For The Drum Noobz with the Cramped Legs

[notDREW]

http://blog.wired.com/games/images/2007/11/01/footposition.jpg

"I hear a lot of people say "My leg hurts from drumming!" It should not. If you hold your foot in the air the entire time or raise the front of it up off the drum pedal, you are going to strain your leg muscles. What you do is just put your foot down on the kick pedal the entire time. Then, when you have to hit a kick drum part, you raise it up just beforehand and bring it down. It might take a little bit more practice and rhythm, but you'll soon get the hang of it and your feet will thank you."

This is off the Game Life blog on Wired. I thought it might help some people, including me as my leg was in fact hurting after Rock Band Tour

[SoraRikuVGM]

I dunno, I thought this was obvious...

[AVC808]

I dunno, I thought this was obvious...

when i first messed around with a real drumset, i had my foot on the pedal in the raised position. my friend had to tell me it would be easier anchored down and releasing and striking when needed. "brilliant!"

[BathTub]

Heh, cheers, certainly the sort of thing I would have (painfully) not thought of for a while.

[Xzyliac]

This is going to be the HO/PO of drums. It seems like a pain to get used to at first but really helps in the long run.

[dlisapussy]

I've always had problems with the bass pedal. I thought it was just because I'm a ***** (note that my name is dlisapussy, and my initials are DL, lolz) and my legs are weak. I figured this out a while later and it makes a huge difference. I'm glad you mentioned this

[MdubMedia]

Good to know. Thanks!

[notDREW]

see i knew i wasn't the only one!

[jq71586]

It's something thats common sense if you really think about it. But, I wouldn't have thought about it. I remember someone mentioning this a while back in a thread about drum techniques, but it's a lot better to see it in picture form.

Some of us are visual learners. :D

[McDeezy]

Thats a funny picture. It applies to real drumming also. I'm glad it carries over into the game.

[Rock_Band_Wii]

It's something thats common sense if you really think about it. But, I wouldn't have thought about it. I remember someone mentioning this a while back in a thread about drum techniques, but it's a lot better to see it in picture form.

Some of us are visual learners. :D
Oh my...666 posts.

[dlisapussy]

jq71586's da devil!!!

[jq71586]

jq71586's da devil!!!

Whew! Well it's a good thing this post takes care of that devil business.

[McDeezy]

Whew! Well it's a good thing this post takes care of that devil business.

LMFAO. That was funny as hell.

[parastroke7]

Thats a funny picture. It applies to real drumming also. I'm glad it carries over into the game.

Speaking of real drumming...

The position you're all talking about is referred to as "heel up." A lot of drummers play this way, but not all. There's also a position called "heel down", which is the position you're all trying to solve the pain of. Neither way is right, or wrong. It's preference, really.

However, in real drumming, heel down has been knocked by a lot of drummers because it slightly muffles the vibration of the bass drum, making it a *thud* instead of a *boom*. In this case, it doesn't matter. The game has no vibration, thud, or boom. It's just "click".

I will say this, though. The muscles needed to play consistant heel up are conditioned in heel down play. That pain you all complain about? Completely normal. Ask any drummer you know who has good bass drum chops, and they'll tell you some horror stories about this pain.

The pain will pass with time, and you'll slowly find yourself getting better bass pedal techinque. Play both heel up and heel down (as practice) if you really want to kick this game's ass. Take it from me. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a twelve year old n00b who talks about things he does not understand. I've been playing for seven years. There are a lot of questions I, as well as other drummers in the forum, have plenty of answers to.

[notDREW]

insightful, indeed. It's always good to hear about pains that are normal and not you know...serious.

[WillDrum4Food]

Speaking of real drumming...

The position you're all talking about is referred to as "heel up." A lot of drummers play this way, but not all. There's also a position called "heel down", which is the position you're all trying to solve the pain of. Neither way is right, or wrong. It's preference, really.

However, in real drumming, heel down has been knocked by a lot of drummers because it slightly muffles the vibration of the bass drum, making it a *thud* instead of a *boom*. In this case, it doesn't matter. The game has no vibration, thud, or boom. It's just "click".

I will say this, though. The muscles needed to play consistant heel up are conditioned in heel down play. That pain you all complain about? Completely normal. Ask any drummer you know who has good bass drum chops, and they'll tell you some horror stories about this pain.

The pain will pass with time, and you'll slowly find yourself getting better bass pedal techinque. Play both heel up and heel down (as practice) if you really want to kick this game's ass. Take it from me. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a twelve year old n00b who talks about things he does not understand. I've been playing for seven years. There are a lot of questions I, as well as other drummers in the forum, have plenty of answers to.


Bingo.

I've been drumming since 1985 and, for me, playing heel down was a necessity because I was learning to play with an ancient 'GHOST' pedal....

It was basically a metal plank and you couldn't get any speed out of it with your heel up.

As of today, I'm actually pretty pleased looking back on the experience now.

Mastering technique on crappy equipment, for me, gave much better results when moving on to decent gear, both in muscle conditioning and ability.
I'm much faster and stronger now heel down than most people are heel up. :D

[Varsps]

yeah there's two techniques, heel up or heel down in real drumming, but alwayskeep your foot down when not playing, much easier

[vtjustinb]

Heel-up is a common drumming style, just so you know. :P