericNintendoKid G'day. Do you mean the beater? You can use the felt or plastic side of the DW beaters. I tend to use the plastic, as it gives a punchier, more defined sound.

[godwithus333]

How to I stop the tendency to hit the kick the same time I drop my right hand? It seems like a mental think.

[c0d3x001]

@godwithus333 try to play some linear stuff... play slow "easy grooves " where you don't hit the kick and snare together with the hihat but hit every note on it's own like kick-hat-snare-hat-kick-hat-sn­are-hat etc... when you get used to that play harder grooves like with multiple kicks and play the easy ones at a higher tempo...that's gonna help you

[slipknot8maggotfan]

what muffling is used for the bass?

[daveclarkdrums]

@slipknot8maggotfan Just an old towel. The kick doesn't come across very well in this video, which is a pity as it's about Kick drum exercises. The Kick is a 20x14 Ludwig classic maple and actually has a really nice, dark punchy sound.

[jamesyavalon]

sounds like you need to vent your bass drum mate.

[daveclarkdrums]

@jamesyavalon It's just the YouTube compression. The kick has a hole in it. Sounded fine before I uploaded it.

[crosswiretv]

snare sounds great! what kind of snare/head/mic is that?

[daveclarkdrums]

@crosswiretv Snare is a Pearl Virgil Donati Signature (14x5), snare head is a Remo Coated Controlled Sound and the mic is a Shure Beta 57. Cheers.

[johnnnyhart]

what kind of bass drum batter head is that? powerstroke 3 maybe?

[daveclarkdrums]

@johnnnyhart Correct. A coated Powerstroke 3. The kick is 14" x 20".

[ninjahotdogsful]

DAVIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD­DDDDDDD guess who this is...

[kyjellyish]

Thank you for all the help a while back. My playing has taken off.

[yuckyteeth]

are you using the slide technique at all in this video or just hitting the 2 consecutive bass drum notes like you would normally hit them? because i find that i use the slide technique sometimes when i dont hit bass drum notes at the same time as my right hand (which is hitting the hihat) and i want to improve my bass drum control because my legs get tired

[briangm91]

hey my drum teacher always says my bass drumming is too loud. but if i try to soften it out it become uncomfortable u have any suggestions??

[daveclarkdrums]

@briangm91 I guess it's all about having a balanced sound. Maybe your snare is too soft? My personal preference is to "punch" the bass drum (as described in my other kick drum lesson). This helps your sound have more definition and not as much "boom". You might want to have a look at your posture as well to make sure you're not "falling" onto the kick.

[daveclarkdrums]

@briangm91 Are you "digging in" to the bass drum? If so, you could try "punching" it. Maybe try a softer beater?

[suerandy112]

what is the black thing on ur snare drum

[daveclarkdrums]

@suerandy112 It's "moongel" and it dampens the snare drum - a bit like gaffa tape except much easier to remove. It's great for recording and different venues where the acoustics change.

[ocdp27]

@suerandy112 A candy bar :3

[kyjellyish]

how do you make your hand not sync up with your foot? do you have a video?

[daveclarkdrums]

@kyjellyish G'day. I assume you are trying to add a note on your kick drum inbetween hi-hats? If so, try the exercise REALLY slowly. Concentrate on the bit that is causing you trouble and repeat it. I don't have a specific video on this, but stay tuned!

[mitmar8]

ok thanks :))) is it a good pedal? and by the way your videos really helped me :)))))

[daveclarkdrums]

@mitmar8 DW5000 is a good kick pedal for sure. It's been a top selling model for years. I now have a Pearl Demon-drive and it's great, but I'm hanging on to the DW as well.

[mitmar8]

what's your pedal? :))

[daveclarkdrums]

@mitmar8 It's a DW 5000 - an older model from the 1990s (I bought it second hand as a double, but really only use it as a single).

[bcc1218]

I'm a fairly new drummer, one thing that is keeping me from learning a lot of songs and other techniques is i cant keep a steady beat wit the hi hat and snare and then play the bass drum faster without speeding up my hi hat beat, therefore its holding me back from a lot of other and better things..any suggestions?

[daveclarkdrums]

My first suggestion is to slow everything down...and I mean SLOW. Try and place each note exactly where it should be. You'll need to be patient, but it "trains your brain" to become familiar with each combination. Also, try practicing the tricky bit of any exercise - just one count, or even half a count to get each combo right. Stick at it!

[renz105]

does the head of the kick really is in that way? the hard side is the one hitting the bass or the opposite side? i think that's the reason it is creating a weird sound.?

[daveclarkdrums]

Sorry? Not sure I understand what you're saying.

[gabe562]

Why does the bass drum sound so strange?

[daveclarkdrums]

Not sure what you mean, but I agree that it is a bit low in the mix.

[gabe562]

Its not even a thud. It sounds like a reverse sound of the bass drum. Like a whoosh sound instead of a boom. Like sucking in air. How do you not hear that?

[daveclarkdrums]

I think the video has been compressed so much that the kick does have a weird sound. Hope you still get the idea of the lesson.

[paraquemolestarseenp]

Thanks, very useful.

[persini]

Great as alwayss, cheers bro!

[SuperChuck3]

Thats really cool actually, great gear you got there too

[kwakyy90]

Nice!