Playing the Heel Toe Technique

Whether you play the double bass drum or not, the heel-toe technique is something all drummers should learn. Learning how to play the heel toe technique will help you develop speed, control and power on your bass drum like no other method out there. You can play the heel toe method on the single bass pedal, or on the double pedals. When you play the heel toe method, you are utilizing the design of the pedal itself in your favor. With one stroke of your foot, you will be able to produce two strokes on the bass drum. Think about the potential of this!

So let’s learn how to play the heel toe technique so we can truly double our bass drum speed. Now the first thing you should realize is this method is easy to learn, but hard to master. Anyone can sit on the drum set and play this technique without any practice at all! I have seen non drummers sit down and correctly play a solid double on the bass drum. That’s one of the reasons why this method has become so popular. However, mastering it is a different story. But that all comes in time.

Start with the placement of your stool and bass pedal. You want to sit high enough so you produce a 100 degree angle. You want to be able to drop your leg on the pedal. Now if you have big feet, that is not a problem. You can use this method with any size feet. Start with your heel on the bass pedal. From here push your heel up with your toes. Raise it up enough to take your whole foot off of the pedal. Then, just like the method suggests, drop your foot on the pedal with your heel hitting first. Immediately after, drop your front of your foot down. This should be a fluent motion. You should get one stroke when your heel hits and another when your toe hits. This is the basic technique to heel toe.

It is very hard to describe this method over a text lesson, so please check out Jared Falk’s Bass Drum Secrets, on this DVD he explains this method in huge detail with slow motion video and all. You do not need to actually hit the heel and toe down, it’s just the motion your foot creates when playing. You will understand the full motion when you practice it. But definitely check out Bass Drum Secrets, you will see what I mean.

The Heel Toe technique is used for playing the double stroke roll on the bass drum. When you can do this, you can play blazing fast rolls on the bass drum. This is seen in metal and other rock drumming. You can also play this technique in fills and solos. The heel toe is also great for playing the Swiss triplet. In fact, this is one of the easiest ways to play fast triplets on your bass drum. Try and play these with your right and left foot leading.

If you are not a double bass player, you can always use this method on the single bass drum. Here you can play fast up tempo punk songs, rock songs, and Latin songs like the Samba. Whatever your style is, learn this technique! It will benefit your drumming in whatever you play. For better results, check out how you set up your bass drum pedal for optimal performance!