This is where your own experimentation will come in. There is no single correct one-size-fits-all setup so get creative with it. If you bear in mind the basic principles of starting with your own body and keep on returning to assess your playing position, it will dictate the optimum position for the drum pads for you personally. This is one of the biggest barriers to starting learning the drums that most people tell themselves is going to be a problem. The good news is… There are plenty of ways to practice without a drum kit! Now put the pedals where your feet are. If you’re setting up a right-handed/right-footed drum kit the bass drum pedal will be under your right foot and the hi hat pedal will be under your left foot. If you use a double bass drum pedal the additional pedal can be positioned after the rest of the kit has been put in place. Remember, at this point there should only be two pedals set in position – no drums, no cymbals – just you and a bass drum pedal and a hi hat stand! A collection of samples for one instrument. The properties of the sound will change depending how the pad is hit. This is intended to be more realistic and can also be used to create various effects. Drum kits require space to set them up and you also need to have friendly neighbours (or live far enough away from them that they don’t mind the noise).

Adjust the snare stand to the correct height. Some drummers tilt their snare drums whilst other drummers prefer the surface of the snare drum to be parallel to the floor- this is something to experiment with. In terms of snare height, keep the rim of the drum about the width of your fist higher than your thighs. This means when you hit rim shots on the snare you will not hit your legs too! If the snare drum is too high it can cause your elbows to be raised uncomfortably, leading to tension, which in turn leads to poor drumming technique. Sit on your drum stool. Position your feet flat on the floor, shoulder’s width apart, and an equal distance away from your body. This sitting posture should be solid and comfortable. The small sensor disc which senses when a drum or cymbal pad is hit and converts it to an electrical signal. This signal is sent to the module and triggers the sound. A dictionary definition of ergonomic is “…to do with minimising physical effort or discomfort and maximising efficiency”. For us to play drums ergonomically we’ve got to consider our own bodies and make the physical setup of the drum kit fit as best we can.The sounds (drums / cymbals / percussion etc) the drum module can play. The sounds are basically mini recordings (samples) that are triggered when you hit a drum. When the sound triggered is very loud when hit in the centre of the drum pad, versus a hit with the same force at the edge being very quiet. If you are new to the world of e-drum kits, the details in the technical specifications can be a bit confusing. For example, the meaning of terms like “trigger zones” might not be immediately obvious. And it doesn’t help that one manufacturer might call a feature by one name and the next manufacturer calls it by a different name! Tuning a drum kit is a slightly more complex process where you may require someone to help you the first few times you try it. Some lessons with a professional teacher are advisable. Electronic drum kits

This is another setting inside the drum module. Your drum module interprets your drum hits based on the sensitivity settings. If you turn up the sensitivity, your soft hits will register as harder hits. Cymbals should be above the kit so that to play them you move your arms upwards, not forwards. Just like the idea you applied to the position of the toms, you shouldn’t need to lean or lose your balance on the drum stool when you play the cymbals. Further adviceIn this article we’re going to talk about methods for practice which are silent or near-silent, help develop your drumming skills, and require little or no equipment. One recording of one sound (as opposed to Multi-Layered Samples). A one-shot sample is a basic sound which doesn’t change in sonic qualities depending how a pad is hit, apart from the velocity. In the early days of learning the drums you can get a long way before you need to take the step of investing in your own drum kit. Many drummers learn and practice drums for many years before they even think about getting their own set of drums. The floor tom should be about the same height as the snare – so adjust the floor tom legs to make the surface of the floor tom the same height as the snare skin. You might want to angle the floor tom so it slopes towards you slightly.

Drum sets are very popular toys for young children and a new edition by VTech has added an extra-cute flair to the classic drum set via their “Zoo Jamz Stompin’ Fun Drums” elephant-shaped new release. How to Play the Zoo Jamz Stompin’ Fun Drums Your exact setup is going to depend on the type of electronic drum kit that you have got. Obviously, a very small and compact drum set is going to be very differently arranged than one where the electronic drums are more like the sizes of an acoustic drum kit (as shown in the video). Attach the bass drum to the bass drum pedal by carefully moving it into position behind the pedal. Set up the snare stand and position in between the two pedals. Mount the toms, set up the cymbal stands and add the cymbals. The time from hitting the drum, to the time the sound is heard. Latency is measured in milliseconds. There is always a tiny amount of delay – due to the time it takes sound to travel from its source to the listener’s ears. With electronics, there’s the time it takes the electrical signal to travel down the wire, be processed, and then the resulting sound to reach the ears. The human brain is able to compensate for some latency, and most electronic drum kits fall within that acceptable range. Latency becomes more of a problem if you are layering up multiple processes, for example using your e-kit to trigger external samples or recording to a computer. If recording yourself is a priority, then you will need to investigate latency and ways to mitigate it. Beatboxing is the act of making percussive sounds with your mouth. You don’t need to be a vocal gymnast to try beatboxing, just remember one of our favourite sayings: “ If You Can Say It, You Can Play It“. Verbalising rhythm is a very important part of internalising rhythm. Hire a drum studioGiven that this is a musical toy, it serves as a great gateway to discussions with your children about music and musicians. Topics such as the history of songs, learning lyrics, and hearing about famous drummers are just some of the possible results of playing with this set. It is also a good opportunity to make up games centered on movement, like dancing until the music stops. Final Recap

Triggering is when the piezo senses a hit, it sends an electrical pulse to the module letting it know how hard you hit. Investing in a drum kit is a step to take when you have played the drums for a while and you’re confident that you are going to continue in the long term.When you sit on the stool your knees should be bent at an (almost) 90 degree angle. Hips should be slightly higher then knees. Don’t have the stool set too low. If your knees are higher than your hips it can lead to unnecessary strain on the hips and upper legs.