Joe Franco Double Bass Drumming
Etienne Levic
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The heads may be made of calfskin or plastic and there is normally a means of adjusting the tension either by threaded taps or by strings. Bass drums are built in a variety of sizes, but size does not dictate the volume produced by the drum. The pitch and the sound can vary much with different sizes,[2] but the size is also chosen based on convenience and aesthetics. Bass drums are percussion instruments and vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished.
In many forms of music, the bass drum is used to mark or keep time. The bass drum makes a low, boom sound when the mallet hits the drumhead. In marches, it is used to project tempo (marching bands historically march to the beat of the bass). A basic beat for rock and roll has the bass drum played on the first and third beats of bars in common time, with the snare drum on the second and fourth beats, called backbeats. In jazz, the bass drum can vary from almost entirely being a timekeeping medium to being a melodic voice in conjunction with the other parts of the set.
The earliest known predecessor to the bass drum was the Turkish davul, a cylindrical drum that featured two thin heads. The heads were stretched over hoops and then attached to a narrow shell.[3][4] To play this instrument, a person would strike the right side of the davul with a large wooden stick, while the left side would be struck with a rod.[5] When struck, the davul produced a sound much deeper than that of the other drums in existence. Because of this unique tone, davuls were used extensively in war and combat, where a deep and percussive sound was needed to ensure that the forces were marching in proper step with one another.[6] The military bands of the Ottoman Janissaries in the 18th century were one of the first groups to utilize davuls in their music; Ottoman marching songs often had a heavy emphasis on percussion, and their military bands were primarily made up of davul, cymbal and kettle drum players.[5]
Davuls were ideal for use as military instruments because of the unique way in which they could be carried. The Ottoman janissaries, for example, hung their davuls at their breasts with thick straps.[3] This made it easier for the soldiers to carry their instruments from battle to battle. This practice does not seem to be limited to just the Ottoman Empire, however; in Egypt, drums very similar to davuls were braced with cords, which allowed the Egyptian soldiers to carry them during military movements.[3]
The davul, however, was also used extensively in non-military music. For example, davuls were a major aspect of Turkish folk dances.[7] In Ottoman society, davul and shawm players would perform together in groups called davul-zurnas, or drum and shawm circles.[7]
As the use of the long drum began to spread across Europe, many composers and musicians started looking for even deeper tones that could be used in compositions. As a result of this demand, a narrow-shelled, single-headed drum called the gong drum was introduced in Britain during the 19th century.[3] This drum, which was 70-100 centimeters in diameter and deep-shelled, was similar to the long drum in both size and construction. When struck, the gong drum produced a deep sound with a rich resonance. However, the immense size of the drum, coupled with the fact that there was not a second head to help balance the sound, meant that gong drums tended to produce a sound with a definite pitch. As a result, they fell out of favor with many composers, as it became nearly impossible to incorporate them in an orchestra in any meaningful way.[3][5]
Because they were unable to be used by orchestras, music makers began to build smaller gong drums that would not carry a definite pitch. This smaller version of the gong drum is today called the orchestral bass drum, and it is the prototype with which people are most familiar today. The modern bass drum is used primarily in orchestras. The drum, similar to the davul and long drum, is double-headed, rod tensioned and measures roughly 40 inches in diameter and 20 inches in width.[3] Most orchestral bass drums are situated within a frame, which allows them to be positioned at any angle.[3]
Apart from the standard beaters mentioned above, implements used to strike the drum may include keyboard percussion mallets, timpani mallets, and drumsticks. The hand or fingers can also be used (it. con la mano). The playing techniques possible include rolls, repetitions and unison strokes. Bass drums can sometimes be used for sound effects. e.g. thunder, or an earthquake.[5]
Sometimes the front head of a kit bass drum has a hole in it to allow air to escape when the drum is struck for shorter sustain. Muffling can be installed through the hole without taking off the front head. The hole also allows microphones to be placed into the bass drum for recording and amplification. In addition to microphones, sometimes trigger pads are used to amplify the sound and provide a uniform tone, especially when fast playing without a decrease in volume is desired. Professional drummers often choose to have a customized bass drum front head, with the logo or name of their band on the front.
