# So drumming hurts



## TakeWalker (Oct 29, 2008)

The real musicians in here are going to laugh at me, but I wanted to get some advice.

So I've been playing drums on Rock Band. Go ahead, laugh. D: I'd post this in video games, but I figure real drummers might have some insight.

Now, I've gotten up into the high levels, where beats are really fast and there's a lot of drumhead switching necessary to complete a song. I've been using... what the hell are these... Zildjian 2B Dip drumsticks. They're a bit on the thick side, I'm not sure how much, but there you go.

I've noticed recently that my right thumb especially will start hurting during a set, right around the base where it connects to the hand. Given that I'm forced to use my right hand for most of the notes I need to hit, it's not too surprising. Any suggestions for techniques or such to help with this, beyond just painkillers? It's not a lingering pain, but I'm starting to get concerned I might be doing some damage, like what happened to my knees from years of DDR. c.c


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## Tiarhlu (Oct 29, 2008)

I'm not a drummer, but I bet you anything you're tensing up as you play, especially as you play faster. No matter what you're doing, you've got to be as relaxed as possible. Do it slowly and see if there's any tension at all in your body. If not, pick up the speed a bit, and progress as needed.

Not only will you not be as effective as you need to be if you're getting tense anywhere, but it'll soon spread to the rest of your body and potentially cause a lot of problems. If it's hurting, that's telling you something's wrong.


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## GatodeCafe (Oct 30, 2008)

You're definitely tensing up. 

http://www.drummerworld.com/Drumclinic/Derrick_Pope1.html

The previous video is a demonstration of the "Free stroke" followed by an discussion of the moeller technique. 

Most of it might go over your head, but one thing to keep in mind is NEVER FIGHT REBOUND. You'll wind up hurting yourself, at the expense of speed to boot. Happy drumming you fucking furry.


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## TakeWalker (Oct 30, 2008)

This immediately sounds like my problem. I tend to get tense when I do things. c.c When a video game lifeline is involved, it makes me even moreso. (All those little colored bars, they fly so fast!) I'll definitely have to work on relaxing.

I'm not sure how much rebound comes into play, given the covers on the drum heads (meant to mute the sound from the heads themselves), but that video was really interesting and I think I learned summin. Thanks, other fucking furry.


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## Sedit (Nov 2, 2008)

Well...I can play drums...but I'm really into really extreme metal....which I CANNOT play on drums.  I can get some blast beats going, but I either lose the rhythm, or lose my wind real quick.  In all honesty, I get severely winded walking up a single flight of stairs these days, and therefore probably have NO buissness playing drums.

So yh...drums ARE hard for me


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## virus (Nov 3, 2008)

drumming requires a lot of reflex skill and mental coordination. I can play drums pretty well and they do "kick back" when you hit them.. just look at most drummers in rock bands their entire upper body and arms are usually pretty toned.


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## TakeWalker (Nov 3, 2008)

Actually, you hit exactly why I wanted to work on drums in the first place. :3 So far, it's not working so well. D:

Also, my thumb has gotten worse, as I can't put my weight on it without _something_ going "kkkkk". :| Gotta get that looked at.


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