5 must-know KICK tips for the beginner drummer

[@jerrylam8687]

Generally a skilled professional is not necessarily a great teacher. Stephen, I think you are a great drum teacher who knows how to prioritize and explain the fundamentals very well. Beginners need a great teacher like yourself to understand and develop proper techniques right from the start. Teaching is your calling Stephen. Well-done and thank you!!!

[@TheSundayGamer]

“Choose your path…” damn, dude. Beginner drummer at 43 years old. I have only been playing for a couple weeks and I know I am going to be embracing the struggle for a long time (one thing age gives us is patience and less desire for instant gratification). I have been dabbling with heel up vs heel down for my bass drum these last couple days. I am trying to work on some 8ths on the high hat with some interspersed 16ths on the kick to help develop limb independence. Many teachers I have seen in the interwebs prescribe one technique or another. You are the first person I have seen that enumerates the differences between the two without being prescriptive. I have experienced the pros and cons of both EXACTLY as you have described them. I am loving the exploration of the kit and really delving deep into my chosen midlife crisis. I am trying to build a solid fundamental base before I get too far over my skis. I am thankful for people like you who take the time to share this knowledge with clarity and depth. Helps a noob like me really peel back the layers and really make some informed decisions from the get-go. Thank you. Keep being the legend you are. 🤘🤘🤘

[@TheSundayGamer]

@@TheSparkOfCorn autocorrect is a bitch, ain’t it? Thanks for the input. 🤘🤘🤘

[@tonyc1031]

I’m 45 and just started playing last week. I’m with ya

[@jadedillon5201]

Heel up vs heel down: a big consideration for those of us who are more petite (I’m a 5’1” female) is that you need your arms at a level that you can address the other drums. I have a 22” bass and two rack toms, so the bass prevents me having the toms low enough that I would be comfortable playing heel down. I play heel up most of the time, occasionally heel down but only for quieter parts.

[@malamute8257]

do you flip the tom arms to get them as close to the kick as possible? I am 6'1" and have a hard time sometimes so I can't imagine but figured Id throw that out there. It's what I used to do when I was a kid.

[@vyrkmod]

I'm short male, 5'6", but I sit on a bar stool and play heel down. Everybody around say it's wrong to sit like that, but my legs are just longer. Find your way and keep to it. Try other stools, and feel free to dump those if it feels anyhow wrong to you. And also, you can place your drums closer or further from you, there is no recipe for how to place 'em right.

[@earsonlyaudio887]

If you're finding your toms are uncomfortably high for how you feel best sitting, take them off your kick. You can get a 2 tom stand that you'll be able to adjust lower. I play a 4 piece, so only 1 rack tom which I have sitting in a snare basket, pretty flat and maybe only 3 or 4 inches above my snare. It's so comfortable.

[@malamute8257]

@@earsonlyaudio887 I was thinking about doing that but with a snare stand and one tom. Is it uncommon to do it with two? I'm trying to think of how I can change positioning because I like having my kick and toms both in front of me. What kind of stand do I need to adequately support them? I keep seeing people say use a cymbal stand but I can't even use the boom arm on mine without the stand tipping so I think it's garbage

[@philipmartin708]

@@malamute8257 Going with your statement "I like having my kick and toms in front of me." You could do it with a lefty double pedal, or some homemade set up. Check out DWs remote bass drum pedal for some ideas. Good luck

[@phluxm]

Your clear descriptions, and commitment to detail and reason, is really great and super, super helpful!

[@MattMurphyMusicTeacher]

Your point about heel up/down for tall people is a good point. I’m 6’4” as well and I’ve always felt that heel-up is so awkward.

[@HOUSEDOMEFUNKofficial]

50-y-o beginner drummer (& bassist): I had been kind of mixing bouncing and burying, heel up/down depending on the song, and to prevent fatigue doing the same thing, always... got into the habit of heel down & burying, since I'm a tall guy (so size 17 feet- heel down almost always AND at the tip of the pedal)... jacked up my stool, to inch back and toe-heel, and trying to learn left foot on double bass for the first time since xmas atm

[@billko867]

This is gold, like all the other vids here. I can already tell this is going to make me a better drummer.

