Balance

[Sticking-in-Hair]

I think I've been in denial about this for some time but now I want to work it out properly. I use the kick and hi hat a lot like any drummer and for the most part I'm completely comfortable with it. But sometimes when try to play something different I find that I'm tense and awkward. I think it's because I feel I'm losing my balance with certain movements if I don't have at least one foot planted firmly on the ground. Like I say, mostly this isn't a problem at all and I can play comfortably. But I suspect that subconsciously I am avoiding certain moves that will throw me off. But I'd like to become less restricted in my playing. I'm mostly self-taught, so I might have picked up bad habits. I play heel up on the kick, and on the hi hat I just kind of wing it (although playing heel up on the hi hat makes balance harder).

So enough rambling, my questions are 1) am I the only drummer in the world with this problem? 2) has anyone found techniques or exercises or anything helpful?

[TwoCables]

I know exactly what you're talking about because I basically have the same problem, but I've only been playing for 17 years and I am self-taught. However, I know that this is no excuse because I am my only obstacle. :/

Anyway, what I'm getting at is this: I have all three of Dave Weckl's "A Natural Evolution" series videos, and I think that in "How to Develop Your Own Sound", he shows a few different patterns which are presented as exercises. He says that when these are mastered, they can be a TREMENDOUS help in eliminating this problem that you and I face where we almost lock up at certain points. He refers to these as "gut-level foundation exercises" which are supposed to make it much easier to play whatever comes to your mind with a relaxed feel, and without any mental or physical obstructions (which both of us currently have, I think).

I think the reason why they're supposed to help is just because of the coordination and physical strength that is acquired by mastering them. Of course, I don't know from experience because I've never attempted to master them. Like one that I remember was where he recommends mastering a pattern where you play RH, LF, LH, RF over and over and over again until it becomes extremely fast. In his words, "it's almost like a freight-train effect". There are other crazy exercises like this, like one where he shows how to play alternating singles with the hands while the feet constantly play RF-LF-LF over and over. So when the feet complete 4 strokes (R-L-L-R), the hands play the strokes in sync with R-L-R-L (everything is in unison). I haven't attempted this on the drums yet, but I attempted it just now at my computer so that I could explain it in this post, and it's a major brain twister. Yikes. When Dave demonstrates this exercise, he can make it sound like a 16th-note double-bass rock groove, or like some double-bass triplet groove without ever changing the pattern of his feet. When he's just doing R-L-R-L on the snare over his feet, the synchronization ends up being like this:

RH + RF, LH + LF, RH + LF, LH + RF, RH + LF, LH + LF, RH + RF, etc. So, allow your hands to go on auto-pilot for R-L-R-L while you say "right, left, left" for your feet. hehe But if you want to do this, then go extremely slowly so that you can instantly notice if your hands stop doing RLRL, because they will.

If I remember correctly, then I think there are a few others that are just as nutty. But Dave promises that these will be a major help with the problem we face.

However, I have something personal to share which has made all of my drumming feel a little bit easier: when I'm just playing basic stuff on the drums, I keep both of my palms down, facing the floor. But I'm not forcing it either (if I force it, then I can't relax - although, I have to force it my left hand a little bit due to having weaker muscles which help hold the palm-down position). It's just that I do it so that I can take advantage of the natural mechanics of my wrists which seems to allow me to relax much more which also seems to give me much more freedom on the drum set. The result is that I lock up much less. It also seems to be revealing to me when it makes sense to use just my fingers, and when it doesn't make sense. On top of that, it's also strengthening my wrists more which is yet another thing that is helping increase my freedom on the drums. It's a very strange thing.

Finally, I also recommend trying to play the bass drum in such a way where you allow the beater to stay off the head in between every stroke (just like you do with the sticks). So you may need to let your heel stay on the floor and only raise it when you need to play the bass drum (so, your heel can stay on the floor in between each bass drum note). Not only should this get a better general sound out of the bass drum, but it can help allow you to be more relaxed. But you may also need to lean backward just a tiny, tiny bit in order for this to feel easy. If you lean forward at all, then it instantly becomes a little bit harder to lift your legs. Actually, I recommend experimenting with this so you can feel the differences between lifting your leg while leaning forward, and then again while leaning back a little bit - you'll find a sweet spot.

[Sticking-in-Hair]

TwoCables,
Thanks for the detailed advice! I've never watched the Weckl dvds. But they're on Netflix so I just put them at the top of my queue. Those exercises do sound as though they could drive someone nuts but probably worth it.

[TwoCables]

TwoCables,
Thanks for the detailed advice! I've never watched the Weckl dvds. But they're on Netflix so I just put them at the top of my queue. Those exercises do sound as though they could drive someone nuts but probably worth it.
You're very welcome! I'm very confident that you'll enjoy his material quite a bit!