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Thread: Bass Drum.

  1. #1

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    Default Bass Drum.

    Hi, I'm going to try out for my highschools drumline playing the bass drum. But im switching from the alto sax. So i was wondering if there was anything i should know about it, or any tips. Thanks.

  2. #2

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    Don't blow as hard.

    Seriously... just concentrate and play in good time.

    Welcome to Drum Chat!

  3. #3

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    Good one Drummer LOL. It will definitly be heavier than the sax. Good luck man.
    Last edited by Pearl MCX Man; 09-09-2012 at 08:43 AM.

  4. #4

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    Well, since you already have a background with music, reading the music should be fairly easy and knowing how to keep time should already be something you can do. Like anything, it's going to take practice. Do you have something at home to practice on? You can listen to music, any music, and practice keeping time and practice coming up with various patterns to keep time.
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  5. #5

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    Welcome to drumchat shelt32. It's going to feel different carrying it around as it's a larger object than a sax, and your hands will be doing different things - not so much your fingers anymore. As stated, it's great that you have a background with another instrument in drumline - it means you are already exposed to drumline music and have seen bass drum players in action. So off the bat you have an advantage! Have fun!
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  6. #6

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    Alright.. Since I see no tips as far as technique goes, here's what I know:

    It's matched grip, so you need to make sure your thumb's always on the stick. While you're at attention, but not in ready position yet, your sticks need to be vertical against the rim of the drum.

    As far as playing goes, you need to hit in the dead center of the drum, since that's where the most sound is gonna come from.

    I'm also going to assume you're playing on a rudimental bass line (a bass line with at least 3 different sounding bass drums). From what I've seen, repetition is key. Actually, that's key in everything. But if you want to have a good, clean bass line, where everyone knows what they're doing, repetition is something I've seen work over and over again, especially in the bass line. Having said that, so is collaboration. You don't want to have a bass line where one person's yelling at everyone else. You need to work together and say "Hey, I think this is what this measure, bar, grace note, etc. is supposed to sound like" and then demonstrate. If it's wrong, well, then you'll find that out in the process.
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  7. #7

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    Thanks everyone for the advice I'll take it! But I'm gonna start getting lessons from a player in my drumline, and well see how it goes!

  8. #8

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    I marched BD for a while in highschool. It can be the easiest percussion to march or one of the hardest. It really depends on who is writing the percussion parts. In marching percussion the BD line is typically the only instrument that has a separate part for each player. All snare drums play the same part, all tenors play the same part, generally, there are exceptions I assume. But the BD line is typically 3-5 players playing seperate parts that lock in as 1 part.

    For instance, a basic eighth note BD line run would start at top or bottom bass on 1&, BD #2 on 2&, #3 of 3&, and #4 on 4&, if there is a #5 it would hit on the downbeat of the next measure. This is just a basic example, runs can be very complex and the BD line has to be precise with their counting to come in in the right spot. Your part in a measure could be the & of 1, e of 3, and the downbeat of 4, it can be very tough to count.

    Bass drum is heavy to march, especially if you're on the bottom end, I'm 6'3" so sure enough I got stuck with the 28" BD #5, it was quite a pain to lug around, but oh so fun to play. BD in the stands at football games is where its at, grooving hard for the fans while not having to lug around 40lbs on your shoulder!!
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  9. #9

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    Good luck get used to the wait and work out run its more work than you think (i march the largest bass drum)

  10. #10

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    I hope your good at memory because drum line plays music from memory.

  11. #11

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    Hey, HolyChina.

    Did you happen to catch the date of this thread?

    He's probably already graduated by now. LOL.


  12. #12

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    Form
    Sabian!!!

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