Of course I have tough about all of this, for years. I'm very aware of how our body works, especially after a drummer studying drums at college music with us didn't have a choice but to leave and stop playing, because of his wrist injury related to bad technique and/or bad position. It was in 1999, 25 years ago lol. I think the best advice anyone can tell to drummers is to sit high and not too low, but to not too high. To play relax without tension. Don't forget to put your shoes on because it is going to change the level drastically without them. The strangest situation for me about ergonomic position and natural movement was to spend time to learn the traditional grip with DVD of Weckl and Natural Evolution. It's like an adventure where I just want to explore but after some times, weeks, months, years, I came out differently. The omnipresent discussion about that grip is always around the relation with the past reality of standing up while playing with a snare with an angle, and most drummers are going to say that's not really for an entire drumset, compare to the matched grip. I disagree... Also, they are going to point out the bad posture of the left shoulder going down from drummer playing traditional grip. In fact, changing grips goes as far as having new ideas on drums, new desire and changing every angle of the drums... In reality, when I was recording myself in 2020 with the traditonal grip *after 2 or 3 years of practicing it*, I was pleased to see myself with my straight back, a straight shoulder position, and gone is that feeling of lacking space between the snare and hi-hats. While many drummers are pretending it's unatural, I did reach another level of comfort and best ergonomic movemet by playing with 2 different grips in each hand, which is the traditional grip of course. Since I can put any angles on my snare and toms, it's easy to create a setup where everything feel easy and ergonomic. It's easier then ever to look at ourself, it's like 97% of the population with a camera in their hands. We do not have any excuse to be playing in a bad position, especially with free video like your video.
Many thanks for watching! I agree with what you're saying. I learned both Matched and Traditional. I use both for different things. I'm a matched guy for most of my playing. But when it comes to Jazz it's an emotional choice for me to play Traditional. That came after I was having trouble playing Jazz matched grip because my hand would just fall into a rimshot automatically. Now I LOVE the emotion I feel from Traditional grip with Jazz. I feel you can get two totally different vibes from using each, and I think that adds to our arsenals for playing music.
I’m in an older stage of age. lol. I just got a 7pc Tama SuperStar classic. I’m about 6-7 weeks in. Thanks for your great tips and knowledge. I missed drumming in the 80’s (I tried but didn’t last more than month or two). So I’m catching up for major lost time. Not rushing but absorbing as much as I can learning basic basics. Thanks for sharing your knowledge 👍
Many thanks for watching! I love it when folks get in the game no matter their age! Music is for everyone. Best to you and your drumming future! Feel free to reach out if you get stuck along the way. I'll try and help if I can.
@@KirksDrumRoom oh right on! I got 20-30 minutes on my kit (mostly abstract Tom/cymbals)… but also some pdf with basic groove beats (1:16 ( I think) on hi hats and a snare and kick mix). And here and there 10 minutes on small Evan’s pad. With a different pdf mostly 1/4 and 1/8 and rests. So very basic fundamentals of reading, dexterity, metronome, etc. Diggin all of it 👍
Great video, Kirk! Definitely your most valuable video (among many valuable videos on your channel). About ten years ago, I got to take part in a Dave Weckl masterclass. (I have no business studying with Mr. Weckl in any capacity, but I knew the organizer.) Long story short, he helped me revamp my setup - not by much, just an inch or two of adjustment here and there, but it was like adding power steering to my playing. Basically, I had been setting up my snare drum about an inch too low - which not only affected my hands, but affected my overall balance, as I was leaning forward to reach down to the snare. After making adjustments to most of the kit, not just the snare, my balance at the kit improved immensely, which improved my footwork and my ability to move around the set. When I started out, the guideline for setting up your drums was, "set them up so you're comfortable." Just remember, it's possible that your current setup might feel quite comfortable, but that doesn't mean that improvements can't be made.
Great video, the one thing I still struggle with and I don't believe it was mentioned was hi hat height in relation to the snare. Otherwise, awesome video, I did go back and checked some things on my kit as a result.
Kirk, thank you once again for sharing what you know with us. You can be sure that later today, I will be down adjusting and readjusting my set using the information you provided in this lesson. Thank you again and have a wonderful day.❤️🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻❤️
Of course I have tough about all of this, for years.
I'm very aware of how our body works, especially after a drummer studying drums at college music with us didn't have a choice but to leave and stop playing, because of his wrist injury related to bad technique and/or bad position. It was in 1999, 25 years ago lol.