[@joshmerrick4716]

This is great advice. Thank you. I’ve recently got back behind a bit after a 10-11 year break for one reason or another. It’s surprising how much technique you forget in that time! I’m 6ft2 and I’ve always struggled to play heel up too because all the throwns I’ve ever had haven’t had the adjustability to go high enough. What I’ve started doing recently is is putting a round cushion that’s roughly the same diameter as the thrown pad on top of the thrown to lift me up about 2”-3” and I find it a lot easier to play heel up now and I find it A LOT easier to play faster with more power now. Thankfully my snare stand is able to adjust high enough (just 😅) to not have to modify or replace it haha

[@nimbabul8384]

Just wonderful lesson. Thanks a lot. Totally heel-down beginner (long legs).

[@jphifer2848]

Outstanding video. The mechanical comparisons are terrific - AND so are the comments about the trade offs of different pedals settings!

[@ianwalton7132]

Heel down but tend to raise heel if I need several fast beats. I now try and bounce the head rather than bury. Thanks for the kick tips!

[@gushutchinson8758]

Really absorbing.. Thank you

[@jamesbush3857]

Heel down and bounce works for me!

[@jetmanjason]

Thanks man, helped me out a lot.

[@joanneburton1409]

Thank you. This was very helpful and informative for a brand new drummer - me!😁

[@minime5380]

Great lesson thanks dude

[@TiddlesParadiddles]

Thanks for such detailed explanations. I'm heel down and tend to bury the beater because I am working on the coordination and control of bouncing it. Not quite there yet without adding extra beats or a hitting the head weakly.

[@EphraimMiigho-jl7wb]

I use heel down but when I want double tap with rolling I u heel up is that correct

[@PhilWilkinsonMusic]

There's so much valuable information in this video it's really a complete masterclass. Absolutely brilliant, thanks.

[@liquiddarkness7882]

I’m a heel up drummer and I find it extremely challenging with the beater bouncing technique, I must keep my legs in the air all times which get them exhausted very quickly after a couple of beats! How to get around this?

[@yokozuna021]

I used to bury the beater at the beginning of my playing, but as my ear developed over those three years of playing, I am now able to hear HUGE difference in the sound the kick drum is making when I'm bouncing. I really enjoy that fat low sound, it is much more loose, penetrating and convincing. So now, I am shifting my technique to bouncing and resort to burying just when I want to play like that (choked and short kick sound). And it is much more logical to bounce, since all the other drums are played like that. There's no point in choking the big guy, right?

[@earsonlyaudio887]

Never thought about height playing a roll in heel up or down, but I'm 5 foot 6 or so and feel most comfortable playing up with a higher than you would expect throne. The top of my throne is probably midway up my thigh or a little more, but I don't sit super close. Anyway, I gig a ton and am very comfortable. Also, someone mentioned shoes, I pretty much only drum in skate shoes. I was on tour last year playing a bunch of skateparks for a Christian outreach deal and bought myself a pair of Vans. Now all I play in is skate shoes.

[@earsonlyaudio887]

What is telegram and how do I find you on there?

[@ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣΙΟΑΝΝΟΥ-υ6ξ]

I do like Stevens mechanical explanations!! Because it is all mechanics.

[@davevanmarwijk2912]

Heal up feels more natural. The pedel I tend to bury, if not my groin starts complaining. Great videos. A Dutch beginner...

[@MarcKoetse]

Tried and now use this from front to end. Mostly works verry well and indeed my foot technique and control improved a lot. The only really annoying thing is that my foot is slowly but surely creeping upwards the pedal during a song. That means timing and force change during a song. Unbelievably annoying. I see it happen during playing and I have no clue why. Any tips to avoid this?

[@2manyguitarz]

i have electric drums, sticks don't bounce like on real heads, AND beater length is kinda set cause the head is where it is... how do you get around that?

[@liquiddarkness7882]

Same here, live with it unfortunately!

[@jesserodrick]

Stephen, i've been practicing a lot of air drumming with the excersices that you show on your videos for beginners, just bought my first e drum kit, a donner ded-200! Hopefully i will have my hands on the kit on 2 weeks! gotta tell you, I've been feeling pretty excited because I've been able to get my hand independence with just a pair of sticks an hitting the air lol. Thanks for this amazing videos bro, you rock!

