What am I doing wrong?

[needs311]

Hey guys. I hope you can help me out. Constantly stepping on the bass pedal is really hurting parts of my leg, namely my shin and the upper backside of my thigh. Does anyone know how to correct this? Is it because I'm using muscles I don't normally use, and it will go away eventually?

I pivot my ankle to step rather than lift my leg, like the tutorial said. Am I sitting too high or too low? I'm about five foot nine if that helps. Thank you in advance if you have any tips for me.

[shaneman]

I know that the turorial suggests pivoting your ankle, but for me it's easier to lift my leg. It doesn't wear me out either, so I guess it's just whatever works for you.

But as for your problem, I imagine it's like you said, you're using muscles you're not used to using.

[batsu336]

Couple of things to try and/or keep in mind...

Make sure you are resting with the pedal in the down position to not wear out your leg between beats.

Sit high enough so your upper legs are parallel to, or a little higher than, your knees. If you sit lower it puts more tension on your ankle.

Instead of pivoting your ankle to engage the kick, rest the ball of your foot on the pedal and bounce your leg up and down on the beat. This uses less ankle than the other method and will let you perform quicker kick beats, but uses the quad muscle more.

Make sure your foot is pointed straight. Any angling of the foot introduces new muscles to the mix. This is not a bad thing if you are used to it, but when just starting out it will be sore.

That being said, you will be sore if you play for a couple hours and are not used to playing drums or aren't much of a runner/jumper. Each time you use the kick you are asking your ankle to shift the weight of your leg and push a pedal that offers resistance. I suggest doing some toe raises (simply raise onto your toes and back down, slowly) in your spare time to help build up your calves.

[StrangeDays]

right...like Batsu said, just keep the pedal pressed down all the time...and only release your foot right before you need to hit a kick drum note...otherwise your ankles will be killing you in a few songs!

[RealCheese]

I'm an actual drummer and I lift my foot completely off to prevent this... but if you want to keep it this same just watch TV or something while kickin the pedal... without the game on or anything... I don't have any pains anymore cuz I've been playin for bout 2 years... but try them both

[thrdeye]

make sure you are sitting high enough that your knee is slightly below your hip.

[Atsumi]

I only have this problem for a few seconds after a pedal heavy song.

I've been able to play fow 8 hours a time each night and not experience any pains after. I'm not a runner, OR a drummer... I don't know why it works out for me.

I do the ankle pivot, by the way.

[Lord Yod]

Make sure your heel is resting on the pivot point of the pedal, and that the pedal is completely depressed in between notes. When you go to hit the pedal, only lift your toes up an inch or so, it works perfectly fine with a 'tapping your toes' motion.

[gsu_paintballer]

Hey guys. I hope you can help me out. Constantly stepping on the bass pedal is really hurting parts of my leg, namely my shin and the upper backside of my thigh. Does anyone know how to correct this? Is it because I'm using muscles I don't normally use, and it will go away eventually?

I pivot my ankle to step rather than lift my leg, like the tutorial said. Am I sitting too high or too low? I'm about five foot nine if that helps. Thank you in advance if you have any tips for me.

You MIGHT be sitting too high/low, but I can assure you that changing your seat height wont alleviate the problem much. Sit farther away from the drums. What will this do? Create more of a right angle between your drums and shin. I promise, itll work.


I'm an actual drummer and I lift my foot completely off to prevent this... but if you want to keep it this same just watch TV or something while kickin the pedal... without the game on or anything... I don't have any pains anymore cuz I've been playin for bout 2 years... but try them both

Works great with out metal drum pedals, but its a good way to break a plastic pedal :P

[Eman311]

a lot of 311 based names popping up lately :)

[ThePaska]

Pivoting your ankle like that should be hitting those exact places you're talking about, expect to be sore there if you haven't used those specific muscles that much, it should strengthen as you use them and you shouldn't get that pain anymore.

If it is getting too painful I would suggest either switching feet or lifting your leg sometimes.

[casedawg]

yeah i keep my foot pressed down at all times and use the ball of my foot by just quickly raising my leg up and down. seems easy this way. i play on hard and it works for faster beats too. i've never played drums before but i'm still pretty good and can make it through most songs on hard w/ around 90% but i cant roll. what is the easiest way to roll?

[HMXJohnD]

Sit farther away from the drums. What will this do? Create more of a right angle between your drums and shin. I promise, itll work. :P

This was my first thought. Leaving your foot down and adjusting your height/distance from the drums is the best solution. If your leg actually HURTS after playing, change how you're playing! We don't want you to hurt yourself!

There is a combination of muscle development/getting used to it, but try shifting things around before you get injured! :o

[Megan321]

I agree with those that say you need to sit higher. My leg was KILLING me until I started doing this. My seat was adjustable to so I made it higher with my leg hanging off, with the front part resting on the pedal, but my whole foot does rest on it.

However, I do not keep the pedal pressed down when not in use, the tension would of that would make my foot tired; I'm not sure who people do that,lol.

But yeah, higher seat is the key! :-D

[needs311]

Thank you very much for the tips. I had some friends over yesterday and we played for about six hours and didn't have any problems.

@Eman311, if they made some 311 DLC, I'd buy it in an instant :)

[Klisp]

Thank you very much for the tips. I had some friends over yesterday and we played for about six hours and didn't have any problems.

@Eman311, if they made some 311 DLC, I'd buy it in an instant :)

So how did u end up playing?

[davidshek]

So how did u end up playing?

Holy year-old thread, Batman! :rolleyes: