I could once play 270 BPM 16th notes with full leg motion, with a bit of ankle motion, while my left leg was tense. Now I can't do 150 BPM

Question

Okay, so as said I could once play 270 BPM 16th notes with full leg motion, with a bit of ankle motion, while my left leg was tense. Now I can't do 150 BPM.

Now, I know that it was a really bad way to play double bass (drums). (I've played about 10 months double bass) So I tried to do ankle motion. I practiced that for a while, but can only do about 140 BPM now (with ankle motion). When I try to play above 150 BPM, my left foot can't keep up.

Should I keep going practicing ankle motion, and play that way? Or should I stick with the way I could play really fast? (I can't get near 270 bpm at all now)

Answer 1

I always thought that really fast playing double bass requires a combination of leg and foot work.

What I'm doing is practice separately heel-down for (say) 5 minutes. Then work the leg, keeping the feet flat for another 5 minutes. After that I do the combination exercise, using both leg and foot, alternating.

In any case, I'm using this just for exercising both legs. I'm not a double-bass player so I'm not using this while playing. But I watched Marthyn Jovanovich tutorial videos and he's been an active metal drummer in the past so I guess he knows what he's talking about.

The answer to your question depends on your goals, really. If all you want to play is 16th notes at 270bpm, then continue doing what you did before. If not, then adjust the technique. I would go practicing some common motion for the style of music I would be going to play.