Double Bass Improvement Part 3

Basic Ideas for Triplet Groupings

Welcome back to another round of bass drum fury. I hope those of you who viewed February’s issue enjoyed the play-along tracks I provided. Until now, we have only been working on basic eighth and sixteenth note groupings. These are easier to grasp because while alternating single strokes (RLRL; LRLR), the leading foot always falls on the beat. This is always true unless you decide to change the sticking pattern to alter the feel of the rhythm.

While there is enough required practice to keep you busy for years developing control, endurance, and speed on eighth and sixteenth notes alone, I figured we could spice up our practice routine by adding triplets to the list.

If you haven’t guessed already, triplets are a different beast that need as much or more taming as duple note groupings (8ths, 16ths, 32nds, etc.). When playing single stroke triplets, the lead foot changes with every downbeat. You may already know some various sticking patterns that allow the same lead foot to fall on every downbeat. If so, you are well on your way. As for the rest of you, my approach to developing control over various patterns of duple note groupings is the same for triplets; I like to take it one foot at a time. Follow the examples below at tempos between 90bpm and 120bpm to begin with.

Click to watch PercThoughts-Triplets1.mov, PercThoughts-Triplets2.mov, PercThoughts-Triplets3.mov, PercThoughts-Triplets4.mov.

Remember; work these out using heels down as well as heels up!
Start at 90bpm and hold the tempo between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

Exercises 1 and 2 may be the most likely cause mild to extreme tension in your shin muscle (tibialis anterior) when playing heels down. Push yourself as long as you can at the tempo you have chosen. When the burning gets too great—stop, pat yourself on the back for pushing the envelope, then relax and stretch. Over time, you will find that your threshold of speed and endurance will increase. I hope you keep some kind of practice journal as I suggested in the 1st double bass lesson so you can literally see your progress. This is great for morale!

Don’t forget, practice heels down and heels up! You should definitely playwith the technique you prefer, but practice both. I want these exercises to help you develop your feet and leg muscles through and through.

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