back2drumming
Junior Member
I was searching the forum about snare height and seating position (knees in relation to hips) because I felt that maybe I've sat too high all along. The conventional wisdom on the forum is the snare should be around the navel or so and the knees should be parallel with the hips.
So I decided to look on YouTube to see how some of the top (or at least well-known) drummers play. Here are screenshots from some of the videos. If you search the drummers' names, these videos will be appear in the first page of results:
Tony Royster: knees below the hips. Snare well below the navel.
Questlow: knees below the hips. Snare well below the navel.
Benny Greb: knees parallel with hips. Snare well below the navel.
Neil Peart: knees parallel with hips. Snare up high.
Steve Jordan: tough to find vids of him from the side but from what I've seen, his knees are below the hips and the snare is below the navel.
Jo Jo Mayer: knees below the hips. Snare higher but does seem to be below the navel.
Mike Johnston: knees parallel with hips. Snare below the navel.
Dave Weckl: knees parallel with hips mostly in vids I've seen but can be lower. Snare below the navel.
Steve Gadd: knees are mostly parallel in vids I've seen of him. Snare is probably higher than his navel and tilted.
Luke Holland (representing the younger YouTube celebrity drum crowd; plus I personally think he is a terrific drummer): knees parallel. Snare well below the navel.
Seems to me that most drummers play with the snare at about crotch level rather than navel level. The knee/hip thing varies but it's probably a good thing back-pain-wise to keep them parallel if you can.
So I decided to look on YouTube to see how some of the top (or at least well-known) drummers play. Here are screenshots from some of the videos. If you search the drummers' names, these videos will be appear in the first page of results:
Tony Royster: knees below the hips. Snare well below the navel.
Questlow: knees below the hips. Snare well below the navel.
Benny Greb: knees parallel with hips. Snare well below the navel.
Neil Peart: knees parallel with hips. Snare up high.
Steve Jordan: tough to find vids of him from the side but from what I've seen, his knees are below the hips and the snare is below the navel.
Jo Jo Mayer: knees below the hips. Snare higher but does seem to be below the navel.
Mike Johnston: knees parallel with hips. Snare below the navel.
Dave Weckl: knees parallel with hips mostly in vids I've seen but can be lower. Snare below the navel.
Steve Gadd: knees are mostly parallel in vids I've seen of him. Snare is probably higher than his navel and tilted.
Luke Holland (representing the younger YouTube celebrity drum crowd; plus I personally think he is a terrific drummer): knees parallel. Snare well below the navel.
Seems to me that most drummers play with the snare at about crotch level rather than navel level. The knee/hip thing varies but it's probably a good thing back-pain-wise to keep them parallel if you can.