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Thread: Is drumming easier if you're short (heightwise)?

  1. #1

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    Default Is drumming easier if you're short (heightwise)?

    Since I turned 18 I've grown about 2 inches and now I'm almost 6'3. I've had to adjust everything.

    Would using the bass pedal/s be easier if your legs were shorter? It seems like alot of the good drummers were average or relatively short...

  2. #2

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    yeah I'm about 6'2 and I wear a size 14 shoe. its very difficult for me to get my throne dialed in.. i'm very picky about it. but taller guys have a super long reach. I think that helps

    but i've found heel-toe is very hard with my huge feet

  3. #3

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    I'm small, and play an ickle kit, so reach doesn't matter for me But yeah, OI know what you mean, quite a few drummers are ickle!

    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

  4. #4

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    Raise your seat if you legs got longer. (Although, come to think of it, Tommy Lee is pretty tall and he sits hecka low.)

    I don't think it really matters - but good on you for adjusting your kit to your new height!
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  5. #5

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    Not too sure actually, I suppose the kit would take up less room at least if you were small I also find heel toe difficult and iv only got size 10 feet! (uk 10) I need a longboard pedal because I play double bass quite a bit so a nice direct drive longboard would do me just fine :P

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Is drumming easier if you're short (heightwise)?

    If I was tall I'd own a vintage set with 24" kick and huge deep toms
    E Drums !! !

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  7. #7

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    I'd say being taller is better than being too short. If you are too short, positioning of rack toms would be extremely difficult, especially over larger kick drums. That said, being 7'2'' would probably impose its own problems.
    Gretsch - Tama - Pearl - Sabian - Zildjian - Stagg - Evans - Vater - Gibraltar

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by rabidpenguin45 View Post
    I'd say being taller is better than being too short. If you are too short, positioning of rack toms would be extremely difficult, especially over larger kick drums. That said, being 7'2'' would probably impose its own problems.
    This statement rings so true for me. I'm 5'9" and I have a short reach. I've given up on using my double bass kit since the toms were so out of reach and the ride was too high. I envy taller drummers who tower over the kit. It seems like tall drummers have a flatter rack tom positioning and high cymbal reach is not an issue.

  9. #9

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    Nothing matters. Where there's a will, there's a way. One of my favorite old sayings is:
    Excuses are the nails that build a house of failure.

    Jonzo, I don't mean to say that you were making excuses. Of course you're just asking a logical question. But my answer is the first thing that comes to mind and I believe in it with everything I've got. If it wasn't fact, you wouldn't see men with no legs winning races and people with handicaps making tremendous strides in the world.

    We can do anything we want to do! Let nothing stand in your way.

  10. #10

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    I'm 5'10" and proud of it. Actually I'm growing like a freakin weed right now and will probably end up at 6'2" by the end of high school. I haven't had any problems with getting my kit situated.
    I am currently suffering from gear acquisition syndrome. Will trade soul for drum gear. Donations accepted.

    -Tama Superstar Hyper-Drive 5-piece
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  11. #11

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    When I think of all the great drummers past and present, I don't think physical size was ever an issue. There have been greats of all sizes. The guy that inspired Buddy Rich was a guy named Chick Webb. Apparently he was amost dwarfish and severly hunchbacked. (polio I think, not sure) Anyway, he was considered the first really killer set drummer.

    all the best...
    Last edited by kay-gee; 06-01-2010 at 07:54 PM.

  12. #12

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    I agree with Drummer. Plus you can adjust as you grow. I started playing before I was 5 and I grew to 6' 2 1/2" tall. I sit pretty level with my thighs just above parallel to the ground and my back straight.. My snare is just above thigh height. I have never understood guys who sit really low or way over there drums, or have there cymbals in the stratosphere, but to each his own. Whatever works for you. Mick Fleetwood is like 6 foot 6 and he doesn't seem to have a problem. Look at some pics of other drummers how they sit and set up and then compare those guys to each other as far as how good they are and what type music they play. I think you will notice a trend. It doesn't matter how tall you are. You can surround yourself with a set of appropriate size drums for your size and height. A set that fits you good just like a nice jacket. Are you going to wear a jacket to big or small for you? or one that looks good on you?

