kick technique tips?

[Emar]

Hi all,

Have a question on kick technique. I finished my kit a few days ago, & played around on it for a total of about 1 hour before the first rehearsal with the band (it sounds great, btw). So after a set, my right shin and the back of my left thigh are killing me. I have been a heel up player for about 10 years, but I originally learned heel down with a Speed King (when I tried heel down, on the cocktail kit, it hurt right away). Does anyone have any advice for developing the technique to both make the kick sound good, and not have this fatigue? Or is it just a matter of my body adapting to the kit, & the pain becomes less as I play it more? Would love to hear what you all think about this.

Thanks,

Mike

[dickdog]

I sit down most of the time while I play. I have my throne up all the way. I am looking for one that will go up a little higher, so I can just lean on it . I had the same problem you are having. I had to sit and play. Could be me age maybe. I'm 46

[multiperc]

hey Mike
my first pedal was a SpeedKing too and I played mostly heel down for the longest time. Now I use both up/down depending on the tone of the drum and the musical feel required.

When I started playing cocktail I wasn't comfortable lifting my foot much as one would when using a heel-up technique, so I played heel down. I found I was able to adapt accordingly though I'm not able to do some of the stuff I can heel-up. For that matter, my cocktail drum is pretty resonant and doesn't sound great when pressing into the head anyway, so it's an ok adjustment.

I have found too that playing/rehearsing for long durations is tough on my (aging) frame. Try as you can to shift your weight a little as you play and you might find that relieves some of the stress on your shin and should also help your knees and your opposite hip - all of which get pretty sore when I play for an extended duration.

Good luck with the new band and evolving your playing - post back if you discover a solution or technique that works for you

[zimbop]

I couldn't hack the stand-up playing, the uneven foot heights tweaked my back something fierce. So I adapted my kit to sit down and I love it.

[robertm]

I lasted exactly one song playing my kit standing up. Add to that a hip replacement. Didn't work, so I bought a wooden barstool, cut exactly 1-1/2 in. off each leg. It fits perfectly and lets me play in fairly good comfort. Don't know if that does any good for the audience...

[Dinkus]

Yes standing does have it's problems. I've found that having about a 3/4 inch platform to stand on makes a huge improvement. I use foam matting that you find at a hardware store. I also found playing in shoes or boots with a heal helped (cowboy boots) The key is to move around lots when you've finished a song. Stretch a good 10 minutes before playing, calves and quads, it really makes a huge difference. You should stretch on a conventional kit as well. Don't work through the pain you could do some damage. If you have to sit look for a keyboard players chair, they tend to sit higher that drum thrones.


Dinkus
www.dinkusdrums.com

[Bruce (the K)]

The angle on a conventional drum pedal (and on all the converted pedals that I've seen stock on cocktail drums) is WRONG for standing players!!! It is designed for a sittling player and none of the cocktal drum makers seem to get this.

Some of you are mentioning the effects of this on your ankles and shins.

You need to get about a 2 inch heel block and install it on your pedal. DW makes various height metal heel blocks that are designed for their pedals. I just made one out of a piece of hardwood and used longer screws to attach it to my orignial pedal.

The effect is like resting your drum-pedal foot on a half-height step. It takes much less effort to put the pedal down and you can stand comfortablly much longer.

Bruce (the K)

[metrodrum]

After playing cocktails for about 10 years now, I'm primarily a sitter.

I also play in Cowboy boots, 1/2 boots actually with a very thin sole.
It pretty much does the same thing as adding a block to the pedal.

When I was playing three sets a night, using a cocktail, I would play right foot lead,
then left foot lead, ( I played a sitdowner double bass ) - and that led to me
developing my ability to groove on my left foot pretty well.

I shattered both my heels in a fall at 18, and had operations to fuse my left ankle at 20 ( I'm 50 now) - and play in three bands ( all cocktails ) - gotten pretty use to standing - sitting and never really bothered by it. The body adapts ( or breaks... )

In a shameless plug, I'll be posting some sound files to the www.metrodrum.com site
I just did some short recordings in protools to overdub drums on some existing songs for a project I am involved with and figured, what the heck, mess around and come up with some clips. I was amazed at how well the 16" kick recorded with just a little compression to keep the meters from pegging into the red. A kick mic and an overhead did the trick. I use to be the studio manager for Tom scholz from the band Boston, and he taught me a thing or two...

Matthew@Metropolitan

[Emar]

Hey all,

Thanks for all of this great insight and the great tips- this board is a great resource! I just finished cutting a temporary heel plate for the pedal- going to try that this week, and have my Doc's on standby....I'll post then & let you all know how that works out. Thanks again!

Mike

PS- Also going to post some pics of the kit on that board this weekend

[jim kooser]

I don't play anything too fast or fancy on the cocktail, and I play standing up with no real problems. The band I'm with typically does three sets, and I stand unless I'm on a cajon. I do move a bit between songs, and I'm in decent shape. Never really had problems playing standing up.