OFFHAND FUNDAMENTALS
with music city mystique:
Vertical Position
Vertical is the second playing position that you’ll use most often when performing crashes, auxilary sounds and as a transition to many of the visuals that you’ll learn later in this series.
Music City Mystique Cymbal Instructor Zach Blessing details the Vertical position:
ESTABLISHING A PERFECT VERTICAL POSITION:
When the cymbals are at the Vertical position, you’ll have the bells at eye level with the edges even all the way around top to bottom, blades facing straight forward with the cymbals 2 inches apart.
The elbows should be at a 40(ish) degree angle. Notice that in order to keep the cymbals straight up and down vertically, you’ll need to slightly bend the wrists.
Take note of the consistent posture checkpoints that you’ve established:
- Heels together, toes slightly apart.
- Knees relaxed, pulling up from your hips through the crown of your head.
- Chest out, shoulders rolled back, chin elevated.
Pay attention to the position of your wrists and arms.
The biceps should horizontal to the floor, with elongated forearms. You should be able to trace a line from the forearms directly through the middle finger.
Don’t bring the cymbals too close to your face or over-extend your forearms.
This is a good time to check the consistency of your set, gumption and vertical positions.
Note the consistency of the posture and arm shape between all three positions.
