Drumming News :
By Rick Van Horn
Last time we defined “ergonomics” as the relationship of the human body to doing any sort of work, and we examined that relationship in terms of cymbal and rack tom positioning on a drumkit. This time we’ll consider bass drum positioning and seat height.
The human body is designed to operate in a very limited number of ways. It has remarkable flexibility within those parameters, but it can’t suffer extended abuse without some reaction—usually in the form of injury or impaired performance. With that in mind, let’s look at the relationship of a drummer’s body to the position of the bass drum—perhaps the starting point of virtually every drumkit setup.
We’ve all been brought up on photos of drummers sitting proudly behind their kits, with their bass drums facing straight forward so that the illustration on the front head (be it a company logo, the drummer’s initials, or a band name) is clearly visible. The drummers, too, are faced directly forward so that we can see their smiling faces. What’s wrong with this picture?
Most drummers see nothing wrong with it, and that’s the way they set up: drums and drummer facing straight ahead. But if the bass drum is facing straight ahead, that means that the bass drum pedal is pointing straight back. This creates a need for what I believe is an unnatural “turning in” of the bass drum foot.
Take a moment to do the following exercise: Sit in a reasonably high, straight-backed chair (or on your drum throne if it’s handy). Close your eyes, relax completely, and imagine that you have a snare drum on a stand between your legs in front of you. Lift your legs so that your feet are off the ground a couple of inches. Remaining totally relaxed, allow your feet to drop to the floor. You should notice that your feet will land with the toes slightly turned out—at something close to a 45-degree angle.
It’s my contention that in order to maximize strength, speed, and endurance—and to minimize potential damage to the musculature of the leg and foot—the angle of the bass drum pedal should conform to the angle of the foot, not the other way around. This means that if you wish to face straight forward, the pedal should angle slightly to the outside of your body (left or right, depending on which foot you use) and the bass drum should be slightly offset accordingly. (Double bass drummers have an advantage here; their setup automatically conforms to this principle.) If you play single-bass, and you want the drum to face straight forward, you should angle your body slightly to one side or the other in order to maintain a natural foot-to-pedal relationship.
Some drummers try to get around this situation by setting the bass drum facing straight forward, but allowing their foot to angle across the pedal plate instead of turning their foot at the ankle to correspond with the pedal. While this may reduce the risk of problems for their bodies, it likely will increase the risk of damage to their pedal, since the forces operating on the pedal are not what it was designed to withstand.
Bottom line here: Arrange your setup to allow your bass drum foot, your pedal, and your bass drum to be in a direct line. You’ll be amazed at how much this will maximize your comfort and your playing efficiency.
Now, on a new topic: Nowhere is ergonomics more important to a drummer than the question of seat height. Of course, “correct” height is determined by many factors, and has no absolute definition. There has long been a controversy over whether a drummer achieves more power by sitting high or low. Questions of control and speed also come into the issue. But there are certain physical factors that you should take into account when determining what height is correct for you.
First, consider your body’s need for constant, unrestricted circulation. The edge of a too-high seat can cut into the undersides of the thighs, pinching major blood vessels and causing numbness in the legs and feet. (A saddle-style seat versus a round one can help in this area.)
A too-high seat can cause upper and middle back strain (due to resultant “drummers crouch”), while lower back problems can develop from a too-low seat that puts most of the upper body’s weight on the lower spine. A seat too high or too low can promote improper balance, causing the body to move in unnatural manners in an attempt to get balanced.
I can’t recommend a specific “norm” when it comes to seat height. All I can do is encourage you to examine your seat height with these factors in mind. If you do want to consider making a change, start with small adjustments. Play for a while with the new setting before deciding whether or not to make another change. A quarter of an inch higher or lower can make a tremendous difference.
My object with raising all these points is not to tell you how you should set up your kit, or why you should change your concept of playing to suit mine. My hope is that these suggestions will get you thinking about the critical relationship that exists between your body and your instrument—and the work that they do together that ultimately comes out as “drumming.”
Drummer, educator and journalist Rick Van Horn is best known to the drumming world through his twenty-four years with Modern Drummer magazine. Rick started as a regular columnist in 1980 and, after joining the MD staff in 1983 as managing editor, Rick was later promoted to the post of senior editor— a position he held until February of 2008. Within that period he also produced and emceed eighteen consecutive Modern Drummer Festival Weekends, making him one of the most recognizable personalities in the drumming industry. @rick.vanhorn.73
