I'm currently in Marching Band at school, doing bass drum. I'm approximately 5'2" and weigh 90 lbs. I've had to use bass drums 4 and 5 because the top 3 are always taken by the experienced people who have played this instrument for about 2 years, and I have only just started. Our last practice, we were only out for an hour, but it killed my back (I had bass drum 5 on) and I could only stand stiffly and did not keep time with my feet. (We wear harnesses and rarely get to have chairs to prop it, even though we are not marching yet.) Seeing as there is really no possible way for me to move up a lighter drum, is there anything I can do to strengthen my back? I have a 3.5 hour rehearsal today (and we are actually going to play a majority of it today, instead of the hour mentioned before.) and I would like to get out of it alive.
Any other tips and advice would do well, too.
How much does bass drum 5 weigh? My school uses Pearl drums.
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