I think the best advice anyone can tell to drummers is to sit high and not too low, but to not too high. To play relax without tension. Don't forget to put your shoes on because it is going to change the level drastically without them.
The strangest situation for me about ergonomic position and natural movement was to spend time to learn the traditional grip with DVD of Weckl and Natural Evolution. It's like an adventure where I just want to explore but after some times, weeks, months, years, I came out differently.
The omnipresent discussion about that grip is always around the relation with the past reality of standing up while playing with a snare with an angle, and most drummers are going to say that's not really for an entire drumset, compare to the matched grip. I disagree... Also, they are going to point out the bad posture of the left shoulder going down from drummer playing traditional grip.
In fact, changing grips goes as far as having new ideas on drums, new desire and changing every angle of the drums...
In reality, when I was recording myself in 2020 with the traditonal grip *after 2 or 3 years of practicing it*, I was pleased to see myself with my straight back, a straight shoulder position, and gone is that feeling of lacking space between the snare and hi-hats.
While many drummers are pretending it's unatural, I did reach another level of comfort and best ergonomic movemet by playing with 2 different grips in each hand, which is the traditional grip of course. Since I can put any angles on my snare and toms, it's easy to create a setup where everything feel easy and ergonomic.
It's easier then ever to look at ourself, it's like 97% of the population with a camera in their hands. We do not have any excuse to be playing in a bad position, especially with free video like your video.
Many thanks for watching! I agree with what you're saying. I learned both Matched and Traditional. I use both for different things. I'm a matched guy for most of my playing. But when it comes to Jazz it's an emotional choice for me to play Traditional. That came after I was having trouble playing Jazz matched grip because my hand would just fall into a rimshot automatically. Now I LOVE the emotion I feel from Traditional grip with Jazz. I feel you can get two totally different vibes from using each, and I think that adds to our arsenals for playing music.
I’m in an older stage of age. lol. I just got a 7pc Tama SuperStar classic. I’m about 6-7 weeks in.
Thanks for your great tips and knowledge. I missed drumming in the 80’s (I tried but didn’t last more than month or two).
So I’m catching up for major lost time. Not rushing but absorbing as much as I can learning basic basics.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge 👍
Many thanks for watching! I love it when folks get in the game no matter their age! Music is for everyone. Best to you and your drumming future! Feel free to reach out if you get stuck along the way. I'll try and help if I can.
@@KirksDrumRoom oh right on! I got 20-30 minutes on my kit (mostly abstract Tom/cymbals)… but also some pdf with basic groove beats (1:16 ( I think) on hi hats and a snare and kick mix). And here and there 10 minutes on small Evan’s pad. With a different pdf mostly 1/4 and 1/8 and rests. So very basic fundamentals of reading, dexterity, metronome, etc.
Diggin all of it 👍
@@samdavparsley8266 That's awesome! 20 focused minutes a day is going to produce some amazing things over time!
Great video, Kirk! Definitely your most valuable video (among many valuable videos on your channel).
About ten years ago, I got to take part in a Dave Weckl masterclass. (I have no business studying with Mr. Weckl in any capacity, but I knew the organizer.) Long story short, he helped me revamp my setup - not by much, just an inch or two of adjustment here and there, but it was like adding power steering to my playing. Basically, I had been setting up my snare drum about an inch too low - which not only affected my hands, but affected my overall balance, as I was leaning forward to reach down to the snare. After making adjustments to most of the kit, not just the snare, my balance at the kit improved immensely, which improved my footwork and my ability to move around the set.
When I started out, the guideline for setting up your drums was, "set them up so you're comfortable." Just remember, it's possible that your current setup might feel quite comfortable, but that doesn't mean that improvements can't be made.
Great story. Thank you for sharing it with us.❤️🙏🏻
It was Billy Ward for me. I watched one of his instructional videos and have used the principles ever since.
Great video, the one thing I still struggle with and I don't believe it was mentioned was hi hat height in relation to the snare. Otherwise, awesome video, I did go back and checked some things on my kit as a result.
I'm planning on doing a hi-hat setup video soon. Be on the lookout!
@@KirksDrumRoom Awesome, Thanks!
Kirk, thank you once again for sharing what you know with us. You can be sure that later today, I will be down adjusting and readjusting my set using the information you provided in this lesson. Thank you again and have a wonderful day.❤️🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻❤️
You're very welcome! It's great to know that I can help people through RUclips. Many thanks for watching!
It's amazing how much "Goldilocks" applies to this. "Not too high, not too low, just right. Not too far, not too near, just right."
Right?! Everyone is physically different. It's got to be taken into consideration.