Bass Pedal Drum Technique: Learn How to Control Kicks Better and Easier

The biggest and easiest improvement I ever made to my Guitar Hero drumming skills, was when I learned how to control my kicks better with this technique.

Maybe Guitar Hero and Rock Band drums are a little too realistic, because the natural instinct for anyone who sits down behind a kit, is to wail and hammer on them relentlessly.  Sure it's fun at first, but if you want to become a better player and earn higher scores, you need to learn how to control your hits as accurately as possible.

Why Are You Pounding On Electronic Drums?  They Sense Differently Than Real Drums

It's no secret the toughest part of learning drumming is becoming accustomed to the bass pedal kicks. But beginners make things much worse on themselves by STOMPING the pedal with every hit.  Nobody can keep that up – and on time – through the end of a setlist!

The GH/RB drum kits are obviously not "real" percussion instruments, so striking the pads extra hard is pointless and counterproductive.  They feature highly sensitive vibration sensors to detect the hits, and knowing the difference is your advantage here.

Want to get better?  Here's a short look at how to improve:

The secret is in holding the pedal down from the beginning of the song (or during a break / freeform section).

Not only does this keep your leg from getting tired, but it reduces the amount of work your foot has to do by over 80%.

The idea is to focus on only letting your foot up off the kick pedal sensor slightly, and softly setting it back down when a purple note kick comes down the chart. Experiment with this – try to lift off the sensor as slightly as possible!  On songs with double-kicks, I like to keep my foot down the majority of the time (resting on the sensor) and then only lift up RIGHT BEFORE the purple kick and quickly tap back down.

Since I keep the pedal travel such a short distance, I can make this quick movement without having to plan very far in advance.  In other words, I can handle the kick pedal quickly when it comes, and then forget about it by resting my foot right back down (much easier than holding it up all song long!), so I can focus on handling the rest of the notes.

Try It Out Using Several Distances… Find Out What Works Best For You!

I'm not a pro at drumming – I'm just hitting my first 5 star Expert scores on the easiest songs right now.  The important thing is to experiment with this technique for a day or two and see what kind of pedal distance works best for you?  Does your leg stay relaxed longer?  Can you hit double kicks easier now?

The Pros Use "Heel-Up Technique" But I Won't Get Into That Now

It wouldn't be appropriate for an article on bass pedal technique to not mention the infamous "Heel-Up" technique.  This is what you see the top Guitar Hero and Rock Band drummers use, like "azuritereaction" and "deathsketch" on YouTube.  The difference is they keep their heel suspended in the air and play the pedal that way.  I found this tough to learn and so far have kept with the more simple "heel-down" technique illustrated in this post.  But if you can learn to play heel-up, you're probably better off.