[@SaintNine]

Many thanks for another great video, it's just a shame that KZbin put so many ads in (which I find infuriating and really distracting; there were five ad breaks!). That's totally down to Facebook, so please don't think I'm having a go at you. It would be a different matter if you got some of the revenue from them, that would make them a little more tolerable, but enough complaining about Facebook's greed. To answer your questions, I play both heel up and heel down. When I first started playing I played heel up almost exclusively, but nowadays I play mostly heel down. Exactly as you say, it took time to build the strength, but I find heel down gives me more control, especially over dynamics. I also do both with the beater, bury and bounce. I find if I'm playing heel up I bury much more than heel down. The way my bass drum is tuned and set up, there isn't as big a difference in tone as there is with yours (and yours sounds much better when you bounce). Currently, I'm playing my Roland TD-50 much more than my acoustic kit and there it makes no difference at all. So when do I play heel up and when heel down you might ask? Really, there are only two occasions when I play heel up: when I'm playing a ‘steppers’ beat (a four to the floor reggae beat with the snare on three) and when I'm playing double BD beats (with a double pedal, rather than double BDs - I did used to play double bass drums: a 22" main (right) and a 20" on the left with Premier 252 pedals. I don't know if you're familiar with those pedals, but I always found them a little odd to play, I never really got entirely comfortable with them. I believe it's because they used compression springs instead of the more usual tension springs. Nowadays I use a Tama Iron Cobra, infinitely superior to my mind. Incidentally, the hi-hat pedal is ingenious. The innovative two leg design, both pointing forward, really makes hi-hat creep a thing of the past, but I digress. When playing double pedal fills I mostly play heel down. With the eighth or sixteenth note BD patterns it's largely a matter of stamina playing heel up. At least I find I can keep it up much longer than heel down, even though it requires more effort. I agree with you about foot placement too. Many pedals actually have a toe plate, adjustable on the better ones, that prevents you from placing your foot too far forward. I must admit that when I first started playing I was tempted to remove the toe plate so that I could mover my foot further forward and for exactly the reason you stated. Anyway, I've gone on for long enough. Many thanks for your valuable lessons. BTW, I've been playing for over 40 years but I still find your advice and tips handy and useful. At the very least they underpin the practices I've adopted. It's always nice to know that I haven't made any major mistakes.

[@bob_gaming3331]

Hi Steph, how are you my dear? I am writing to you personally today to tell you how interesting and important I find the content you put online, whether on youtube or on Non glamorous drummer. Obviously, my biggest problem is that I'm a little lost, every time I went to your site or every new content, I always find that one is more interesting than the other. There, if I was working on a module, I tend to drop this module there to work on the new one, although it is not yet acquired. I know it's not the right method, if I continue in there I'll go around in circles. My question, what would be your advice to not let me fall into this trap? calerbe P.

[@skydiver4959]

And if you can afford them, buy DW pedals. I've had mine for over 35 years and have had zero problems.

[@petermorrell7436]

Heal up and down/bounce

[@gwoodtones]

Hello, I have the problem that the back of the beater touches the top of my foot while playing hard... so after 3 hours of playing drums I have a painfull foot. Is this normal? Btw I play barefoot.

[@Avariche]

Spring tension and beater angle fixed it for me. Used to have that happen. Try adjusting beater closer to head and then spring tension.

[@Misticmyst73]

I just started Drumming and am not tall by any means but heel down feels more better for me... I think cause I have a little bit of a tummy that it gets in the way of heel up lol... The Battle contues with that part lol..

[@aztechrex5275]

Broooo u made me spill my coffee off my nose.. u got me on the first half. I can relate with your struggles 😂

[@thinkjon]

As a teen-ager, my first drum instructor taught heal down. As I progressed and saught out different teachers/drummers I always admired the heal up method because those instructors seemed to be better with hand/foot coordination. Of course, either way works, that's just my observation as a young kid. I will say my first instructor, who taught heal down, was a tall person and the heal up instructors were shorter (ha).

