How to Master the Ankle Technique for Double Bass

#ankletechnique #anklemotion #doublebass #doublepedal #tutorial #doublebassdrumming

[@Deadlegs78]

I can try for ages and fail. Blessed are you who succeed. I do not know how to do.

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

I've failed many times at this. Failing is what leads to success. Consistency will take you places motivation can't. You can do this too if you commit and setup a practice plan!

[@PetyrCoverChannel]

I'm only now making progress with ankle motion (still not very precise, but I give it a month tops) after 4 years of trying. And I was literally spending at least 3 hours every week on this techniqe to make almost 0 progress up untill last month... Talk about frustration... So anyway keep pushing 💪

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

The good part is that between all the time an effort you've invested learning this technique you were able to identify what works for you. We all have different ways to learn and get our body used to things. Even if you feel you're not making progress, as you said. Keep pushing! You'll be glad you did 💪🏻

[@waltysalamander]

Good tutorial!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@waltysalamander Thank you!

[@kylecooke9893]

This was so sick! Short sweet and to the point! Watched countless amount of videos like Samis but your vids just make sense! Good stuff brother 💪

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Thank you for the kind words man! I really appreciate it 🙌🏻

[@nixneato]

That was beautiful, thanks. That 240 run at the end was so freaking smooth. It's incredible how this takes years, it's my journey too, I'm getting there and it feels amazing when you finally see the light :)

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Thank you for the words!! Indeed, it can take less time if you have discipline and practice regularly. Yes!! Hard work definitely pays off. Wishing you the best through your journey. You can do this!

[@nixneato]

I already commented on how great this video is, but something else came to mind: you should make another video with the second step of this "first stroke" approach. What I mean by that is any time the feet don't start the pattern at the same time. This happens a lot, any broken foot pattern will result in this. For instance if you remove one left foot (ex. R_RL RLRL RLRL RLRL). The right foot is already playing its second stroke while the left foot is only getting its first, resulting in the drummer having to "offset" the way he thinks about his feet. The more broken the pattern gets, the more complex this becomes (hello Fear Factory).

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Noted! Fear Factory has a ton of complex Double Bass Patterns that can be challenging for sure haha.

[@prod_adrian]

Great stuff dude! This would be like a dream to be able to play kicks smoothly like that!!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Thanks dude!! Sending you good vibes to play those kicks smoothly. Stay focused and consistent. You'll be glad you did 🙌🏻

[@prod_adrian]

@@GiancarloRaveloGarcia Thanks man, maybe some day the dream will come true...

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@prod_adrian For sure man! Keep pushing 🤘🏻

[@moishuggahdrummer8121]

Excelente técnica...felicidades Bro.🦶🏾🦵🏾💪🏾👍🏾🥁

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Gracias hermano!! Aprecio las palabras 🙏🏻💪🏻🤘🏻

[@BenjaminWiggins-u2p]

This is great, thank you. Would you say you have enough power at these speeds to cut through if you were, for example, playing a concert with nothing but the raw batter head and the kick drum mic?

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

You're welcome man! If the EQ is good and the sound engineer sets the correct parameters, you're able to get a decent sound our of the Kick drum mic up to certain tempos ( 150-160 and maybe 170 tops) However, the down side is that it if the venue / stage is big with a huge crowd it wouldn't work as much or when playing faster tempos. If you have the option to throw a trigger this will amplify the sound to play double bass patterns (from 180 to 200 BPM and above) louder and will cut through much more in a live setting.

[@kimcarig714]

Thanks for making this video sir! Appreciate your hardwork. Is there any chance that I can communicate to you to show you my progress just incase? Thanks!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

No problem! Yes, you can share your progress. Thank you for the words!

[@Marcos_ViniciusS2]

Qual a marca do pedal? BRASIL AQUI🇧🇷❣️

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

A marca é Pearl Demon Drive. Dominican Republic aquí 🇩🇴

[@Marcos_ViniciusS2]

@@GiancarloRaveloGarcia 🫰🏼🫰🏼

[@RationalGaze216]

Would those strokes be powerful enough to sound on a regular kick drum without triggers?

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

They can be. It all depends on the circumstances you're in. If you're pedal settings and kick drum size / tuning are set to deliver a high acoustic sound and you're playing in a small venue with a few people in it you could get a decent volume. Now, if it's a bigger / larger venue or stage you will need to amplify / enhance the acoustic sound with at least one kick mic. If you're playing fast double bass say 250 and above, no matter how hard you try to hit the bass drum, the acoustic / mic sound will only pic a much lower volume due to the dynamics on that speed. This is where triggers come into play to track every stroke so it can be heard through your IEM's and the audience. Here's a what it can sound like without triggers on a 12 inch mesh head kick drum in a small room. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5vWkmeVZ7NskJYsi=ysO1HPbwjN4mVBSh

[@rodcan2221]

Hola, Sientes alguna diferencia al utilizar el resorte en el lado izquierdo del pedal?

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Hola! No mucho, el pedal izquierdo se siente con un poco mas de tension ya que del lado del pedal derecho se siente un poco diferente por la inercia y la barra que agrega un poco mas de peso. Pero, cuando uso dos pedales sencillos se sienten mas nivelados.

