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Heel-toe technique is a foot technique that drummers use to be able to play single strokes or double strokes on the bass drum, hi-hat, or other pedals.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2008) |
Heel-toe technique is a foot technique that drummers use to be able to play single strokes or double strokes on the bass drum, hi-hat, or other pedals.
The heel-toe foot technique was pioneered by drummers of the big band era. [1] The application most commonly used for this technique at that time was a rocking motion that assisted the drummer in keeping solid time on the hi-hat, while simultaneously playing timpani type floor tom rhythms or swinging the ride cymbal. Early video footage of Buddy Rich, along with fellow Big band drummers are seen utilizing this technique in a musical setting.
In modern times, this method has been brought into mainstream knowledge and developed by James Davenport (Warpath), and implemented into various styles of music such as heavy metal by drummers such as Chris Adler, Jared Klein (Rivers of Nihil) and John Longstreth (Origin), where the heel-toe technique is used to play a multiple stroke roll on both feet. Usually this consists of double and triple strikes. It has also been incorporated into the drum and bass genre by artists like Jojo Mayer. Tim Waterson used a hybrid version of the heel-toe technique to set the double stroke world record for feet in the World's Fastest Drummer competition with a score of 1,407 doubles in 60 seconds. Davenport is the first drummer to build a style of playing that uses multiple stroke kick drumming as the foundation of his technique.
The technique allows a drummer to play two strokes in a single motion similar to the Moeller method for hand technique. It consists of two parts:
The term heel-toe is used because of the appearance of the heel pushing down on the pedal followed by the toe. In actuality, it's the ball of the foot (or toes) both times, and depending on the relative size of the feet and pedal, and the drummer's individual technique, the heel may not touch the pedal or ground at all.
The technique is an asset when playing double kick pedals or two bass drums as it allows for drum rudiments to be played with the feet. When mastered, drummers can use the method to play complex patterns in the same manner as the hands in addition to rolling the bass drum.
The limited volume is due to muscle fatigue if the knee and upper leg are not used to power the second stroke. Often this will cause cramp. It takes years of deliberate practice to develop the muscles needed to even out the volume. For this reason, it can be especially convenient to use triggers when using this method.
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The drummer typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks, and uses their feet to operate hi-hat and bass drum pedals.
A hi-hat is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist of a matching pair of small to medium-sized cymbals mounted on a stand, with the two cymbals facing each other. The bottom cymbal is fixed and the top is mounted on a rod which moves the top cymbal toward the bottom one when the pedal is depressed.
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, 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.
A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal, and occasionally in metalcore. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the bass drum, snare, and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal." Blast beats have been described by PopMatters contributor Whitney Strub as, "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence".
"The 'original' or traditional blastbeat is a single-stroke roll played between your cymbal and snare, with your kick playing simultaneously with every cymbal hit."
Clash cymbals are cymbals played in matched pairs by holding one cymbal in each hand and striking the two together.
A pedalboard is a keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long, narrow lever-style keys laid out in the same semitone scalar pattern as a manual keyboard, with longer keys for C, D, E, F, G, A and B, and shorter, raised keys for C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯. Training in pedal technique is part of standard organ pedagogy in church music and art music.
Drum tablature, commonly known as a drum tab, is a form of simplified percussion notation, or tablature for percussion instruments. Instead of the durational notes normally seen on a piece of sheet music, drum tab uses proportional horizontal placement to indicate rhythm and vertical placement on a series of lines to represent which drum from the drum kit to stroke. Drum tabs frequently depict drum patterns.
Tim Waterson is a Canadian drummer who holds the world record for the fastest number of double strokes on a bass drum using a double pedal, with a record of 1,407 in one minute.
Glide step is a form of movement used by marching bands to minimize upper body movement, enabling musicians to play their instruments and march without air-stream interruptions. Standardizing the style of marching also serves to add to the visual effect of a marching band. Sometimes special shoes are worn with a curved heel that facilitates rolling the foot. Glide stepping is used by many high school marching bands, college marching bands, and by many Drum Corps. Glide stepping is sometimes also known as "roll stepping".