[@kitmarlowe2889]

I've only been playing 7 months. I, primarily, play heel down. I'm 6'1"- 6'2". I drive a truck by trade, so I have some issues with my hips. Playing heel up for a long time is rough on them. However, when I do fast singles, I use a flat foot technique. I've not mastered fast doubles. I'd like to incorporate the heel to toe for that.

[@user-ek9ro8jp2o]

Heel up....burry and bounce....and I'm short....your spot on....lol

[@terryradford1361]

Heel down Stephen, feel more balanced and in control, your videos are excellent, good pace and lots of patience and simplifying the points you're making. I also appreciate the extra patterns at the end of the video, more of the same please

[@805BLAZING]

I recently discovered playing down more on the pedals and using the rebound more to my benefit. Btw I have those same socks on right now

[@josephwastaken7104]

I have the same socks too!

[@Six3rdy]

Heel up vs. heel down......🤔 Why not both? That's what I do! 😁 When I did drums in church, I needed dynamic control. Heel up is my default because it gives me force and access to the double kick technique, not to mention volume. But i switch to heel down when I need to get quieter.

[@jimfurlough8586]

Really digging all of these videos. I finally got a kit to play with and am discovering all of the nuances of setup and adjustment that never crossed my mind relating to drums. I play bass and woodwinds, so this is all new info for me. Thank you.

[@paulvoivodich7457]

I do both depending on the speed, volume ,type of music, or style., great lessons . Thanks. Helpfull at my intermediate level.

[@2manyguitarz]

my major difficulty is (on kick especially) when just using kick, my foot can do pretty good. but when i start doing other things. hh my foot loses the ability to do what it should. I either play what i want on hh and kick suffers or vice versa. It is like every limb has its own agenda.... its aggravating.

[@trevorkavanaugh]

I'm struggling training independence too. It'll come with time and practice

[@filipeaguiarS]

Hey Stephen, great video man! But what are those Benjamin Franklin loafers?

[@martinlopez1353]

Great video and i have the same problem im 6f and isnt easy for me to play on heels up, no really comfortable and also difficult to control it and get some speed

[@PinkiesBrain]

I just bought my kit and am very new and decided to evolve "your" heel down technique although heel up felt more natural. I am actually training the muscles... using very low spring tension for getting the feel for the natural rebound of the beater. I already made pretty good progress and it starts to feel right. Still - its very technical and I still struggle with the "flurry' unwanted double and triple strikes. But it feels like if i learn to control that better I could really play any figure i want without much effort. And thats what I want, reeally cool bass :) Thank you for your lessons.

[@philipmartin708]

Concerning the unwanted double and triple strikes, a pedal with an offset or accelerator cam makes it very difficult to have those extra bounces. That's because at the end of the stroke the pedal has practically no leverage, so the spring wins. All the leverage your foot had at the beginning of the stroke has been progressively traded for beater speed. So when the beater's on the head, the spring has more mechanical advantage, and your foot has less. You don't have to lift your foot, you just relax it.

[@Dropaguitar]

Saw the moccasins and liked immediately

[@scottyhughes9179]

a great lesson Stephen, thanks! I am totally new to this.

[@minime5380]

I’m a beginner who is heel up and definitely a burier ( if that’s a word ) but that said I can see the benefits to being able to do both / all of what you just showed us. Thanks so much will try it today.

[@SaintNine]

Like I said in my comment, I started playing heel up too. I think many drummers do as it feels more comfortable at first. It's worth persevering with heel down though. I do still use heel up occasionally, but mostly heel down. It'll happen naturally as you develop strength and will give you more control and precision, at least in my experience. I've also found that I bury the pedal much more when playing heel up, almost exclusively.

[@thebluecollardrummer9032]

Here's a kick drum question that I am struggling with. I just got an 18" kick and have been playing 22" drums. Should I shorten my kick beater to hit the center of the new smaller kick? Or keep the same geometry to which I am accustomed, and strike higher than the center of the new 18" kick? Thoughts?

[@danjordan2625]

The video tells you. Just watch

[@HiltonHeslop]

heel down > heel toe Heel up > swivel - bounce all the time

[@ramilopez6921]

I tend to go back and forth on heal down and up

[@huntertheisen9972]

I am convinced, I will start bouncing the beater.

