Ergonomic Drum Kit Set Up
How do, Brendan Jones here from H91 Drum School in Galway City and this blog is all about the drummers approach to the drum kit. Ergonomics is a interesting topic and its very important for a drummer to a least have some understanding of how beneficial it can be for their playing. With the aid of this Blog and the videos you will be a lot wiser than you were before, in relation to drumming ergonomics is all about how efficient we are behind the drum kit, and that all starts by how set up the drum kit. Soon let’s start from where we sit.
DRUM THRONE:
Generally people will look at their favourite drummer and copy her or his set up, and i get that but your idol has a completely different body to the vessel you possess. So for drum throne height bring the top of the seat inline with your knee, this way when you are sitting on the the drum throne your thighs are 90 degrees to the floor thus not to high or too low. This is a perfect place to start, you can try that, see what it’s like and then experiment buy moving up and then down to see what right for you. Have a look at the video for a more in-depth look at the ergonomics for the right drum throne height.
HI HAT Height:
The ergonomics of the Hi Hat in terms of height can be a bit more trickier then the throne. Ask yourself these questions. How do you play the Hi Hat? Is it with the tip of the drumstick or the shoulder of the drumstick? Do you play both? I know this is very methodical but these questions are important to ask yourself in order to find the most efficient way to set up your Hi Hat and fit your style of playing. Have a look at the video for a full exploration on this topic. The same thinking can be applied to snare drum height.
BASS DRUM PEDAL:
With the Bass drum pedal it’s like more looking at the mechanics of the pedal and asking ourselves what do we want from the sound of the bass drum? What speeds do we want to achieve? and what about the feel of the pedal. For instance a big powerful bass drum sound would be helped by a pedal beater thats far away from the drum skin, however if you want to go for speed, that wouldn’t be the best place for the drum beater. Under you’ll find a video on spring tension it will help you understand this a little more and will give you a great place to start from.
Conclusion:
A Lot of this topic is about asking questions about your style of drumming and knowing what you want to achieve. Another huge part of the ergonomics of drumming is experimentation, moving different drums, settings, angles, heights and tensions and seeing what works. Don’t be afraid of it, it’s a lifelong endeavor that you should alway be tweaking, Why? because as time goes on your body changes (grandfather time is cruel, LOL) and your style of drumming may change too.
I hope this helped, please let me know if it did and if you have any question get in contact with me.
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Look after yourself and be nice to one another.
Brendan .
