10 Heavy Metal Drumming Tips and Techniques

Heavy Metal has always gathered a big crowd. The reason is its aggressive and energetic music that makes you bang your head in the air. Many bands have used this genre to address many issues of society while at the same time, some groups gave us the meaning of love and life. No matter what the lyrics were, heavy metal has always been able to catch people’s attention. You can also check this out if you’re looking for the Best Drum Replacement Plugins.

Due to its popularity, many people want to learn the art of heavy metal drumming. And trust us, you don’t need to have long hair or big tattoos to get into the “heavy metal” club. All you need is a drum kit, a pair of drumsticks, and a whole lot of aggression. In this article, we will give you some tips and tricks, which will help you get yourself better in this musical genre. You can also try this Alesis SR16 Classic Drum Machine.

Tuning 

When it comes to tuning the toms, you should prefer going for a medium to low tuning in such a way that when you press the floor toms with hands, they should show wrinkles. Specifically, for heavy metal where you want to have high pitch and strike sound, bottom heads should be tuned slightly lower. 

Tuning the snare fine will make it ring longer and sound better. When it comes to the bass drum, you should optimize low and allow the same wrinkling effect as the floor toms. In metal, you need bass with an enhanced thud; for this, you need to reduce the overtones, which could be done by using some dampening pads.   

Hitting the Rimshot 

In metal where the music is loud and high pitched and sounds full of distorted electric guitars, a drummer must stand out. For this, you can always make use of the rims of your drums. The key here is to hit the drumstick in such a way that it hits the middle of the drum and the rim precisely at the same time. You would need some practice to get it right, but once you get it, you will be able to achieve your mix of sharp and cutting rimshot snare sound. 

Hi-hats and X-hats 

Metal drumming requires you to hit the hi-hats freely, producing all the trashy open and closed sounds. But if you want to play double pedal besides with hi-hats, you would require to lower the hi-hat stands, so that you get enough room to access the whole kit. But when you do this, you will not be able to achieve open and closed hi-hat sound. And this is precisely where an X-hat would come to play.  

X-hat will enable you to change the position of hi-hats according to your liking, and this will also help you to play the double pedal without any inconvenience.   

Cymbal Choke

You might have seen many metal drummers playing cymbals quite often. And one of the sounds which are quite popular in metal is the cymbal choke, where the drummer stops the cymbal with his hand after striking it to produce different aggressive separations in music.  

Once again, this requires practice and precision. You can choke the cymbal with the same hand that made a strike on it, or you can stop it with the other hand side as well. You can always experiment by integrating cymbal chokes with individual bass drum hits and double bass drum hits. You may use any best china cymbal for this.

Riding the Crash Cymbal 

The dynamics of metal music have changed a lot. As the hi-hats games have gone more open and striking them is the jam, you also need to be creative with the crash cymbal. Transitions are the key, and shifting the gear is required to get the people moving. So, it is a great idea to go with the riding of crash cymbal frequently. If you are looking to get more wash and speed, try using a larger cymbal; 18 inches or more. 

Get Your Feet Moving 

Hitting the kick drum is one of the most essential parts of metal music. And if you want your music to be in rhythm, you need to strike it with both power and precision. For this, you would need to practice. Try to hit the bass drum with your weaker foot. In this way, you can train your weaker foot, plus this will also give your mind control over your foot. Play your traditional acoustic in a very preferable way with the Best Acoustic Electric Guitars.

Kick the Bass with The Perfect Pedal 

As we were talking about practicing with your feet, it is essential for you to choose a pedal that suits you the best. It is fine to have a drum kit that is not expensive. But it is not fine to have a clutch that is not comfortable for you. Don’t run away from throwing in some cash to buy a pedal that is right for you. You can play with a not so expensive drum kit, but if you are not comfortable with the kick-pedal, you are not going to get the right rhythm at all. 

Get Fast 

Practice and get yourself fast, strike the drums hard, and let all the aggression out. But don’t get yourself too worked out as drumming takes your energy. Choose your Double Bass Pedal. So, you need to keep yourself hydrated and keep your body temperatures down. 

Keep on practicing your tracks till you feel like there is no room for improvement. It would help if you also worked out a bit, do a bit of running to keep yourself healthy. Drumming is like sport, the more work out, the more you’ll put on the field. Visit Roland Drum Kit for high-end playability and quick sound.


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