Bass drum

A bass drum, also known as a kick drum, is a large, heavy drum that produces a "thump" of low but indefinite pitch. It is used in orchestral music, marching music, and throughout 20th century popular music as a component of the drum set.

Double bass

In some forms of jazz, rock, hardcore punk and many forms of heavy metal music, particularly thrash metal, power metal, and death metal, two bass drum pedals are used, one operated by each foot. Originally two tuned bass drums were used for this, but a double pedal on the same drum using an extension mechanism (see illustration) is now more common, although in a live show nearly all metal bands use two bass drums, as having two bassdrums is visually more striking. Some drummers have also experimented with two different bass drum tunings, sometimes combining this with double beaters so as to have more than two pedals.

Related Topics:
Jazz - Rock - Hardcore punk - Heavy metal music - Thrash metal - Power metal - Death metal

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With two feet playing bass drum, many of the techniques of snare drum playing (such as rudiments and rolls) can be performed on the bass. Double bass drum techniques were pioneered by Louie Bellson in the 1950s and popularised in the 1960s by Ginger Baker of Cream and Keith Moon of the Who. In certain types of metal, the drummer plays a constant stream of rapid-fire notes on the bass drum, and the ability to play evenly at extremely high tempos is prized (as exemplified by Canadian band Eudoxis whose bass drums measured six feet in length).

Related Topics:
Snare drum - Rolls - Louie Bellson - 1950s - 1960s - Ginger Baker - Cream - Keith Moon - The Who - Eudoxis

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Some metal bands have turned to using triggers, although this practice is greatly frowned upon by fans or drummers that do not understand that the trigger is merely a sensor that produces a certain sound assigned from a sound module once the head has been struck by the drummer's foot or stick. It does not make a player faster or slower, and if anything, it forces the drummer to actually play more precisely as mistakes are way more easy to discern.

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There are various reasons why triggers are advantageous; they are easy to maintain and one can always have the desired sound at any time, and they are almost essential if somebody plays doublekick, for it is impossible to tune two bass drums to the same note, since no drum is ever identical as the other (not even in case of same brand, model and dimensions), which is also the reason why many players prefer using a double pedal instead.

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Wheter the drum is struck softly or heavily, the signal produced by the transducer will always be at a constant volume. Whilst in some cases this is desirable in a death metal band, where the use of dynamics is less needed, it is not in a different setting such as jazz or fusion music. Many bands (such as the Australians The Berzerker) use drum machines to obtain impossible bass drum speeds for human legs (although they actually use a drummer in a live situation), but this practice is not well received by fans and musicians who consider it cheating.

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The most common method of doublekick playing is a "heel-up" technique: the pedals are struck with the ball of the feet using force primarily from the thigh as opposed to the ankles when using the "heel-down" technique. Most drummers play single strokes, although there are many who are also capable of playing doubles or paradiddles.

Related Topics:
Thigh - Ankle - Paradiddle

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A more difficult method is the "heel and toe" technique: the foot is suspended above the footboard of the pedal and the first note is played with the heel. The foot snaps up, the heel comes off the footboard, and the toes come down for a second stroke. This method is much more difficult and tiring than running. However, once mastered it allows the player to lay down very rapid rolls on the bass drum. Noted players include Derek Roddy, Nicholas Barker, Tim Waterson, Danny Carey and Flo Mounier. The technique is commonly used in death metal and other extreme forms of music, but there are musicians such as Thomas Lang or Virgil Donati that employ it for various styles and are also capable of performing impressively complicated solos on top of an ostinato bassdrum pattern. Lang has actually mastered the "heel and toe" to the extent that he is also able to play dynamically with the bassdrum and to perform all kinds of rudimental stuff with his feet.

Related Topics:
Derek Roddy - Nicholas Barker - Tim Waterson - Danny Carey - Flo Mounier - Virgil Donati - Ostinato - Feet

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Many drummers use a drop-clutch mechanism in order to disengage the top hi-hat and free both feet while double bass playing. This results in the hi-hat producing a closed sound until the hi-hat foot is available. The mechanism is disabled by fully pressing on the hi-hat pedal again. Another solution to produce close hi-hat sounds is by mounting an X-hat on the kit, thus leaving the main hi-hat for the open sounds.

Related Topics:
Hi-hat

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