Fast Double Bass Lesson | Ankle Technique Drum Tutorial

[@OrminOrminsson]

Nice video! This ankle technique has driven me crazy over the last 2 years!

[@ale_drummer]

Thanks for your work you're doing for the drum community🙏🏻 You helped a lot of us!

[@Demonxdaddy]

I just subscribed to your channel. very clean playing

[@Pfidcharuc77Cuz]

I've been practicing seriously for a year now. I've seen this video last year, and found the technique too difficult, so I've followed the easy path of full leg. Now at 120-130 I'm experiencing some pain, mostly on the side of the left leg (peroneus longus for the chiroprtators here lol). I watched the video again yesterday, and boy what a difference!! I can finally feel some smoothing warmth on the back, I have way more control. I know it sounds ridiculus, only had been 2 days. I'm glad I've been practicing another technique before, it allowed me to feel my legs and prepare them for this ankle technique. I finally understand this motion. I feel now I can easily reach higher tempos with more control. Very helpful, danke schön!!

[@seansethi196]

For anyone who has purchased the bass drumming course, and currently in week 2 after restarting on my fourth time, I recommend taking about one or two weeks before the course just to learn with the ankle technique motion. Learning the movement means you have to go really slow, much slower than the first week’s exercises which will be out of reach. This is especially important if you already have developed years of training using another method, it is very hard to unlearn right away. I am happy to say that I am finally seeing results in speed, power and consistency on my second week. Looking forward to 200 bpm in a few months!

[@YodaMan-420]

i dont think ive ever seen a lesson on muscle groups before. this gave me more information, and showed me i was doing a lot wrong. thank you!

[@edwincatacutan5277]

Marthyn, you are the real MVP! Wunderbar

[@KBStickEm]

Marthyn Jovanovic... The Albert Einstein of double bass!!!

[@savitelseofficial7751]

Thank you marthyn

[@zeekwargnarok5030]

Thank you for this video! Very helpful!

[@drumtechniqueacademy]

Awesome 🙏

[@DavidGonzalez-tz7qm]

Thanks Martin!!! Great video

[@drumtechniqueacademy]

🙏🙏

[@picklesthedrummer6772]

Just replaced the chains on my Pearl pedals with the blue heavy straps-i feel like it was a good choice! Great videos as always

[@douchebagginsmctalibancock2510]

Any experience with direct-drive?

[@danielszabo8017]

@@douchebagginsmctalibancock2510 yes i do

[@gustafization]

If you're talking about the P2002C or variants, you can also install the demon drive direct link on those making them direct drive.

[@seansethi196]

The pedal or beater has to be heavy, I use the pearl P-932 and it doesn’t respond back fast enough, even with higher spring tension. So need a counterweight or heavier beater.

[@tonyhbt9072]

Love your videos thanks

[@jplimabaterista4653]

@MarthynJovanovic 05:28 I love you dude !!!! It's Great bro!!!!

[@liviunastasenko288]

Hey Marthyn, I've got a problem while practicing the ankle technique. My "weak" foot seems to be doing just fine, but I've got trouble getting my "strong" foot to use this technique. It seems like it's cramping and not being able to catch the motion. Almost like the shin muscle kicking in and breaking the whole cycle. Any tips on how to relax and use just my calf?

[@DrumsWithJames]

I don't remember writing this comment!

[@liviunastasenko288]

@@Alfred_-vp9ys thanks, man! Really helped me out. I just went down from what my left foot was comfortable with (180-190 BPM) to something that my right foot was Okayish with (150-160 BPM) and worked from there. My main problem is that this way my feet need to be at the very edge of my pedals, almost on the hinge. Seems like my spring tension (even at its highest) isn't enough. Maybe it'll all change when I get the full grip of this movement with both legs.

[@rikkyhernandez6511]

I suffer from the same problem. Might left foot "weak" foot is better at ankle technique than my dominant foot but doing anything else like doubles or complex things my right foot is better. It's annoying but I know it just takes practice to develop the muscle memory

[@liviunastasenko288]

@@rikkyhernandez6511 so, after 10 months from my initial comment, practicing when I could, but less than I wanted, I realized that it's all in the muscle development. The muscles are just not prepared (or already prepared for other techniques, like the dominant foot). Starting slower, doing one foot at a time, taking my time with it, watching myself not to use unnecessary muscle groups, little by little it started to come together. I am now at 170 BPM trying to do clean transitions from 8th notes or 8th note triplets heel up to 16ths ankle motion. Just take it slow and keep at it man, you'll eventually get there!

