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March 12, 2006 Give Yourself plenty of room on the Drumset (& let Gravity do the rest!!!)
Filed under » Drums, Snare Drums, Cymbals, Drum Hardware, Percussion, Music, Funk, Jazz, Rhythm, Aesthetics, Drum Heroes, Master Drummers — DF @ 7:53 pm Hello, Hello, Hello!
I was giving My student Iain a LesSoN the other afternoon>>>He was trying to master a 16th Note Hi-Hat Part in a CoOL Off~Beat GroOVe & He asked Me why I have the distance between My Hi-Hat Cymbals & My Snare Drum set the way that it is>>>
My Answer was this…….with comfortable distances between the Drums & Cymbals on My Drum~Sets it gives Me more ROOM to Move around Freely, enabling Me to set up a Smooth FLOW in My Playing & encorages Me to utilise the effects of GRAVITY on My DRUM~STICKS to the fullest!!! >>> Let Me explain this to Everyone in a little More Detail >>>
I’ve found that an ALARMINGLY Large amount of Drummers have No idea how to set up their Drum~Kit so that it is Comfortable to move around on & maintains LOW STRESS & LOW IMPACT on The Muscles in the Body, Particularly the BACK, NECK, SHOULDERS & KNEES.>>>
In 1981 My Drum Teacher Dave Clifford took Me & a small goup of His Favourite Students at Raynes Park High in South London to See THE INCREDIBLE BUDDY RICH & His Big Band Playing at The Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank >>> This AMAZING Experience CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER!! >>> Buddy Rich was then & still is Now,Years after His Death, One of the ALL~TIME GREAT MASTERS of Drums, bringing to the Instrument Swing, Funk, Flair, Humour, Power & FEEL,FEEL, FEEL, FEEL, FEEL!!!>>>>
As an excitable, Over~Enthusiastic Teen~Ager He & His Brilliant Band COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY!!!! >>> I Vividly remember getting SO EXCITED that I couldn’t stop Laughing out loud & thoroughly Annoying the other kids in Our little group!!!
In the Interval I walked down to the edge of the stage to look at the MASTER’S Kit & what still fascinates Me to this Day is how FAR AWAY Drums & Cymbals were from Him & His Drum Throne!! >>> He had SO MUCH SPACE!! >>> His China Cymbal for example was a FULL ARMS REACH Away from Him & NO Cymbal or Drum was set too High~ NOTHING was above His Shoulder Hight & NOTHING was Uncomfortable for Him to Reach or Play >>>
I Realised then & there Why He Seemed to have such a GREAT Time & Enjoy Himself SO MUCH when He Played…..BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY COMFORTABLE!!
His Feet, Hands, Arms, Legs & Back were under NO STRESS from His Kit Set~Up….though looking back His Heart obviously WAS from His GRUELING Performance! >>>
So Many Drummers (& Percussionists for that matter) Set their Kits Up to make them Look Cool, Rather than to make them Great to Play>>> This is a BIG MISTAKE!!! >>>>>
So what was that about Gravity I hear You ask! >>>> Well, a Drum Stick FALLS & if We give Ourselves Plently of Room as I have discussed, We can Use this Phenomenon of Physics to Our Great Advantage! >>>>>
Without much Unnecessary Effort We can ALL Play with MORE POWER & SKILL by Controlling & Guiding the “Fall” of Our Sticks thereby “streamlining” the amount of Energy We have to Use to Play Our Instrument >>>
Basically it all adds up to making the Action of Playing Drums or Percussion EASIER & MORE COMFY!!!!! ERGONOMICS!!! >>>
It makes SO MUCH SENSE!!! >>> So why not try Re~Positioning Your Kit TODAY!!!
ENJOY Drumming, ENJOY Music, ENJOY LIFE,
Big Funk & PeaCe to the Planet,
Let the LIGHT Shine,
***<<< Si the DF >>>***
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u lucky bugger!! bet buddy rich was awesome!
anyway back to the point! lol. ye i totally agree, ive seen so many rediculous set-ups which just leaves the player no room to manouver around the kit, and stupidly placed cymbals that they cant even reach!!
oh, and by the way are you planning on doing any more gigs with the Trio in the near future? just wondering, would be great if you were,
love and leave,
louis
Comment by louis — March 24, 2006 @ 9:02 pm