lol, I didn't think anybody but the uber-l337 used the word scrub. hahaha.

I have a question about left hand technique and rolls:
When I play a double stroke roll, lately, my middle finger tends to stay on the stick. I've been curling my fingers in a bit more than I used to because that's what I was told before season was over. But, my middle finger is so far in now that to move it out to allow the drum-stick to really take advantage of the rebound takes too long (I know, an extra half of a centimeter makes a big difference =-). Am I curling my middle finger too far in?

well, here's a pic of my hand. my technique is what my instructor calls the 'Joe Morello Technique'. its mostly a rebound tech. but, i muscle the stick to get it down for the low dynamics.

the stick rests on the cuticle of my ring finger and the middle finger is used for support to keep the stick on target. my hand is curved into its position, the only straight finger is my thumb.

It looks like you choke up way too much on your stick. But if your instructor says it's good, than it's good.

thats not normally where i hold the stick, i normally hold about the end of the tape, which is around 2-3 inches from the butt

SonicBoom......

My left-hand technique is IDENTICAL to yours. Even your hand and stick look like mine! If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you drugged me, told me to hold my stick, and took a picture.

I found my hand twin! I'm so lucky. <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

LOL! Well dude I'm glad we've got similar grips, I guess that means we must be doing something right! <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Both of my former instructors had ties to Brett Kuhn, and also my instructor at university is the caption head of Bluecoats. I've picked up some really valuable input from all of them.

well, might be, the person in the pic looks like they're drugged by the way it looks like they're slouchin. j/k

Great idea, Cooscoos! Now this is the type of topic that this board is here for.

Here is my left hand technique:



and here is what it looks like from the front:

[img]http://www.drumlines.org/upload/36297-mamlhfront.jpg[/img]

My fingers are nearly straight, however I am not forcing them there. They are actually very relaxed. As you can see, the stick rests on or near the bottom of the cuticle of my ring finger and the pinky is helping support it. (You can see a better view of my pinky position in the third picture.) My fingers never leave the stick, and I control every motion with the fingers and wrist.

[img]http://www.drumlines.org/upload/36297-mamlhvert.jpg[/img]

As you can see, I do not have the "Catch the Water" type at-rest grip that seems to be common out there. If you look at my three knuckles in the following above-the-stick picture, you can see that my palm is nearly perpendicular to the playing surface.

[img]http://www.drumlines.org/upload/36297-mamlhvert1.jpg[/img]

All movement is supplied by the turn of my wrist. The only time when it would be possible to catch water would be when I have the stick raised to it's fullest extent:

[img]http://www.drumlines.org/upload/36297-mamlhraised.jpg[/img]

You'll notice that I cannot get the stick to the near verticle position. I do not know whether my lack of height is related to my grip position or if it is just a matter of stretching it out further over time. I can usually get it to go a little closer to vertical when I am actually playing, as the momentum of the stick carries the rotation a little further past what is pictured.

I do not normally play with my wedding ring on, but I had forgoten to take it off for the photoshoot.

MAM, I think it's pretty common to have difficulty freezing vertical. Certainly with stretching and time, you'll get closer (and more comfortable). When I'm playing, vertical is no problem at all (hey, you're not pulling that thumb off the index finger to get extra extension are you? I'm sure it's just the lighting playing tricks.), but freezing vertical is a bit of a strain.

Curious about the wedding band... Does it bother you when you play? I don't really even notice mine.

Huh. I didn't even notice that my thumb came off when I took that picture. I'll update it with a better shot...(edit - Done!) Honestly, even when I play I can't get much more than half of that distance to vertical.

My band is very thick and very heavy (platnium is pretty dense) and although it in not especially tight, I never wear it while playing. See my reasons in the Jewelry thread.