How to sit

The seat, the heights, and the hands, before the groove. A snare that is too low makes the shoulders shrug, and a shrugged shoulder makes the grip tighten. Fix the seat first.

The pieces named below are on the kit. If you are left-handed, mirror the kit. The grip stays the same in both hands.

The throne

Sit on the front half of the seat, both feet able to reach the pedals. With your heels down, your thighs slope slightly down and your hips sit a little above your knees.

Too low, and the kick comes from the hip while your back rounds. Too high, and you perch, and the snare crowds your lap. You should be able to lift either foot onto its pedal and set the heel down without shifting your weight on the seat.

The heights

The snare goes between your legs, close to you. The top head sits near your navel, tilted so the far edge is a little higher and the head faces the stick. Your forearms slope down. Your elbows hang a short distance from your sides. A shrug means the snare, or the hat, is too high.

The hi-hat is on your left, closed. The top cymbal is about a hand’s width above the snare, so the right hand reaches it with the shoulder still down. The clutch is tight enough that the left foot can shut the two cymbals completely.

The two rack toms sit just past the snare, a little higher, close enough that a fill does not make you lunge. Angle each head so the stick meets it flat. A stick that hits the rim first means that drum is too flat or too far. The floor tom is outside your right leg, about the height of the snare. You reach it by turning, still seated.

The ride is on the right, a bit higher than the hat, over the floor tom. A relaxed hand lands on the bow, the broad middle of the cymbal. The crash sits up, out of the path between the hat and the toms, so a full stroke clears the rims. Leave room to miss. A cymbal that overlaps a drum gets cracked, and so do knuckles.

The pedals

Set the kick pedal so the beater meets the head near the middle. For now the right heel stays down and the ankle plays. The hi-hat pedal sits under the left foot, with the knee pointing roughly forward. A knee shoved out to the side means the pedal is too far left.

How to hold the sticks

This room uses a matched grip: both hands hold the stick the same way. A 5A with a wood tip is a fine first pair. Marching sticks are heavier than this room needs.

1. The fulcrum is the thumb and the index finger, about a third of the way up from the butt. The thumb pad meets the side of the index finger at the first joint. That pinch is light.
2. The other three fingers curl under the stick. They guide it. A fist stops the bounce.
3. The back of the hand sits at an angle, halfway between palm-down and a handshake. The tip of the stick points at the center of the snare.
4. A little of the butt shows behind the hand. A hand at the very end has nothing to balance. A hand in the middle chokes the stick.
5. The stroke is a turn of the wrist. The stick goes down and rebounds to where it started. The fingers follow the stick. They do not clamp as it falls.

Test the fulcrum. Let the other fingers drop off. The stick stays, held by the thumb and the index finger. Wrap the fingers back without changing the angle. Then play four quiet taps and four louder ones on a pillow, or on the snare. The loud ones are a bigger turn of the wrist. The grip stays the same. If the loud ones need a tighter hand, the fist is doing the work and the fulcrum is doing nothing.

The same grip is what the right hand keeps when it reaches over to the hat. The wrist turns a little. The fulcrum does not move.