When you’re setting up your kit, don’t set yourself up so far into a corner that you don’t have sufficient leg room at the kit. This is huge for someone 6’4” like myself, but this is an important piece of advice for any drummer. I’ve made the mistake before of not allowing sufficient space behind my kit, which results in having to have the kick drum too close (so that it stays on my drum rug), which in turn results in me sitting too close.

Of course, the simple remedy for this is to sit farther back, right? Well sort of.

As I realized this leg room issue, I began setting my throne farther back to allow ample leg space. I suddenly began experiencing back pain at the drums, which I had never had to deal with before. This was becoming very frustrating...until I realized my mistake.

Even though my arms are pretty long, I was actually having to reach out too far for the rack tom and cymbals. What I didn’t realize at first was that I...