Sometimes we think of the grip as being a binary choice-either traditional or matched. This may all sound very technical…because it is. It’s also about holding the sticks in a way that will produce an efficient stroke that takes maximum advantage of the physics of the drum, heads, sticks, angles, and so on. As a teacher, especially with young and developing students, I believe there is really only one choice.Įfficient and effective drumming technique (grip and stroke) is about getting your body to move comfortably, naturally, injury- and pain-free, and in a way that will not limit your self-expression. I want to address this topic from my perspective as a teacher. Let me first make a general statement and say that good drumming is less about the specific technique you use and more about how you use it, and there are examples of great drummers and strong opinions on both sides of this grip issue. Playing songs like this with traditional grip can help a drummer relax when necessary. When playing this song live, the tendency is to push the tempo. The backbeat plays an integral role in the driving feel of the song, yet the snare has a slightly relaxed swing to it. For example, the song “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire is around 124 beats per minute. I’d also like to note that I use traditional grip sometimes when the backbeat needs a certain swagger. With matched grip, the hand is on top of the stick, which requires the player to have much more control as the weight of the hand coming down can add considerable volume. In using traditional grip, the hand is underneath the stick, which can aid in playing ghosted “comping” notes. If a drummer plans on doing any playing that involves subtlety, I do feel it is worth at least investigating traditional grip.
I’ve sometimes offered the point that the reason why so many jazz drummers use traditional grip is because they were often taught by other jazz drummers who played with that technique. Those that became interested or asked questions about traditional grip are usually those who play jazz. Over the past five years, I can’t recall one student who came to me with traditional grip being his/her primary playing style.
If they’re not sure and have been using matched grip, I tell them to stick with it. If someone asks me to teach him or her traditional grip, I will. The turning motion of the forearm, wrist, and hand with traditional grip is very comfortable and makes for nice bounces and subtler snare work. It utilizes the natural turning motion of the forearm, wrist, and hand as one piece, whereas matched grip utilizes the hinged, up-and-down motion of the wrist and hand.
There is something special about traditional grip. Sometimes I start a gig with traditional grip and switch to matched if the volume increases. Since that was my background, I’m very familiar with traditional grip and I do use it sometimes, usually on a jazz or lighter-volume gig. We went through the Buddy Rich book first with traditional grip and then with matched. I did the same thing with Henry Adler when I studied with him. Then I later learned the rudiments with Sonny Igoe using traditional grip before going back and learning them all over again with matched grip. That said, my first teacher taught me traditional grip.
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Plus you get more raw power with match grip anyway. If they don’t see a use for traditional grip, then you shouldn’t worry about it either. These people are serious students of percussion. Do vibraphonists and marimba soloists use traditional grip? No. When students ask if they should learn traditional grip, I tell them to take a look at classical percussion players.
When the drumset was invented and drummers sat down to play, they kept the same left-hand grip even though the snare drum didn’t have to be slanted any more. The underhand grip made sense in this situation because matched grip would be too awkward, since the left hand and arm would have been held very high on the left side. The sling only had one attachment point, so the drum was slanted. Here’s what they had to say.Īs far as I understand it, traditional grip, or underhand grip with the left hand, started because drummers who were leading men to go forward into battle carried snare drums slung over their shoulders. Is traditional grip a useful technique that drum students should learn? We asked the members of the MD Education Team if they think traditional grip is relevant in today’s teachings.
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