Drumming

I like to Drum, I will need to continue the blog again now that I have a job. Welcome to a musicians world, $$$ = I can play my drums! Wahoo. This is one of the most unintelligible posts I have ever had. But it is a reality for this double bass drummer.

Feet-a-diddle VS. Para diddle

So what the heck is the difference between a feet-a-diddle and a para diddle, well seeming how RLRR and LRLL are still directions it is technically still a para diddle. Why do these help with your feet though? I understand independence, the more things you can do with your feet the more your beets you can play naturally. One thing that I found, is I get a different sound when I do a RLRR pattern instead of going RLRL with my feet, doing a double pattern with your lead foot may be more consistent then ending on your weaker foot. So in an instrument such as double bass and drums, where anything goes if it is sound that can be recorded on time, why the heck not. Also if you do double taps, you don't always have to do a clean para diddle, but just end a double tap, so RL RR with the RR being a double tap. The double tap can be done with a heel toe method or just a double tap. Don't know what the exact name for it is but I call it when a punk drummer is trying to sound fast on single bass. Lotta double tapping going on. So try it out, don't just continue to think that playing everything RLRLRL is going to get you through the world. I learned the hard way, I bought a drum book that had some double bass in it, I spent about 1 minute looking through it and it reminded me to try stuff with different feet patterns. The only way you will ever find out what it does, is by actually doing it. So don't be lazy, grab the metronome and practice your diddles, but also different alternating sticking and footing patterns for double bass.

Best kind of practice?

What is the best kind of practice? There are so many different ways that you can practice the drums, and all apply to double bass drumming. Then again you can spend the next 50 years on something and still never completely master everything. It seems to me that practicing the basics are always essential, but then again, Ill take luck over skill any day. It is not uncommon for certain people to have better body and muscle structure than others which cause an unfair advantage in different areas. (unfair because I am neither short nor tall, average can be annoying at times:)) Anything can be learned by muscle memory but as in much of life, certain things come more naturally to other people. Nothing has ever come natural for me with drums,so crossing whatever works with basics, how can you go wrong? Double bass is basically opening up your feet to play like your hands do, so you can accomplish several beats and combinations you never would have been able to. Practicing off the set is good, but real life practice is the best? Cannot really say, what works for you? I often believe that some people are just more gifted, Neil Peart from Rush was self taught, Buddy Rich said he never practiced, he just played, so it seems that words are the biggest constraint. Do what works and call it what you want, as long as you are having fun and achieve what you are trying to than it doesn't matter. Double bass must be practiced to sound good and tight, I am still very sloppy with certain patterns and have spent a significant amount of time trying to perfect. If the basics were done right I shouldn't have that problem, so practice can make you worse, so don't practice the wrong things over and over again. Ha ha! Coming from experience, make sure your pedals operate the same, if not you can be slowly building up the wrong muscles to fail you.