Sitting at the Kit

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# 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

2. **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

3. **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

4. **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.

5. **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.

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