[@meltrop9580]

Hi, does it works without triggers ? Im wondering if it's same technic with and without triggers

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Yes, of course. It's the same technique with or without triggers.

[@gringochucha]

Thanks for the video. The only problem is, there's no way I can do that exercise at the end yet. Can you recommend any exercises for someone just starting out learning ankle technique? (I've been playing for 3 years and until now just played rock/heavy metal with a heel-up technique, until I hurt my knees from stomping too hard, separating my foot from the pedal and not using my calves and ankles enough).

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

You're welcome! Sorry to hear about you getting hurt. If you are feeling better, I'd recommend the following. - Play slowly at a comfortable speed for 1 or 2 bars and increase 5 BPM after every run until you reach the speed you struggle with (do not push hard to get thought to avoid more injuries). - In the video you can see some warmup exercises before you attempt the ankle technique. Try to isolate your hip flexors or any big muscle and focus on using your calves and ankles. Try to mimic bouncing a basketball with your ankles. - Attempt to swing the beater (even if you're not touching the bass drum head) to get the motion flowing until you feel relaxed hitting the notes and control the rebound. Let me know if this works out to see where you struggle the most after applying these principals.

[@gringochucha]

@@GiancarloRaveloGarcia Wow, thanks for the detailed answer! I'll definitely try these exercises!

[@gringochucha]

@@GiancarloRaveloGarcia Acabo de ver que eres dominicano. ¡Gracias de nuevo y saludos de Chile!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@gringochucha No problem! Good luck 🤝🏻

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@gringochucha Siii! Haha. Saludos!

[@emanuelvaldez822]

Hola Bro, sé que es personal, pero qué configuración usas en tus pedales ?.

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Hola! Esta es la configuración actual en mis pedales: - Tension maxima en los resortes. - La altura de la plataforma del pedal esta de fabrica. - La distancia de los mazos es de algunos 40 y algo de centímetros del parche del bombo. - La altura de los mazos es medio. No muy altos ni muy bajos. Saludos.

[@symmetryofzero]

I've been trying to learn ankle technique for over a year now Still way off. My beaters hit the kick drum but I cant hit hard enough for it to trigger. (Electric kit). And when I make the trigger more sensitive I just keep getting double triggering when playing single notes. I can't win!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

¡Let's find a solution! Sounds like the threshold and retrigcancel settings on the kick pad / drum are not balanced. Can you please confirm how high / low are they set in your module at the moment? As for the Ankle Technique, do you have a video reference when this happened to better assist your current situation? If not. Please describe what muscles do you feel you're using when playing this technique. Yes, you CAN win!

[@symmetryofzero]

​@@GiancarloRaveloGarciaThank you for the reply! Regardless of the double triggering issue I just cannot get the ankle technique down at all. Once in a blue moon I can lock on for a few hits but I just can't keep it going. I have watched every video imaginable and paid £900 to join the drum technique academy and I'm still like I'm on day one. I completely understand I need to relax all of my upper legs and I can see it in my mind but I just cannot get the feeling locked in. I can't help but using my upper legs. I've tried different pedal settings, different beater heights and throne heights. You make it look so easy.

[@symmetryofzero]

​@@GiancarloRaveloGarciaI just noticed you have more videos on this technique. I will watch them all and see if I learn anything new. I see they're all very recent so I won't have seen them yet 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@symmetryofzero You're welcome! I understand where you're coming from. I also had some challenges and just kept trying to understand how my body would adjust until I unlocked the necessary principals and practices that helped me develop the Ankle Motion on a daily basis in less practice time. I started doing some live streaming on here and have been meeting several people that have the same case. Thankfully, we have gone through some one on one interactions and been able to address this issue accordingly based on their personal challenges with this technique. I try to go live daily during different times of the day (mostly when I have some free time throughout the day) But, I know not everybody is under the same time zone. I'm in the Atlantic Standard zone as I live in the caribbean. If you want to join, let me know what time zone you're in to go through this with you. If you prefer a more personal interaction, feel free to send me a message and I'll reply back as soon I get the chance. Thank you for the words and your interest, I kindly appreciate it!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@@symmetryofzero Yes, I did upload a few videos talking about the technique. I hope you're able to get something out of them. Thank you again for the words!

[@user-vm9hy7qx7c]

I personally generate more control, power, and speed from my whole leg

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Nice! You're able to reach up to 175 BPM's with full leg motion. The only down side is that it burns your muscles quickly when going above this speed 🙁

[@user-vm9hy7qx7c]

@@GiancarloRaveloGarcia I work on basic control exercises in a old book from the 1930s with a metronome 30 minutes some times a hour in a day. When my body rests builds back up it gets easier. It works my hip flexor for power to relax and maybe some shin muscles. It really helps all that.

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@user-vm9hy7qx7c Totally valid! It's all about strengthening your muscle groups. If it works for you, that's what matters!

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

@user-vm9hy7qx7c Totally valid! It's all about strengthening your muscle groups. If it works for you, that's what matters!

[@YOUARESOFT.]

nice. would you feel just as comfortable with chain drive ya think?

[@GiancarloRaveloGarcia]

Of course. I like to switch from time to time. Both systems are able to handle various speeds and techniques.