Tuesday 27 July 2010

Warm ups for Drummers


Since drumming is a very physically demanding instrument, we need to prepare our bodies properly for both practice and performance - like an athletic event. And just as with different sports, drumming requires the use of its own unique set of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. So, how you incorporate drumming warm up and stretching exercises will impact your playing while reducing your chance of injury.

Obviously the key is to stretch and build your warm up ready to play live or in a rehearsal. So, I begin simply by "cold-stretching" my arms, wrists and fingers for about 5 minutes. I follow this by stretching my ankles and legs for about the same time. The best way is to press your foot against a wall thus stretching your calf muscle (see below)




Next you need to get behind the kit and slowly build your playing from slow through mid pace to fast. Each section should take around 5 minutes and contain a progression within itself. So start with a simple snare snap then build till using the whole kit a t the desired level. It is also worth doing this on pads or if you don’t have access then simply dampen your kit.

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