How do you do a steady blast beat without tiring?

by chris
(hartford ct)

How can i do a blast beat with out getting tired so fast?

ANSWER

Hi, Chris--

Of course, it depends on the PARTICULAR "blast" beat that you are playing, but in general, the "tiredness"problem boils down to how you can play rapidly with your hands and feet without the tension which makes your muscles fatigued.

For your hands--be sure that you are using your WRISTS. Try the old trick of placing a quarter on top of your wrist. If you are not moving your arm, the quarter will stay there. Using the arm instead of the wrist will make you tired faster because large muscles require more energy to use.

The same is true with your foot (feet). Experiment with heels up and heels down and see which works best for you. Whichever you use, be sure that you are not using your LEG muscles. This is fairly easy when playing heels down.

When playing heels up, be sure that you are just bouncing on your toes and NOT using your leg muscles.

The "Steady" part of the problem is a different matter. The beat should be practiced VERY slowly with the metronome. Be sure that the beat is steady before slightly increasing the metronome speed.

If your right hand and right foot are supposed to hit at the same time, be sure that they are hitting at EXACTLY the same time.

Hope this helps a bit. Just be patient and you will see results.

By the way, have you checked out our Almost Free Drum Tabs?

These are quality drum tab presented in traditional notation. They are guaranteed accurate and easy to read.

Once you experience these tabs, you will never want to go back to the inaccurate and difficult to read tabs that you find free on the internet. You can even order custom made drum tabs for ANY song!

Lynne