[@PeterSolod0]

Literally have the same problem

[@Combustion47]

Superb as usual 🤘

[@jasn5754]

2:53 it starts.

[@franzgranlof2111]

Great video, I think I will buy/join your course, I’m going crazy, I want to be so much faster and my “technique” is killing me. I’m in the studio 4-6 times a week, long hours 4-6hours, not only drumming of course (that would have killed me for real. 😂😂😂) but at least 2-3hours at a time. I’m trying to improve, but I’m getting struck by the fatigue in my legs, back and so forth. My db pedal technique sucks. I’m nowhere close to as fast as you in the video by just using my “no technique” pure muscle power. I have the same pedals as you in the video, the Pearl eliminator red line, but I guess they’re working against me and not for me. You seems like a good teacher! Best regards Franz, Sweden.

[@Woodyrojo]

Been trying to repeat just the stuff Marthyn does at 2:53 for quite some time, but didn't get even close to that. The only thing I get is a kind of nervous fast bounces. Any tips to make it controllable and slower?

[@SB-bq7qs]

Hi all, I've been practicing every day for the past month and focusing on heel up methods. All the videos I see about heel up say that the only muscle that should be used is the calf muscle; however, when I start playing lets say 120-160bpm my shins (especially on my left leg) start burning like CRAZY, and my calves never really feel sore. I don't get it, I am sitting here trying to just press my toes down but when I bring my toes back up I feel the tension in my left shin (I think it's hella sore lol). How the heck do I get it so that I only feel it in my calves? I'm wondering if maybe my spring tension is too light? I tried loosening it up a bunch to help reduce the burning pain in my shin playing heel up, and while it has helped it just seems like my shines always fatigue instantly. Do I need to increase the spring tension so that the pedal is what is bringing my foot back up? Just seems like there is no way around having to use some muscle to bring my toes back up, but I'm at a loss and desperate at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I cannot find anything on this in normal drumming forums. Thanks!

[@TheVajktoR]

You need to set your spring tension to something that lets the pedal push your foot up. Experiment a bit and see if you can get the best of both worlds :)

[@SB-bq7qs]

@@TheVajktoR Ok gotcha! Yeah I just must have them way too light then, thanks!

[@TheVajktoR]

@@SB-bq7qs Either that or your beater angle is too small, so there isn't enough swing to get the pedal up.

[@gorxor]

I am suffering from the same issue

[@SB-bq7qs]

Maybe it's just placebo but maybe this is what I was messing up. I had my beaters really short, about half down so the beaters felt 'light' for me. I took @VajktoR advice and I moved the position of the beater up to it's highest point. It feels super weird, but man, it seems like my shins are instantly feeling better. Kinda sucks because now I'm playing super awkward and have to play slow to get that motion down, but I think we are onto something here fam! Thanks again for the responses!

[@zazodrums]

interesting, thanks!

[@Mart33Nat0r]

Ok, so what do you do when you can’t do calves movements with your dominant foot without seriously pissing off the shin muscles at the same time?

[@bobby9727]

Thank you Marthyn for these incredible videos.Does the tension of the batter head effect how easy or hard it is to play the pedal? and also the diameter of the kick drum? I prefer to play a 26'' kick and i am not looking to achieve supersonic speeds but to use the double pedal and hands to create some cool fills around the kit.Thank you and keep up the great work.Toronto Canada.

[@elansleazebaganno]

What's the 26" sound like?

[@bobby9727]

@@elansleazebaganno I have some vids on my channel with the 26'' kick.

[@attempt58]

A lower tuning results in less rebound but you should still able to achieve decent speeds

[@borzydar1196]

I'm just starting with the ankle motion, but I have really hard time using it. First of all I it takes time to get momentum especially left leg (up to 5 mins). Then I have really tense legs and have to fight through pain (nothing excrutiating) and after ~2 mins my legs finally relax and I can go for 15 mins constant stream of 16th in ~200 bpm (I can't play with metronome yet). Any tips?

[@heavyprogressive76]

I've been playing for a couple years and found that by far the most relaxation/speed i get comes when i go for a walk and/or do some hip flexor stretches and stretches focused on the muscles you're going to be using. Found keeping up with that makes me probably 40% faster

[@RuthLalmuanpuii-vx2fy]

What Should i try first ankle motion or whole leg

[@narocoon]

Marthyn, do you recommend working the ankle technique at very slow tempos without the spring ? I never manage to do the movement at medium and up tempos, wether I do it very slow without spring, wether I hit to fast and so my feet don't even make the beater hit the bass drum..