[@davidconnors4908]

Beginner drummer. Started at 49. I am definitely bounce not bury. The main problem with bury is the builds tension. I started heel down but switched to heel up and haven't looked back.

[@corrinker]

Thanks for being tall and giving some tips for the tall drummers! Wheither to use heel-up or heel-down feels impossible to decide because the kit I'm used to play is also being played by (smaller) kids. I practically can't set it up as high as I'd prefer. Your tips will help definitely! Thanks a lot.

[@lifebeautiful6309]

I was burying my beater for years without understanding why i can't easly play covers. My leg had to do more movements which affected my speed. Bouncing beater seems uncomfortable at the beginning but finally that's what you want if you want speed

[@170adamb1]

Dave Weckl's origonal drumming dvd had a great section on how to set up and play your bass drum. It solved loads of problems I was having and still use his "older" technique to this date. Probably easy to find on you tube. It's the one with the red yamaha recording custom kit.

[@skroll71]

Thank you so much!! I have played rhythmic perc for years, but recently wanted to add set to my list of instruments. This answers a lot of my questions regarding the kick (and the positioning)! Looking forward to start practicing your exercises!!

[@jonsmith430]

I feel like I’m a bit of an outlier here 😅 I play Clone Hero on a crappy little Rockband drum set but I am looking at buying an electronic drum set 1: for the game 2: I don’t have room for acoustic. Ive been watching a bunch of drum videos recently because even on the video game, a lot of these types of videos still help because from what I’ve seen, the drum patterns on the harder difficulties are nearly 1:1. Only issue I’m having, and I don’t really expect a response since this is kind of an older video, is I cannot keep a beat with my right foot. The funnier thing is I’m not left handed either lol I’m not sure why I use my left foot but it feels much more natural for my leg. Being right hand dominate and left leg bassing, is that gonna cause issues with a drum set? I imagine it’ll be about the same for the electronic drum set as it is for the video game one, but I feel like it would force a weird drum set up if I ever bought acoustic ones.

[@PoppaBadger]

I've been playing heal down for 40 years now and I've always preferred heal down. I tend to switch to heal up when I need more power and speed. So, for myself, I use both techniques, depending on what I'm playing. Heal down is definitely more comfortable, while heal up is great for fills, speed and power but much less comfortable.

[@KevinJones-qr2jh]

Great lesson. I'm 6'8" and play heel-up. But the distance I need makes me reach for the rack Tom's. What is this basket stand you speak of?

[@orreobb]

I play heel up but have not considered bouncing. Im going to shapen up my skills and look at these major points and look at how i can play heel down during quiet parts. Being 6 ft 3 i never considred the difference.

[@Jimi-c9t]

Heel up

[@davidreidy5750]

I have my foot like a little below half up the pedal lately for heel toe/heel up combo.Using no port hole any more.Noticed right away that port holes don't rebound from heel toe impact like non porthole does.But I need more sonic boom and using old school felt strips on kick,cause I think it just sounds way better.Yeah don't bury the beater.🤖📼🔌⚡

[@vyrkmod]

I play heel down only (don't judge), and it seems like placing your heel right at the curve of non-moving part of the pedal is how it is intended to be. This way your shoes affect the way you play the least. And it's really easy to find the right place when your foot slid (oh, wow, it's an irregular verb too) somehow.

[@jazzmystic23]

Thanks for the video Stephen. Let me put myself down as a heel-down bouncer. It takes developing those gastroc nemius and soleus muscles, but it’s best for control (and gives you macho calves!)

[@wolfumz]

I love how physics comes up at 8:50 and 20:40 , about torque and simple harmonic motion, respectively. All spring systems have a natural frequency that they like to oscillate at. This is called the natural frequency, and that's (sort of) what you see when you tap the pedal and watch it oscillate on its own. This frequency is based on the mass attached the the spring (the beater assembly mass and some fraction of the foot plate's mass), and something called the spring constant, which is the stiffness of the spring. If we didnt have any friction or dampening, if the bass pedal had magic frictionless oil and no air resistance, if you tapped on it, it would settle into oscillating at its natural frequency and never stop. Just like pushing a kid on a swingset, if you push the pedal the right moment, you get a lot of motion for a little force. That's resonance. It's really cool to see the intersection of science and art here...

