Posture Epiphany?!

[Daniel Heier]

Greetings Drummer Cafe!

I just wanted to share with you an "epiphany" in my posture. My "discovery" came about because of a car accident I had two years ago, resulting in endless back troubles (especially lower back). So I have been consistently trying to find ways to better my technique, posture, set-up, etc. in order to play gigs and not have a hurting back. Recently I have been doing very basic physical therapy and applying what I have been learning about posture in everyday activities to drumming (my everyday activity!)

When I would sit at the drums, I would have a bit of a slouch. Partly because of the accident. My back muscles are way stronger than my abs and as a result, more pressure has been put on my back in EVERYTHING I do, therefore my back gets tired and slouches over. A simple way to take care of this is to tighten your stomach muscles to tuck in your stomach. The doctor's definition says it will do the following: "This will help prevent excessive swayback, or lordosis, in the lower part of your back."

My translation and discovery led to not only relieving stress from your lower back but helping you breathe way better, resulting in more oxygen and energy and being more relaxed and of course, sitting up straight! As a result, my groove was instantly stronger, my playing more relaxed and I had more control. Sitting up straight seems to give a psychological power, giving you the feeling of total domination over your drums and not letting them dominate you.

As I was teaching a drum lesson to a beginning student, I experimented with this and had him try the tuck in his stomach to help with his posture and the result was AMAZING! Instantly he played better, stronger, with more confidence and his time improved drastically. I must admit, the exact same happened with me.

There are two drummers that stand out in my mind that set a great example for great posture and they are Dennis Chambers and Gordy Knudtson. Notice how their arms can be flying all over the place and yet they are like tree trunks, firmly planted and grounded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiqtelZs_2I#]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiqtelZs_2I#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sF8c6LTvfw#]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sF8c6LTvfw#

A good stretch to do as you sit down at the drums (with or without back pain) is the Brugger's Posturaly Relief Exercise.  http://images.vortala.com/chiropractor/USA/Missouri/Kansas%20City/Adjust%204%20Life%20Wellness%20Center/SiteGraphics/stretches.pdf]http://images.vortala.com/chiropractor/USA/Missouri/Kansas%20City/Adjust%204%20Life%20Wellness%20Center/SiteGraphics/stretches.pdf  

Let me know your thoughts, this is fairly new to me, but I wanted to share this and see what others think about it. I have shared this with students and a few other people and I have been amazed by nearly instant results.

Disclaimer: drummers still need to practice! Posture won't solve everything! ;D