Pacific Drums and Percussion is a musical instrument brand established by the Drum Workshop Inc., in 1999, with the purpose of providing its percussion instruments at more affordable prices.
Foot drop is a gait abnormality in which the dropping of the forefoot happens due to weakness, irritation or damage to the deep fibular nerve, including the sciatic nerve, or paralysis of the muscles in the anterior portion of the lower leg. It is usually a symptom of a greater problem, not a disease in itself. Foot drop is characterized by inability or impaired ability to raise the toes or raise the foot from the ankle (dorsiflexion). Foot drop may be temporary or permanent, depending on the extent of muscle weakness or paralysis and it can occur in one or both feet. In walking, the raised leg is slightly bent at the knee to prevent the foot from dragging along the ground.
Orchestral percussion refers to the various percussion instruments used in an orchestral setting. It may also refer to the act of playing such instruments in an orchestral style. Many music schools and conservatories offer training for musicians interested in developing their skills as orchestral percussionists. Typically, an orchestral percussionist does not specialize in one particular instrument. Although there is no exhaustive list of all instruments that an orchestral percussionist must be able to play, there are particular instruments that are frequently used in the orchestral repertoire. This includes timpani, snare drum, bass drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, and tambourine.
Tap dance makes frequent use of syncopation. Tap dance choreographies typically start on the eighth beat, or between the eighth and the first count.
Tiptoe describes the human body posture and locomotion of removing the heel(s) of one or both feet from the ground. The term is mostly used colloquially when the weight is placed on the balls of the feet rather than literally on the tips of the toes; literal tip-toeing is difficult but possible, as in the pointe technique of ballet. In running, landing on the ball of the foot is known as forefoot strike.
Giorgos "George" Kollias is a Greek heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American technical death metal band Nile. He is the first Nile drummer to perform every song on more than one full-length album. His sponsors include Zildjian cymbals, Evans, Vic Firth, and Axis Pedals; the last with whom he released his signature bass drum pedals. In addition to being the drummer of Nile, he also teaches drums at the Modern Music School in Athens.
Drum hardware is the set of parts of a drum or drum kit that are used to tension, position, and otherwise support the instruments themselves.
In percussion, grip refers to the manner in which the player holds the percussion mallet or mallets, whether drum sticks or other mallets.
Double-drumming is a percussion technique, developed around 1900, allowing the use of both a bass and snare drum by one person, using drum sticks, prior to the invention of the bass drum pedal and leading to the availability of the drum kit. According to Len 'Hunt' Doc, double drumming allowed one player to "beat a fast four-in-a-bar bass drum, doing a close roll on snare at the same time," whereas before it would have taken two percussionists. Accomplished through close positioning of the bass and snare heads, the cymbals were played by tapping a foot pedal called a "low-boy". This style is best exemplified by early New Orleans Jazz/Second Line bands, and Baby Dodds has been called the master.
The Tama Iron Cobra is a bass drum pedal line made between 1992 and the present. They are a full-baseplate, double chain or kevlar strap drive, professional quality bass drum pedal used by many leading drummers. The Iron Cobra comes in both single and double pedal configurations with 3 different drive choices and, recently, a longboard Speed Cobra option. Tama also produces an Iron Cobra Junior pedal for beginner to intermediate audiences. The pedal's initial popularity was due to its adjustability, but it has since become known for its durability over time.
Heavy metal drumming is a style of rock music drum kit playing that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic/acid rock drum playing, heavy metal drummers play with emphatic beats, and overall loudness using an aggressive performing style. Heavy metal drumming is traditionally characterized by emphatic rhythms and dense bass guitar-and-drum sound. The essence of metal drumming is creating a loud, constant beat for the band using the "trifecta of speed, power, and precision".