Sitting at the Drum Kit: A Personal Approach

Regarding how you might sit at the drum kit, it's a very personal thing. In my 30 years of playing, I've adapted various aspects, such as:

• Stool height
• Proximity to the drums

All these factors have changed over the years, and it's always a work in progress. However, there are some fundamental things we can discuss at this stage.

Comfort Height

1. Stool or Drum Throne
   Make sure you’re sitting at a comfortable height.

   • When you hit the snare drum (which, if you're right-handed, will be with your left stick), ensure your hand is clear of your leg.
   • Avoid bashing your hand into your leg each time you try to hit the snare drum.

   This prevents adopting strange techniques that can affect your posture, playing, and longevity.

   Tip: Try hitting the snare drum a few times with your left stick, ensuring your hand doesn’t bump into your thigh.

Drum Fills

• There are some drum fills in this course where you’ll use both hands on the snare.
  • Similarly, avoid having your right thigh bump into your hand while playing.

Distance Between Hi-Hat and Snare Drum

1. Spacing Adjustments
   Over time, I’ve adapted the distance between the hi-hat and the snare drum.

   • Depending on the style of music, I may change this spacing slightly. For instance, if I’m playing louder rock music, I prefer a bit more clearance.
   • This prevents the sticks from bashing into one another, especially when playing a loud snare backbeat in rock and pop.

   Example:

   • I like to have the hi-hats high enough so my shoulder isn’t strained, maintaining a relaxed posture.
   • For a simple play, I might perform quarter notes on the hi-hat with the snare on two and four.

Playing the Toms

1. Proximity for Comfort
   When you play the toms, ensure you're sitting close enough to hit each of them comfortably.

   • Maintain a relaxed position; you don’t want to be too far away from the drums.
   • A demonstration might involve playing two hits on each tom as eighth notes, alternating right and left all the way around.

Ride Cymbal Adjustments

1. Playing Jazz
   When playing jazz, I often position the ride cymbal closer, as I spend most of my time with my right hand on it.

   • I might not have the medium tom in this setup, which is common among many jazz drummers.
   • Ensure you can reach the ride cymbal comfortably.

   Note on Sound:

   • Hitting the ride too close to the edge can produce a "gongy" sound, which might build in volume undesirably.
   • For a cleaner tone and better control, aim to play in the middle section of the ride cymbal.

2. Bell of the Ride

   • There’s also the bell of the ride, which you may want to use for some patterns later in the course, but not at this stage.

Final Thoughts:

• Focus on comfort.
• Maintain a relaxed posture and ensure that you’re not straining to reach any part of the drum kit, including the crash cymbals.