Getting the correct positioning for your drum throne is massively important for your technique behind the kit and ergonomics for your body.
In short, your legs should be slightly above a 90-degree angle to the pedals, and you should be able to reach all of the drums comfortably with your sticks.
There’s room for adjustment depending on the drummer, so we’re going to dive a bit deeper into those ideas in this article.
The best place to start is to open the legs of the hi-hat fairly wide. They mustn’t be too flat to the ground, but the throne will feel more sturdy if the legs have a good amount of distance between them.
Once you’ve done that, you should raise the throne until the top of it is in line with the snare drum. That’s probably going to be too high for you, but it’s a good place to start.
You now want to get your legs at a slightly higher angle than 90-degrees. If your throne is too low, you’ll find yourself using too much energy to lift your legs to play the pedals. So, you want to let gravity do the work for you.
If the throne and the snare are in line, but your leg is too low, you’ll need to raise your snare drum a bit higher. Do a bit of fine tweaking here and there and you’ll find what makes your leg feel most comfortable. Just always remember to be above 90-degrees.
Drumming is a physical instrument, meaning it heavily involves your body. It’s important to have good posture as there’s potential for injury if you’re not careful. You’ll start developing back problems if you round your back too much, or your legs will tire out too quickly and lead to overcompensation from other parts of your body.
The long-term effects of bad posture are horrible to think about, so it’s massively important to develop good habits from the start. Most of your posture on the drums comes from how you’ve set your throne up. When you do that correctly and comfortably, everything else tends to follow.
The best way to determine throne height is to ask yourself how comfortable you feel while sitting at the drums. If you’re not feeling comfortable, something needs to change with how you’ve positioned your throne.
The main thing to take note of is how it feels when you’re playing the bass drum. If you’re using too much energy from your leg, it means that you’re sitting too low. If you can’t reach the pedal comfortably, you’re sitting too high.
However, some beginner drummers feel comfortable when sitting in detrimental ways. So, it’s good to seek an experienced drummer out and ask for their input. It’s easier than ever nowadays to snap a picture and send it to someone and ask. The best place to do this would be Reddit as there are plenty of drummers there who are happy to help.
Drum thrones can vary quite drastically. Although, all of them have legs and a middle mechanism that raises the seat higher or lower. You can adjust how far the legs are spread out, to begin with. Then you can raise the throne by utilizing whatever mechanism is in the middle.
Some thrones have a hydraulic mechanism while others have a simple screw that bolts the metal rod in place. On a standard drum throne, you need to loosen the middle screw, raise the throne, and then tighten the screw again.
The way you sit on a throne will vary depending on your body structure. However, the best place to start is to sit near the edge of it. If you sit too far back on the chair, you won’t have enough freedom to move your legs.
You should also place the throne at a comfortable distance from the kit. If you place it too close, you won’t have enough space to move your arms around comfortably. If you place it too far, the drums will be out of reach. Try a few different placements and see what is most comfortable for your arms and legs.
Just remember to sit near the edge of the chair, and not toward the back of it.
Drum thrones are massively important. They’re specifically designed for drumming, so they’re the most ergonomic thing to sit on when playing the drums. If you play drums while sitting on a standard chair, it won’t feel as comfortable.
Drum thrones also have a lot of stability along with adjustable parts. The stability makes you feel secure at the drums while the adjustability allows one drum throne to work for all kinds of body types.
If you want to play drums, you have to use a drum throne. Any other option should just be temporary until you can get one.
There’s no single answer to which is the best drum throne. You can read this article to learn about some of the best ones. We covered all budgets and brands there.
If you want a good throne, make sure to get one that is double-braced, can be adjusted, and has a comfortable chair to sit on.
If you’ve found out that you’re sitting incorrectly at the drums, it’s important to fix your habits as soon as possible. The longer you leave them, the harder they’ll be to break. Those bad habits have the potential to affect you badly in the long run.
So, make sure that you’re sitting with your legs high enough to hit the pedals comfortably. You don’t need to use too much energy in your legs unnecessarily. After that, make fine adjustments so that you feel as comfortable as possible behind the drum kit.
Founder of TheDrumNinja
I’m crazy about drums, it’s been my passion since I was 12 years old. I played in numerous bands going through different styles like Rock, Progressive, Pop & Jazz-Rock. After being featured in major music publications (Drumeo, Guitar Guitar, AudioIssues, MusicThinkTank) I started this website to share my knowledge and create a resource for drummers of all levels.
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