[@MrBroomy]

My foot keeps riding up the foot plate while I'm drumming til it touches the spring and becomes bothersome. I've tried different shoes for better traction on the plate but it doesn't seem to make much difference. Any suggestions? BTW, I really like your videos.

[@Aah3546]

Sounds like you just sit too close ✌️

[@MrBroomy]

@@Aah3546 Lukas, thanks for the reply. My knee is well over 90 degrees but I'll try your idea. Thanks.

[@ayoungethan]

@@MrBroomy then maybe it's more of a technique and muscle development issue, where what's needed is to slow down and practice correct movements that keep your foot in place. IMO you shouldn't depend on traction much

[@herecomesthesun66]

This might sound weird but I only play barefoot. I just started playing about 7 months ago and being barefoot has the best traction and I have way more control. Won't work in every situation though 😅

[@MrBroomy]

@@herecomesthesun66 I switched to socks and seems to help. Thanks.

[@Anastaecia]

Just putting a kit together after a SHORT stint 15 years ago on a starter kit. SO I am mostly starting out except for knowing some drum things and having some basic muscle memory. It seems like the advice about taking extra time to adjust your kick pedal (spring, pedal angle, beater angle), (as well as positioning the throne (height, distance, side to side)) seem KEY. Every day during my practice, I seem to adjust at least one of thoes ever searching for the goldilocks point.

[@ALJessica]

I have always played heeled up, I only bury, because I simply prefer the sound of burying the beater.

[@MishMuzic]

Been playing less than two months. Bass player by trade. I naturally gravitated to heel down. Heel up made it too hard to balance. People tried to sway me but you’ve given me the confidence to continue heel down!!

[@Rick-pi9zn]

why are most pedals designed with the narrow spot starting right where you would place your foot with a good technique and the widest part a little bit too much towards the drum? seems counter intuitive to me, you kind of want to put your foot to the widest spot automaticly?

[@chloehatfiield]

man pullin out the dawgs

[@tdrum21]

Primarily heel up but do both depending on the music. I mainly bounce but do bury sometimes depending on the music/the drum

[@jrustyshaffer5438]

just a beginner, but heel down, bounce. Thanks for a great video

[@WhoadyonDaBeat]

I use both techniques they both have great benefits for certain genres of music great video bro 👍

[@gregdaigneault8307]

Heel up and tend to Barry the beater. I'm only 5'2 and seems most comfortable for me.

[@toddman26]

Heal down. Any tips for when playing on electronic drums?

[@MM-ig1iv]

Hey we've got the same socks? Lol. They are nice. Good tips 👍

[@surkh]

Im'a bounce!

[@markielinhart]

Heel down Stephen, and bouncing where possible, thanks for this✌️🌻

[@richardlangro5461]

Heal down but I practice both. Also, I combine the two to get two strokes in one motion

[@bmrcreations6334]

♥️

[@rob-442]

Hi Stephen. I am heal down and bounce beater. Much more comfortable and control

[@thefrator5275]

The bobbing the beater exercise helped me so so much with controlling the beater. I had been struggling for a week on controlling it and was spinning my wheels with adjusting the pedal and such. Thank you

[@robbhawkins8360]

Great video man thank you , heel up & trying to control the bounce lol

[@robertzawasky545]

LOVen the vids baud! Major Warp Speed Win

[@akosatumamprihlasit]

One of the best videos for beginners on this topic! Thank you. I am going to start practice bounce technique.

[@richardmarchand409]

heel down.

[@ajboswell6297]

Both

[@jdc6927]

Heel up typically, but depends, and I bounce the beater.

[@sneezingenjoyer6608]

Nice socks. I have the same ones from Costco

[@danielhodgson1424]

Thanks for the videos Stephen, subbed!

[@claudiakass]

[@Nat1Ka]

Awesome explanation of theory with action

[@ambeblessings6310]

am heel down and i love bouncing

[@philiptruitt]

Thank you!!

[@kameronharrington5478]

I love the slippers, lol

[@charlesstiebing9231]

your drums sound fantastic!

[@mustanggt2781]

Awesome content.

[@jurgennichols1587]

Good thanks man!