Adjust your throne height to the point where your thighs are parallel to the ground, or slightly sloped down to the pedals. Allow your feet to relax...what position are they in? Flat? Angled down? Angled up? That's how you should play, unless your body naturally wants to change it when you play. When I play fast licks, my heel comes up. When I need to really lay into the drum, my thigh lifts up and my toes point down.

If the muscle going up your shin is sore, you're probably lifting your toes up. Don't. Allow your foot/ankle/leg to relax. That's your "homebase." Everything you do should come from that. Relaxing: it's not just for your hands. :)

@caddywumpus: Agree!

Depending on Tempo and Dynamics I use both Techniques.

Using 'Heel up' means for me to let it down after each Beat* and then to relax, which some players don't do. Bad for your Health and Material.

*or a combination of a 'Toe' (no lifting!) and a Heel Beat = Double Kicks.

Great Excercise is to play a Samba Bass Drum in a comfortable Tempo for a longer Time and combine it with some Rudiments or other Snare Pieces. Or just a Cymbal Ostinato and a Backbeat!

Hope that helps, good Luck!

L.

Jeff - Skip ahead to 4:08 into this video with Joe Morello. Great info.

[ame]http://youtu.be/1LlX6Y5Gxio[/ame]

John

Thank you guys, great advice. I think I was lifting the toes. And my throne may be to high, but i was having problems with the sticks hitting the snare drum rim, like a rim shot, so I raised the throne to get my arms and upper body higher. My snare drum is as low as it will go. Maybe my legs are too short to be a drummer.

Short snare stand will help.

John

Jeff , Ive always think of it as a floating foot so to say, You become very fluid with the pedal, ball to heal and back, encompassing the whole foot board at times, the versatility of heel to ball in itself, is what makes a pedal do its job that's why i like SK's and Ghost, so much so im back on my ghost and im really digging it, for that very reason, i think that the Ghost mite outscore SK's a tad, not much but it does seem to me it has the edge

! ( look out i mite of opened another can of worms),.

Thanks John, great video! I think I will have to check out the whole thing when I get some time. I have searched you tube and have found some helpful videos like the one you posted here. I have been wanting to start this thread for a long time, but I thought I should try to solve my problems on my own. Well, I don't seem to be getting any where so here I am asking for advice. I think its great to get advice from members, most of you have played for many years so I take the advice very seriously. Most of my problem is just not enough practice. When I do get behind the kit I play simple beats and practice fills, you know simple stuff. I need to spend more time on the snare drum alone just practicing paradidles and double stroke rolls and stuff. Some times I think I should take lessons starting with the basics again.

I noticed the guy in the video never lifted his heal from the foot board.!

Jeff here is a simple but very true statement. Whatever you can play with your hands you can play with your feet. You need to set a time every day and pratice, muscle memory, repetition, when you are playing the rudiments with your hands, also do them with your feet. Also the bass drum angle really matters as morello mentioned, the front rim of the bass drum with your bass drum pedal mounted to the drum should be no more than 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches off the ground. Don't set the spring tension on your bass drum pedal to tight. Also beginning drummers the bass drum is almost always the weak link in their playing. Here watch this video this technique called heel and toe is an advanced technique, watch it, from Steve Smith.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqj3p8rF4ew"]Steve Smith Bass Drum Techniques - YouTube[/ame]

I play both heal up and down, depending on the dynamics of the song. Softer- heel down.Louder- heel up.

These days I cant seem to find the right setting on my bass drum pedal(s). I currently play a DW5000 newer model.. I used to have a DW9000 that I didnt like.. Starting to think that maybe over the years it is my technique that has started to lack.... Back to practicing I suppose!