Are You Sitting Comfortably? - How and Where to Set Up Your Drum Stool

23Oct/090

Are You Sitting Comfortably? - How and Where to Set Up Your Drum Stool

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Photo credit: Petteri Sulonen

The stool is the single most important part of the kit. Think about it. Without your stool, you'd fall over. Yet many drummers don't think about their stool much and so have it set up randomly. Or worse yet, they use an ordinary chair. How you set up your stool will affect your playing and your comfort. But before we begin, lets just take a look at what your stool is made up of:

3 parts of a drum stool

Anatomy of a Drum Stool

Your drum stool has 3 different parts to it: The seat, the seat post and the base. Start with the base and spread it as far as it will go. The further apart the legs are, the more stable you will be.

The seat post goes into the base. It may screw in, or slide in depending on the type of stool you have. Then place the seat on top of the seat post.

Make sure everything is tight except for the screw that attaches the seat post. Leave this loose so you can adjust the height of your seat..

Height

Everyone is a different size and shape so there's no easy answer to how high you should set your stool.

Start so that your thighs are parallel to the ground (when they are in the heels up position) and adjust up or down from there until you feel comfortable. I'm not that tall so I find that sitting slightly above the thighs parallel position works best for me. Tighten the seat post screw after you've got your height set.
Drum Stool Height Set Up

Sitting on your stool

I never sit right in the middle of my drum stool. I always sit nearer the edge of it. Why? I got this tip from Pete Riley. If you sit in the middle then your upper thighs will be restricted because they are resting on the stool.

If you sit towards the edge then they will have more freedom to move. This helps a lot when you're moving both legs at once in a 4-way coordination groove.

At Home

Ideally set up your kit so that you are in the middle of a room. This will give you lots of room to move things about and experiment. But sometimes space is cramped so you'll probably have to set up next to a wall.

If you're doing this then make sure that you are facing the wall. Not sitting with your back to it. This will give you lots of room behind you to move and also gives you the option of moving your stool, floor tom etc. out of the way so you don't bump into things when you're walking past your kit.

If you sit with your back to the wall you will hit your elbows off it when you swivel round to play the floor tom (it hurts by the way).

On Stage

If you're setting up on a big stage and you have plenty of space then there's nothing to worry about. Just set up wherever and however you want making sure that you can see all your band-mates. If you're on a smaller stage then things are tougher. You're going to have to set up near a wall.

Marking your territory

Dont put your stool right next to the wall. Move it at least half a metre (about 1.5 feet) forward. Take up as much room as you can possibly get away with. Not only will your elbows thank you but it will give you more room to negotiate with if you have to move things around. Its up to you to claim a good bit of space for your kit on stage. Just don't be greedy, and try not to annoy people. You know the one about The Greedy Dog right?

Warning: If you're setting up on a drum riser please be careful. Don't put your stool too close to the edge. You will fall off. It does happen.

Do you have any good stories of this or anything similar happening?

Alex,
Sitting comfortably.