[@L8947]

When it comes to calf conditioning is there too much practice. I'm doing heavy long sessions trying to push speed with ankle technique. After a session I come back the next say and my calves are jello, not really feeling productive. Thoughts on this?

[@danieljordison0793]

Make your practice lighter or shorter, it’ll be better for you to have shorter or lighter sessions that you can have more constantly than having long intervals butchering your calves every other day

[@matenorth]

Keep doing it. One day you hit 220, next day you cannot and its normal. Practice with your feet sore. Its training and a form of athletism. Its about pushing boundaries

[@L8947]

Thanks guys since this post I've increased from barely getting 130 140 16th to pushing 155 160 16th and some things I haven't been able to do before. Still getting the control but I've made progress with the technique. Takes so long to develop.

[@matenorth]

@@L8947 I changed from ankle to double strokes and im able to play in 3 months things i couldn't play in 15 years. Just saying.

[@L8947]

@@matenorth double strokes? Like heel toe?

[@drumtechniqueacademy]

For the full lesson just sign up at the Drum-Technique Academy: drumtechniqueacademy.net/

[@Ultra-Collector]

Is this like a fulcrum effect? Your heal past the heal pad of the pedal using only the ankle technique?

[@vinceengelhard8607]

Marthyn, have you have dealt with calf strain? I recently over a week ago and can't do ankle motion with my right ankle/calf at all right now. It just tenses and doesn't want to do the motion anymore. Obviously I need some r and r but I'm looking for any advice you or anyone else might have to offer. Love your videos, your awsome

[@TayPlaysDrums]

Which heads are you using on your bassdrum?

[@Wollestar]

It is an e-drum. Drum-Tec Pro series. The meshhead he uses are the original drum-tec heads, called design series

[@samueledarrigo8556]

Nice video bit I cant the part 2 on the website where can I find that?

[@Zarthian]

I can't tell if I'm doing this technique correctly should the beater be hitting when I stomp my heel down or when I lift my heel?

[@kevinfrancais27]

It should hit when your heel is up

[@nathanyazzie9044]

Thank you!!! 🤘😝🤘

[@king-manu2758]

Man I have my left leg that does the calf contraction automatically and I can keep the ankle bounce motion going forever but the right leg for some reason wants to incorporate other muscles involuntarily and it's ruining everything

[@king-manu2758]

@@littlebear2477 and I was speaking about practicing without a pedal. Now without a pedal my right has improved, but when I go to the drum kit I can't even do a stroke with the ankle motion using my right ankle. The left somewhat gets going although I feel like it's not really working as well as it should (I'm playing someone else's kit and the pedal is shit and has zero spring tension too). I think i need to buy a double pedal and a practice kit for home already

[@king-manu2758]

@@littlebear2477 It's funny because a few years ago when I still had a kit and an axis double pedal I used to be able to play 180bpm with my crap leg technique although getting really tired. But now since I sold my kit I've been trying to learn ankle motion and now I can't play ankle motion nor the shit technique I used to have. It's like I went backwards.

[@king-manu2758]

@@littlebear2477 I just want to play the songs I like man it's so frustrating. This ankle motion is so hard to get for some and apparently it comes naturally for others

[@SamJB]

@@littlebear2477 your right leg may be your main leg but it still needs just as much practice as the left leg as the ankle motion is new for both legs

[@mattfletcher7054]

Are you using bass drum triggers?

[@waltersalamanca6163]

Hi master! How can I Practice my ankle technique without having any pedal? So when I Can practice with my double pedal I don't need to make too much effort to make the motion

[@king-manu2758]

He explains it in the other video. Just keep the ball of your foot planted and let the ankle swing up and down with a contraction of your calf. I'm practicing on the floor too because I don't have a pedal right now.

[@waltersalamanca6163]

@@king-manu2758 really? I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the advice

[@king-manu2758]

@@waltersalamanca6163 look the ankle motion full tutorial on this channel. It's pure gold

[@devinthegreig]

Are you using the white cams on your eliminators?

[@drumtechniqueacademy]

yes

[@ambrooks5]

I just recently got back into drumming and realized from this video that my dumbass was using WAY too much of my leg and not enough of my ankle 🤦🏻‍♂️😂. I still suck but I’m improving lol

[@IcebergsViet]

I got the french translation on the video, and when you say "foot technique" I get "food technique" in French 😂😂

[@seasonedhumidor4213]

Wiwi mesie croissant buffet

[@robjakala7177]

What beaters are you using?

