Getting to play on anything from four to six drums (plus the sides, rims, etc.) is what makes tenor drumming so much fun. But where do you hit the head to get the best sound? In this post, I break down each of the tenor drum playing positions.
Let’s take a look at the tenor drum playing positions.
Playing Positions – Drums 1 and 2
Playing around the drums effectively requires you to be very efficient with your movements. Any excessive motion wastes energy and will only slow you down. For drums one and two (10″ and 12″ drums on a full-size set, 8″ and 10″ drums on a smaller set), there is a pretty straight-forward approach.
The heads of the drumsticks or mallets should be about two inches from the rim. Playing in the center of the head will give you a very dead sound. Playing too close to the rim will be very “pingy”. You want to be right in between, about half-way from the rim to the center..
The heads of the sticks themselves should be about an inch away from each other on drums one and two. There are some videos were my sticks are very far apart from each other; I just cringe when I see them. Don’t be like me!
Playing Positions – Drums 3 and 4
For drums three and four (usually 13″ and 14″), things get a little trickier. You use a “windshield wiper-type motion”. To see what I mean, let’s start with the outside hands, right hand on drum three and the left hand on drum four.
Outside Hands
Since the drums are set up in a curve, the tendency is to pull the elbow back when playing on the outside drums. This uses extra, unnecessary energy,, often causing you to hit the center of the drum (and get a very dead sound).
Instead, you want your right hand to move in a straight line from drum one to drum three. This is accomplished by just a slight arm rotation from the elbow. The elbow does not move forward or backward. As on drums one and two, the head of the stick will be about two inches from the rim.
The same goes for the left hand on drum four, just a slight rotation of the arm from the elbow out to drum four, two inches from the rim. This means that the left hand playing positions are in a straight line from drum one, two, and four.
Practice moving each hand across these respective three drums and focus on keeping the playing positions in a straight line. Again, avoid pulling back the elbow on the outside drums.
Inside Hands
Now, the inside hands, right hand on drum four and the left hand on drum three. For these, you want to use a “windshield wiper-type” motion.
On drum four, you will again rotate from the elbow. As before, avoid moving the elbow forward or back, and bring the right hand closer to your body. The head of the drumstick will still be two inches from the rim. This creates consistent sound quality with the left hand.
The same is true for the left hand on drum three. Rotate at the elbow, bringing your left hand over to drum three. Your hand will be close to your body, with the head of the stick two inches from the rim.
A common tendency is to push your elbow forward, bringing the left stick close to the right stick’s playing position. This uses extra, unnecessary energy which will make faster tempos more difficult.
Playing Positions – Shot Drums
For the 6″-8″ “shot” or “spock” drums, it’s pretty simple. They are usually tuned pretty high, so the playing position doesn’t matter too much. You can go ahead and just play in the center of those heads or just slightly off.
That’s it for tenor drum playing positions. Take your time practicing moving around the drums and focus on playing in these exact positions. Be aware of what your arms and elbows are doing. Make sure you are moving as little as possible to get to the correct spots. In short, be efficient!
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