as of now, i still have not seen the proper grip for tradition grip on any of the pictures above. go to haskell harr book one and see the proper way of holding the left hand stick.it seems that you guys probably learned to play matched grip first and now your trying to play trditional. your left grip is too open and it looks very sloppy. the grip your probably trying to do is not traditional but a hybrid of a drum corp grip. which to me is a cop out from doing it the correct way. just go to haskell harr book one or ask your percussion instructor to demonstrate the correct way.if all fails come down to south padre island, tx for spring break 2005 and come to one of our drum clinics to learn the correct way and perform a drumline show at a local club.who know you may come out on mtv.
??? What the heck did you just say?
Yes, the best technique has been demonstrated by Mark Wessels, so you might want to check the thread more thoroughly.
as of now, i still have not seen the proper grip for tradition grip on any of the pictures above. go to haskell harr book one and see the proper way of holding the left hand stick.it seems that you guys probably learned to play matched grip first and now your trying to play trditional. your left grip is too open and it looks very sloppy. the grip your probably trying to do is not traditional but a hybrid of a drum corp grip. which to me is a cop out from doing it the correct way. just go to haskell harr book one or ask your percussion instructor to demonstrate the correct way.if all fails come down to south padre island, tx for spring break 2005 and come to one of our drum clinics to learn the correct way and perform a drumline show at a local club.who know you may come out on mtv.
right, because there's only one right way of doing it.
I have problems with traditional grip, mainly because it's causing pain in my left hand after a while of playing. I don't have a picture, and don't have access to a digital camera to take a picture, but I think it might be particularly where I'm gripping the stick.
I used to have a problem of gripping with the space inbetween my thumb and index finger, but I fixed that. Most people I have talked with have said that the index finger is where I should be putting down the most force on the stick (not as in a big force, but just pushing down to hold the stick).
The pad of your thumb should be on the knuckle of your index finger. It looks like you are trying to stretch your thumb as far from the hand as it will go. This will put an awful lot of tension in your hand, which is bad.
the top section of your middle finger should also be in contact with the stick.
Overall, your grip looks very, very cramped. I don't know how you could be playing that way with any kind of decent sound.
That grip would have fit in VERY well during Marty Hurly's tenure at the Phantom Regiment. That just looks like it'd hurt when you're playing.
_________________________ Scott McCoy Guardsmen Cadets '86, '87 - Snare, Quadz The Cavaliers '93-'96 - Snare Cavaliers Anniversary Corps '08 - Snare Music City Legend '06-'10 - Snare, Staff Star United '10, '11 - Percussion
Your grip is very similar to the one I use, and the one I teach. Yes, as Hulka says it is an East Coast / older Phantom Regiment (Marty Hurly) style of grip which compared to other styles, may look or seem very tense - but it doesn't have to be.
I have to disagree with MAM on this one - which is rare for me. The thumb being pulled back and pointed up serves a few purposes.
1) It helps keep the pressure on the top of the stick as needed by the inside of the index finger instead of the thumb which I as well as others, feel is better. The reason being is that with the index finger, there is just a thin piece of skin that covers the bone giving more control to stop and start the stick as needed unlike the thumb which is a glob of flesh, making it difficult to stop the stick at freeze point or for taps if you are using the thumb on top of the stick approach. Keeping the thumb back and up drives the pressure into the index finger so you are using the index finger for top control.
2) Keeping the thumb up and back usually helps contribute to having a more "closed" palm so that the stick does not slice out from the drum with a more open palm approach. Open palm typically means a slice will develop at times.
About the middle finger touching / being slightly on top as well which is what I assume MAM is referring to - I agree it can give more power and strength to your left hand for open rolls per-se, but I also think the middle finger being over the top of the stick can restrict rebound at times so I wouldn't say that it not being over the top is "wrong".
Fundamentally this grip is very sound, but there are also other variations of traditional grip that are also fundamentally sound, even though the approach might be different.
That is how my grip is, except it is a little more loose, and my thumb bends back like that, but not that drastically. My pointer finger meets my thumb a millimeter above my joint.
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