Stretching

Hey guys,

I was wondering what everyone's views are on stretching before you play. If you do it why do you? What benefit's have you seen or felt from doing it or not doing it? What do you stretch? If you don't use it, why not?

Thanks

Danny

My only warmup is to, at times, run my hands under hot water to get them loose. A passive warmup. Other than that I don't do any stretching. I have never pulled anything drumming and don't have a helter skelter style that would cause injury.

I never stretched or did any warm ups before i was thirty. After being on tour for a year and a half and sleeping most of the time in a van or the occasional bus , my arms started going numb while i was playing. I could'nt even feel the sticks in my hand. I thought it was the end of my drumming career. Turns out the top of my spine was all out of whack, which is where all your nerves that affect your arms are. After visiting the chiropractor and reading an artical on drummer health in Modern Drummer magazine i started doing hand ,wrist and arm stretches fifteen minutes before a gig. The way you sleep has a huge impact on your playing. On your back or your side is the best for your spine. Think of drumming as a sport. All athletes stretch before playing, young and older alike.