hypermobility and drumming / low impact drumming

Unicorn

Junior Member
Hi

I have hypermobility Syndrome and possible Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Basically all my joints are very unstable I have to walk with a walking stick a lot of the time and that does not help much and some times my legs just sort of fold up under me. I'v dislocated my arm in my sleep by rolling on to it and basically all of my hurts all the time a bits come out there sockets and move more then they should.

I love playing the drums and the idea of not being able to as it can be very painful for me is not something that trills me much. So I am looking for ways to reduce the impact of drumming on my joints (yeah I'm not sure if that is possible as drumming is one repetitive and to tapping stuff with sticks).

So any ideas for ways I can reduce the impact of drumming on my joints? Aside from setting up my kit so I don't have to reach for things which I did already.
 
the first thing that comes to mind is not to play a very tight snare head. this will hurt your hands more than anything else. I guess in your case the same with the bass drum batter head.
 
Thanks GRUNTERSDAD! Head tension is something I'v never given any thought to in terms of its affect on the joints in my hands etc. That is totally something I will have to try out on the morning.
 
I saw an add for a rack designed by Steve Gadd the other day and it looked to be designed to sit in very comfortably although the ad was a craigslist ad so I have no idea if it was serious or accurate.

No throne but a seat that looked like a bucket seat from a car- might be worth investigating.

Searched around and found this which, I think is what I saw in the ad-

http://www.drumframe.com/pdf/May03_PCU.pdf
 
If you're open to electronic drums, I have a 2box kit which uses mesh heads... One day I will get around to fitting 2 ply mesh heads so that it feels a bit more realistic but the single ply mesh is soft and spongy, you should check it out.

I'm sorry to hear about your condition.
 
If you're open to electronic drums, I have a 2box kit which uses mesh heads... One day I will get around to fitting 2 ply mesh heads so that it feels a bit more realistic but the single ply mesh is soft and spongy, you should check it out.

I'm sorry to hear about your condition.

+1 to that. I was also going to suggest using ultra-light plastic sticks from Lidwish Solutions in conjunction with the mesh heads to further minimise impact.
 
If you're open to electronic drums, I have a 2box kit which uses mesh heads... One day I will get around to fitting 2 ply mesh heads so that it feels a bit more realistic but the single ply mesh is soft and spongy, you should check it out.

I'm sorry to hear about your condition.

I was playing with a 2box kit in a drum shop last week and I was thinking how nice it was. I like acoustic kits more then electric one but I don't have problem with electric kits at all. In many way electronic drums would work better for me.

At the moment I have a Traps acoustic kit and I have been toying with the idea of stick mesh head on it and using it as a e-kit. If any one has any pointers on triggers and drum brains that would be cool!

The only thing that has been putting me off shelling out on a good electronic drum kit as the idea that as my condition gets worse I we lose mobility and strength in my legs more then any other part of my body (what with them being how I get about) and I might end up in a wheel chair at some point. I don't want to shell out on a kit that in a few years time I will find using the pedals on difficult or impossible. Even now I often use the floor tom tuned low to play parts I'd play on a bass drum as I find the pedal hard work on my legs and hips.

Toolate that looks very interesting! if anything a better throne would help me a lot.

I'v also been thinking a lot about what percussion I use for playing smaller gigs. with things such as the cajon I find it totally messy up my arms. I have a lap cajon and yeah I don't have to reach to play it as I can pop it in a snare stand but I'v dislocated fingers playing it a huge amount of times and find it hard going on my elbows. plush the bass is poor as its small. I'v been thinking for me a wave drum could be a good investment.

to give you some idea of how bad it is for me to find something painful and why it normal means I should not do it I should explain about me and pain...
A few years ago I spend 3 weeks walking round on a badly fractured leg as it only hurt a little bit more then normal. My back ground pain level if you like is some what high all the time so for something to hurt it is normally as a rule doing me damage and I should stop doing it.
 
I don't know anything about your condition, but what I know from drums in general is that you don't want electronic drums, they actually put more stress on your wrists and cause more carpal tunnel etc. Medium-Low head tension will probably be best for your heads so too much rebound wont come back at you. Think of all the angles your drums and cymbals are at, the more naturally it is set up for you the easier it is on your body. Though the best advice I have for you is work on your technique, the better you get the less energy everything requires and its all kept within the stick and head. That's why there are 80-90 year old jazz drummers who can still play amazingly, I just hope you don't run in to too many obstacles getting there.
 
Yeah, an electronic set with mesh heads sounds like it's the way to go. You can hit them very lightly and they can feel spongey.
 
Thats a bummer:-(

I would look into a Alternatemode Trapkat . It doesn't play exactly like an acoustic kit but I think this would be the best low impact option. Mesh Heads actually are worse for impact as they are quite bouncy.

I would trigger BFD2 or SD if you have a laptop and a decent soundcard.

If I ever lost mobility - this is the setup I would look into.
 
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