  13. #13

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    If you get long fingers with the height, take up bass guitar!!
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  14. #14

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    I'm 5'5'. Its not difficult but its not easy either, especially when you play speed metal like me. I have a size 12.5 shoe. It makes it a little easier to play DB when you have size 12.5 feet at 14
    So itchie, how did the kick sound?
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  15. #15

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    As seanforever said:
    but i've found heel-toe is very hard with my huge feet

    I second that
    So itchie, how did the kick sound?
    Quote Originally Posted by itchie
    like godzilla humping a mountain
    Quote Originally Posted by CycleDude View Post
    You, my friend, owe me a keyboard... I just spit coffee all over mine...
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  16. #16

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    I'm 6'4" and I'm finding it rather easy to move around the kit. I just can't sit too close!
    - Zack

  17. #17

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    If it's easier to drum when you're short... I'm all good. Standing at a WHOPPING 5,3...

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  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimr_drumr View Post
    Raise your seat if you legs got longer. (Although, come to think of it, Tommy Lee is pretty tall and he sits hecka low.)

    I don't think it really matters - but good on you for adjusting your kit to your new height!
    I was watching Tommy Lee on youtube the other day and wow......I never realized how tall he was and how low he sat at his set, looked kinda awkward, but he makes it work lol

  19. #19

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    I'm 5'5'' and have always played on a standard size kit with 22'' bass. The only disadvantage I would say being short is getting the mounted 13 X 10'' tom mounted to where it is comfortably reachable, I find I need to tilt it toward me and lower just shy of hitting or bouncing off the kick. Shorter arms also means you have to try to get your drums set up as close as you can to each other. I play mostly heel toe so I like to sit as low as I can yet not so low I can play leg if I need extra punch unmiced. Boom stands I find a must so I can get my cymbals in to where I can reach them comfortably. So to me a taller person would have more versatility on how they set up their kit. You guys with huge feet that like to play heel toe....maybe you could add an extension to the back of your kick pedal frame to help keep your heel off the floor and more even with the pedal?

  20. #20

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    I'm 6'3" and have no problems. Like others have said, you adjust the set to what's comfortable and what works well for YOU.
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  21. #21

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    It's not necessarily being short that helps, it's being ape-like (short legs with long arms). LOL! I'm 5'7" but have a long reach. So I can sit nice and close to my set and move around it easily.
    ^^^ SGD's Evans Empire ^^^

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by bustoff View Post
    I'm 5'5'' and have always played on a standard size kit with 22'' bass. The only disadvantage I would say being short is getting the mounted 13 X 10'' tom mounted to where it is comfortably reachable, I find I need to tilt it toward me and lower just shy of hitting or bouncing off the kick. Shorter arms also means you have to try to get your drums set up as close as you can to each other. I play mostly heel toe so I like to sit as low as I can yet not so low I can play leg if I need extra punch unmiced. Boom stands I find a must so I can get my cymbals in to where I can reach them comfortably. So to me a taller person would have more versatility on how they set up their kit. You guys with huge feet that like to play heel toe....maybe you could add an extension to the back of your kick pedal frame to help keep your heel off the floor and more even with the pedal?
    +1

  23. #23

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    I'm around 5' 10" with UK size 9 feet, and drummings fine for me...although seeing as I'm 17, I've noticed the difference in stool height over the last few years!
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  24. #24

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    I was 5'11.5 when I started drumming. Now I'm a hair under 6'3. I should take up basketball....

    Funny thing is that I thought I was done growing considering I'm almost 19. I didn't notice growth until my jeans started to randomly get shorter and shorter...

    Everytime I go to my drum teacher, the throne and snare are always about 8 inches too low for me. Verne Troyer must be a drummer. It seems like a lot of drummers are average or shorter than average.

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonzo View Post
    Funny thing is that I thought I was done growing considering I'm almost 19. I didn't notice growth until my jeans started to randomly get shorter and shorter...
    A good buddy of mine was 5'10" all throughout high school. He started growing again when he was like 20 years old. He finished college at 6'6".
    ^^^ SGD's Evans Empire ^^^

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