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Mike Mangini
Shapes & Your Drum Kit


In terms of choosing and using your drum kit setup, the most important thing to remember is that it is variable as our bodies' mechanics are not.


The basic idea here is to enjoy setting up and 'shaping' your drum kit with respect to the mechanics of the human body.
 

 

Although we can make physical adjustments to connect to our kits, the bulk of 'connection adjustments' are with the drum kit itself. The second most important aspect of our setup is how Its' sounds are structured. This structure is a geometrical one. In other words, there are 'buckets' of shapes to look at on the kit. There are lines, triangles and even the ever-popular Rhombus.

Noticing that our sound structures make shapes can be helpful in how we keep track of parts of songs and patterns that make up our beats and fills. Being able to organize, physically reach and musically use these configurations can be a source as to how we enjoy our drums. Very often, the mere idea of seeing our drums in shapes can help us create new patterns and sounds that we may not have previously thought of.

Some of the new ideas we can come up with might entail the use of our weak limbs. For example, noticing that we might not have a deep sounding tom-tom on our left sides (if we are right-handed) can come from the idea of shapes rather than the concept of sound. Sound cannot be seen unless it is interpreted into visual representations of sound waves.

The basic idea here is to enjoy setting up and 'shaping' your drum kit with respect to the mechanics of the human body. The angles of the kit will reflect the angles of our limbs in some way. Also, the way we enjoy the sounds of our kits can be enhanced as we apply the sense of sight to it. As far as shapes and geometry are concerned, we may never hear our drums the same old way again. We can always create fresh new ways to enjoy playing the drums.

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