Q. I am an 18 year old drummer and I have been experiencing knee pain while playing the kick drum. I have some tension on the bass pedal in order to develop leg strength.

A. Believe it or not, skeletal growth continues and matures until we reach our early 20's! Growth plates in the bones are still open while skeletal maturation occurs. Stress through growth plates (in the femur near the patella in particular) can increase the chances of irritation of the growth plate. Reducing stress is a good idea. Additionally, petellar stress can irritate the underside of the knee cap.

While there are many drumming techniques, (as many as there are drummers!) there are some fundamental things to consider which can help reduce bass drum leg stress:

1) Reduce pedal tension. The springs should NOT be in high tension. You do not need to build strength. You need to develop control. Back off tension.

2) Make sure the bass is tuned well. A common error is over tensioning the head in a effort to increase rebound. Bass drum tension should be just to the point where the drum sounds "like a drum", +/- just a a bit. If the drum is over tensioned, it will transfer force into your body.

3) Make sure you are not seated too low. This is another common error. If you are seated too low your thigh is at a mechanical disadvantage and your muscles have to work much harder. Raise your throne so your thigh has a 5-15 degree down slope toward the drum.

4) Stretching of your thighs, hamstrings and lower legs should be part of your fitness routine.

A. I compliment you on your desire and willingness to commit yourself to drumming. Before getting into any details, remember; drumming is an art and like other arts will benefit from life experience. In other words...make sure you find some balance in your life. Intellectual, athletic, cultural, social....these all can add balance and make you a more well rounded person. These activities give physical and mental balance to your life. Don't limit yourself to drumming only or you will have little to say with your art!.

In no particular order, here are some ways to lessen that chances of drumming injury:

- Exercise and stretch daily.

- Cross train. Drumming should not be your only form of exercise or workout.

- Use good technique. If you haven't taken lessons from a good teacher, you should.

- Eat a well balanced diet.

- Pay attention to your technique while playing; it is easy to fall into poor habits.

- Check your equipment and replace damaged parts. Don't use cheap or damaged sticks.

- Don't over practice. If you are playing over 2-3 hours every day, consider cutting back.
You will learn better when your brain and body are rested. Injury can happen when you over-train,  just as in sporting activities.

- Playing on a pillow or other low rebound surface is a great form of practice. This can be used as PART of your practice. 10 minutes daily would be more than enough to help develop speed and strength. Like any form of physical exercise, be careful not to over-train. I would be not however advocate holding anything under your arms while playing, as this can easily overload your wrists, fingers and elbows. A balanced stroke which allows relaxed and natural rebound should be your goal.

A. This question requires that we discuss several things.

First off, modern amplified music music creates interesting problems for drummers.  You should however never change your technique to increase your volume.  During rehearsals it is best that your band mates play to the level of your drums. This way you can play with the same techniques and intensities in both rehearsal and In live miked performances. Any volume problems in a miked performance can be adjusted by the sound personnel.

Secondly, I do not recommend using a larger stick to produce a "harder" hit. You should use a stick which fits your hand and suits your technique.  Of course you can use a slightly larger or smaller stick from time to time.  I would avoid dramatic changes in stick size however.  Good technique is all about control, relaxation, timing and endurance.  Good technique will enable you to play longer and better for years to come. 

I highly recommend this exercise to other players! Many other great players use left handed ride hi-hat techniques including John Blackwell, Rayford Griffon and Carter Beauford.

A. I am sorry to hear about your problem. These things can be tricky and there are a number of considerations to make.

1) If you get increased pain following playing on the harder surfaces, like cymbals, them there is a CHANCE that technique COULD be involved. Is your strike relaxed and are you allowing the stick to rebound from the surface? Often drummers try to "play through" the surface to increase volume and speed. Recheck your grip. If it is too tight, more force will be transmitted into your wrists. Check the angle of attack and positioning of your hands.

2) Consider an evaluation by a chiropractor or osteopath who specializes in sports medicine. I know that health care these days can be expensive, and I know that insurance companies are "reluctant" to fulfill their promises to their policy holders. I would not recommend that you continue with severe pain which lasts longer than a few weeks. 

Proper diagnostic imaging can help identify IF severe damage has occurred and then it can put you on the right track.  It is possible that there has been some chronic damage to the cartilage or ligaments of your hand. You should follow a slow and progressive rehabilitation program, which includes slow increases in playing. If you flare up during this program, and MRI and possible a CT bone scan would help determine injury to soft tissue or bone.

3) Consider learning to play left hand to hit hat and right hand to cymbal. This takes years to learn, but I recommend it not only for spreading the work load to each hand, but it also increases independence and enhances personal style. Start with this as an exercise and build up. I have done this for over 30 years. I was lucky to have begun this early in life, but any player can benefit from this exercise and learn to share the work load between two hands.

4) There IS a genetic / individual component to any physical activity. Some people are able to perform activities for years with little or no problem. For example; professional basketball/football/baseball players, who are ABLE to continue playing because of physical make up enables them to "withstand the physical the punishment", when others bodies get injured easily.