DANNY FARRANT

This is one of the beats i’m working on for a very exciting project. Keep folowing and watch it develop.

When the bass drum beater strikes the bass drum, it will do one of the following two things,

1. Bounce quickly away from the bass drum head after producing a clean, single hit.
2. ‘Bury’ itself into the head of the bass drum where it stays untill the next strike.

In my opinion and experience, the first outcome is more desirable for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sooner the bass drum beater leaves the head then the more the head is free to vibrate. This results in more volume and a deeper tone as the head isn’t being choked as it is when the beater is ‘buried’. It takes less energy to return the beater to the rest position than it does to ‘Bury’ the beater into the bass drum head and keep it there until the next strike. Energy saving is good. It means you can play for longer without fatigue.

It is common for beginners to ‘bury the beater’ into the bass drum head as it seems the easier way to begin with. I did this when i started playing drums and kept it up for 20 years or so until I found I was using too much force and energy which lead to my being in pain for the next day after each show.

After three weeks of hard playing on the road with Spear of Destiny one tour I finally realised that Ihad to make a change and out of neccesity started applying the ‘one clean’ hit then rest approach. The pain instantly dissappeared and i now find it easy to achieve enough volume and stamina to get through whole tours with Buzzcocks without any trouble and even earned the nickname Danny ‘Canonball’ Farrant with one band i sit in with on account of my thunderous Kick technique! Not the fastest but loud enough to get heard when there are no monitors or side fills to support you.

With a little knowledge of the LIFT, PUSH, REST technique then there is no reason why you shouldn’t learn the ‘one clean hit then rest’ method of playing kick drum from the very beginning. Having said that, i’ve seen plenty of players who make the ‘Bury the beater’ method work for them, including Steve Jordan who is one of my personal favourites.

The thing to do is exercise a little trial and error. Experiment until you find the ways that work best for you and the music you want to play.

To play the Bass Drum confidently you need to know two basic methods.

1. Heel down. Heel down uses tapping motions.
2. Heel up. Heel up method uses stamping motions.

Quick way to understanding both methods (no bass drum pedal needed).

1. Heel down.
Place your ‘playing foot’ flat on the floor in front of you.
Tap your foot up and down as if you are tapping along to music.
Keep your heel down on the floor throughout.

2. Heel up.
Place your ‘playing foot’ flat on the floor in front of you.
Whilst keeping the ball of your foot on the ground, raise your leg so as your heel lifts about 1 inch off the floor.
Stamp your heel back down lightly.
Repeat.

Heel up or Heel down?
In my opinion it’s better to learn Heel down or ‘flat foot’ first as it is slightly easier. You can progress to Heel up when you’re ready for patterns that require more speed or power. However,you should definitely learn both methods as they are good for different situations and will give you more options. In general, Heel down is used for controlled, quieter playing as opposed to Heel up which will help you achieve more speed and power.

Heel down is sometimes known as flat footed technique.
Heel up is sometimes called playing with the toe.

Find the ‘REST POSITION’.
Both basic methods (Heel down and Heel up) begin with the ‘Rest Position’. Here is how to find it.
Sit on your drum stool and place your ‘playing foot’ Straight and flat on the footplate your bass drum pedal.
Relax your leg and your foot.
The place where your foot feels most comfortable is the Rest Position.

The ‘Lift, Push and Rest’ sequence.
Both the Heel down and Heel up methods use the Lift, Push and Rest sequence.
Lift the toe or heel to prepare the strike.
Push to make the strike.
Rest to end the sequence and wait for the next hit.

Instructions for how to play bass drum hits using the Heel Down method.
Place your foot Straight and flat on the Footplate of your bass drum pedal and find the rest position.
Lift your toes whilst keeping your Heel down.
Push your foot down so as the Beater strikes the bass drum once.
Return your foot to the Rest Position as quickly as possible.

Instructions for how to play bass drum hits using the Heel up method.
Place your foot Straight and flat on the Footplate of your bass drum pedal and find the rest position.
Lift your Heel about an inch off the Backplate whilst keeping the ball of your foot connected to the Footplate.
Push your heel back down so as to force the Beater to fly forward and strike the bass drum.
Return your foot to the Rest Position as quickly as possible.

Instructions for playing Bass drum hits with no time to rest between.
When the rhythm you are playing is too fast for resting between hits, then all you do is make the Lift followed by the Push and find the Rest when a big enough space occurs.
Two quick hits becomes
LIFT, PUSH, LIFT, PUSH, REST.

Remember
The LIFT motion is to prepare the PUSH which becomes the strike. If there is time then return to the REST POSITION so as to save energy and avoid unnecessary tension.

I saw this nutter as I was drinking a hot chocolate in a cafe while on tour in South America with the Buzzcocks.

This is a short video to teach you how to play a simple two-step beat that can be used for everything from punk to funk.

We made this in a studio in Bristol and came up with a new way of notating drum beats.   Would love to get your feedback on this and your ideas of how it could be developed for more complex rhythms.

Here is a link to a recent interview I did with Travis Marc of UKDrummer.