How you set up and tune your drums is just as important as the music you will play on them. You need to be sitting at the correct height and be able to comfortably play every drum and cymbal with the desired part of the stick, hand, elbow etc to create the sounds you want with fluidity and ease.

The idea is that your musical ideas should flow through you and not be inhibited by any short falls with your instrument. Your set-up may vary depending on the musical style.

You don't want to form bad habits with posture by having your back bent when playing as this can lead to much bigger problems further along the way.

Setting up in a group situation.

Many problems when playing in a group situation can be caused by carelessness during setting up. The drummer must be able to see and clearly hear everyone in the band, and vice versa. From my experience it feel most comfortable being close to the bass player, for he or she is the person that I work most closely with.

I find that having the bass player on my left, very close to the hi-hat, is best as I spend more time looking to this side while playing and this helps maintain visual contact. Also, my left ear is close to the bass bin and the bass player’s sound is not blocked by the cymbals on the other side of the kit.

When working with a vocalist, I find that if I cannot hear the vocalist clearly, this may be because I am playing too loudly. In any case, this problem must be fixed for best results.