The kit bass drum may be more heavily muffled than the classical bass drum, and it is popular for drummers to use a pillow, blanket, or professional mufflers[11] inside the drum, resting against the batter head, to dampen the blow from the pedal, and produce a shorter "thud".
Different beaters have different effects, and felt, wood and plastic ones are all popular. Bass drums sometimes have a tom-tom mount on the top, to save having to use (and pay for) a separate stand or rack. Fastening the mount involves cutting a hole in the top of the bass drum to attach it; "virgin" bass drums do not have this hole cut in them, and so are professionally prized.
In 1900, Sonor drum company introduced its first single bass drum pedal. William F. Ludwig made the bass drum pedal workable in 1909, paving the way for the modern drum kit.[12] A bass drum pedal operates much the same as the hi-hat control; a footplate is pressed to pull a chain, belt, or metal drive mechanism downward, bringing a beater or mallet forward into the drumhead. The beater head is usually made of either felt, wood, plastic, or rubber and is attached to a rod-shaped metal shaft. The pedal and beater system are mounted in a metal frame and like the hi-hat, a tension unit controls the amount of pressure needed to strike and the amount of recoil upon release.
A double bass drum pedal operates much the same way as a single bass drum pedal does, but with a second footplate controlling a second beater on the same drum. Most commonly this is attached by a shaft to a remote beater mechanism alongside the primary pedal mechanism.[13][14] One notable exception to this pattern is the symmetrical Sleishman twin bass drum pedal.
When using a double bass drum pedal, the foot which normally controls the hi-hat pedal moves to the second bass drum pedal, and so the hi hat opens and remains open. A drop clutch can be used to keep the hi-hat in the closed position, even with the foot removed from the pedal.
There are 3 primary ways to play single strokes with one foot. The first is heel-down technique, where the player's heel is planted on the pedal and the strokes are played with the ankle. This stroke is good for quiet playing and quick syncopated rhythms. The next technique is heel-up, where the player's heel is lifted off of the pedal and the strokes originate from the hip. The ankle is still flexed with each stroke, but the full weight of the leg can be used to add additional power for louder playing situations. Lifting the heel allows access to several double stroke techniques as well. The third primary technique is the floating stroke where the heel is lifted off the pedal as in heel-up, but the stroke is played primarily from the ankle as in heel-down. This motion can allow greater speed and higher note density at louder volumes but is not efficient for slow tempos or sparse rhythms.[15]
Drummers such as Thomas Lang, Virgil Donati, and Terry Bozzio are capable of performing complicated solos on top of an ostinato bass drum pattern. Thomas Lang, for example, has mastered the heel-up and heel-down (single- and double-stroke) to the extent that he is able to play dynamically with the bass drum and to perform various rudiments with his feet.
In order to play "doubles" on the pedal, drummers can employ 3 main techniques: slide, swivel, or heel-toe. In the slide technique, the pedal is struck around the middle area with the ball of the foot. As the drum produces a sound, the toe is slid up the pedal. After the first stroke, the pedal will naturally bounce back, hit the toe as it slides upwards, and rebound for a second strike. In the swiveling double, the pedal is struck once in the normal manner for the first note, then the heel is immediately rotated around the ball of the foot to the side of the pedal while simultaneously playing a second stroke. This rotation can be to the inside or outside, either will work, and results in a faster second stroke than is ordinarily possible.[15] In the heel-toe technique the foot is suspended above the foot-board of the pedal. The entire foot is brought down and the ball of the foot strikes the pedal. The foot snaps up, the heel comes off the footboard, and the toes come down for a second stroke. Once mastered either technique allows the player to play very fast double strokes on the bass drum. Noted players include Rod Morgenstein, Tim Waterson (who formerly held the world record for the fastest playing on a bass drum, using double bass), Tomas Haake, Chris Adler, Derek Roddy, Danny Carey and Hellhammer. The technique is commonly used in death metal and other extreme forms of music where triggers and double bass are typically employed. Double strokes can only properly replace single strokes for long runs of evenly spaced notes when using triggers or sample replacement as the sound is inherently uneven. Some tempos are only possible with double strokes, however.
c80f0f1006