[@Codydrummer1397]

I've had some luck with the ankle motion once i get it going but I'm still struggling with the starting notes. Any suggestions for getting a consistent first note?

[@lew97]

Same here, sometimes I have 1-3 lost hits that don’t hit the head or just some of them, without much control…can’t really control it well, until I got it started with a couple of beats

[@Alexdrummer09]

When I do ankle technique my calves don't work.What am I doing wrong?

[@ryanbeedon5084]

I’m stuck, I got the double kick down real good, however one day I just couldn’t do it. Idk what I’m doing wrong, if anyone has any tips I’ll try them out

[@tegnath]

Maybe check whether your throne hight or placement has changed. This makes a lot of difference to me

[@010aray]

This will only work if your ankle isn't held together with 12 screws, a 10" steel plate and a bone graft. Some of us have to be inventive as no one has a technique for this scenario.

[@DudelyDuWrong]

You'll want to play from the hip flexor with your whole leg. Watch Derek Roddy left foot technique.

[@SONORSQ2guy]

Are 20" kick drums more practical to quicker playing versus 22" or 24"? I thought the bigger kick drums would be more challenging.

[@isopropyltoxicity]

Kinda just depends on the tightness of the head

[@oddtimeh4928]

My problem is that my feet are “spasming” out. I can play at faster tempos but when i get to slower tempos my feet have kn control and just go back to a faster tempo.

[@chiselcheswick5673]

I noticed the same thing. I think what you are finding is your natural sweet spot where pedal momentum & rebound and your muscles kind of sync up. However like you I realised I had little to no control outside of this sweet spot window. I went right down just below my spasm foot speed, and practiced slowly trying to be ultra consistent and bang on time with the click. I also practiced quietly which takes even more control. Although it took a while I slowly built up speed and have so much better control and dynamics from slow, up to as fast as i can go.

[@1Enkidu]

For me it remains so difficult to understand the ankle technique. For example, should it be possible to play even a low bpm tempo with the ankle motion without any problems (e.g. eigth notes solo foot at about 130 bpm)? For me, the beats with the ankle motion only start at a higher tempo (eighth notes solo foot at about 160 bpm), and it's almost impossible for me to decrease the tempo in a controlled manner. I can then keep the 160 bpm constant with each foot left and right, but it still feels uncontrolled and more like constant shaking. This becomes apparent at the latest when I want to bring both feet together and play 16th notes: This is then totally out of sync.

[@albertorochareyes2427]

Which drumset is that?

[@deyvidsharkk2359]

What name of PEDAL

[@kingbushy45]

this inst helpfil

[@bobdoyle5945]

what size are those kicks?

[@egor.sokol_off]

I think it’s not important, cause they are electronic

[@tonyhades90]

And then when it got to the part that I’m more interested in I have to go online and join the course….FFFFFFFFF

[@MadWinter889]

That's a little scummy, but I get it, everyone's got to make money. Disappointing, still. I'm poor so I'll keep being bad at drums.

[@tonyhades90]

@@MadWinter889 same :(

[@chungle_]

2:52

[@nielsurban6392]

I have always have used the highest spring tension, is that wrong?

[@XDarkStrikerX]

I always played like that until i learned to do heel-toe which felt much better with medium tension and i got used to play singles on that tension. Both worked very well to be honest, however i feel like it's much less tiring with less tension especially for quick hertas and gallops and i didn't lose any power. Maybe i'm just playing better too but i got much more accurate also so i guess i forced myself to play too tight for too long. George Kollias plays with max tension and has no issues due to his swivel technique. It's all up to how you like to play really IMO. If it doesn't feel good, you might want to experiment different settings. For me it feels like a sweet spot now, natural and easy to play even after weeks without practice. Cheers!

[@farieasen8205]

Do you kenn vesko rikov

[@justinjackson1884]

Hey please check out Aaron Stechauner- drummer for Rings of Saturn plays Natural Selection or Servant of this Sentience or maybe Inadequate

[@dariocamara5813]

Necesito ma videos con subtítulos en español!.

[@maktub224]

busca canales en español y ya

[@ichmortus3207]

Still waiting for Darkside

[@kalagan]

You didn't show the way to assess spring tension 😭

[@ga8rielsMsg]

EQUALITY!!!! heh

[@jonahdash]

Those words are distructing

[@martinpena4565]

Hermano, dos minutos y treinta segundos hablando, la gente se aburre. Saludos.