I've been messaging people lately since I've been trying to get someone to teach me how to spin. I have the pistol grip right i just don't know how to do the freestyle stuff people do on youtube. Can anyone help me? Maybe a video or explanation? We need it for visuals that sellout here in my town where drumlines aren't that established yet.

I can only do flashes like those shown by tennessee state, up twirls, number ones stunts etc. HELP!

you can try a spray
do a crash with your right hand going up ward towards 12 o'clock and the left to 6. then rotate both hands clockwise (from the performers view) so that the right hand is at 6 and the left hand is at 12. than go back counter clockwise to the original 12 and 6 then back to set. just dived your count structure by fours. if you wanna do a 12 count spray for example
-crash on 1
-by the and count you should be at 12 and 6
-by count three you should have rotated to the point where the right hand is at 3 and the left is at 9
-by count 6 you should have right at 6 and left at 12
-by count 9 you should go back to 3 and 9
-by count 11 you should be at the original 12 and 6
- by count 12 you should be back to set
-make sure at all times the insides of your cymbals are facing flat to the stands untill you get back to set

trust me its easier than it sounds

try the typical vanguard visual:
this is good if you are moving left or right as opposed to front to back in the drill. it is one fluid motion i'll just break down what each hand does
To The Left:
-take your right hand and place it as if you are shading the right side of your face
-your arm should be at a 45 degree angle and the cymbal should look as if it comes straight from your arm
-the inside of your cymbal should be facing your face
-the left hand is pointed straight out to the left, coming straight from your shoulder
-the inside of the cymbal should be facing the ground
-you should be "pointing" at the direction that you're moving

To the Right:
-same thing but backwards
-right hand points to the right
-left hand shades face

i dont know what this one is called cuz my friend made it up during th indoor season:
-do a crash with both hands moving downward
-the left hand just falls to your side
-the right hand sort of does the second half of the spray that i told you about before
-it should move up in an arc
-at the top of the arc swing you arm back to your side in a diagonal top left to bottom right (for peformer) motion
-it should look as if youre ripping of a mask of sorts (at least thats how we describe it)


hope these help sorry i cant include a video of sorts

oh. ok. i'll try it though i don't get it very well yet. this is how they start freestyling?

still the pistol grip right? and just to make sure i have my terms right, four fingers through the strap then between the middle and the index?

thanks!

its not realy freestyle presay but just some sweet visuals to take up the space where you dont play

and pistol-grip?
im not too sure what it is youre describing
our cymbals hold them like most lines do with your hand looped through so the loop is kinda around the heel of your palm and the strap is between your thumb and first finger (like in the webbing of your hand)

Let me help bridge the culture divide a little bit...

2cymbal is asking about cymbal visuals common to show-style bands, similar to what you'd see from the drum lines at a number of historically black colleges. For a style reference, think of the movie Drumline or search for cymbal freestyle on YouTube.

A7xDrummer27 is giving an answer that's based on the style of drum & bugle corps. For an example, check out Santa Clara Vanguard's cymbal line on YouTube or the SCV PASIC videos on Vic Firth's web site. It's a VERY different style than what 2cymbal is looking for.

In this case, two different styles lead to two different types of grips. The usual corps-style grip (the "Garfield grip" and similar variants) are what A7xDrummer27 is describing. These grips allow for maximum playing control, which enables a cymbal line to play very intricate musical parts. But corps-style grips can be limiting when it comes to the visual style of a show band. For that reason, show-style groups typically use a variant of the pistol grip.

Back to the original question... Sorry, but when it comes to cymbal technique or visuals, especially show-style, I've gotta defer to someone who knows it better than I do.

thank you for that clarification.

yes please! i would really appreciate the help!

ok! imma try it, I do switch grips often.

yeah, like what skydog said, you're referring to the garfield grip.

thank you!

thanks skydog im not too familiar with showstyle so that confused me

Something that was part of my "how did they..." thoughts for a long time is that some of the show style teams have a different strap than the single leather loop that a lot of us are used to.

I can't say for sure, but it looks like the strap is either wrapped differently around the hand or there are extra pieces- it appears to have a strap around the thumb as well as the whole hand.

There has to be a show style guy lurking around here that knows what I mean.

Traditionally show style bands use bandanas as their straps.

that just doesnt sound safe. ive seen the leather straps break and hit kids during visuals i cant imagine how a bandana would hold up

really? how do they tie the bandannas? a normal knot?

You use a couple of washers. Get a bandana, grab the opposite ends (upper right corner with bottom left corner for example), spin until you get a sort of "rope" (like if you wanted to look like Tupac for example).

Put both opposite ends together, take your cymbal, insert both ends into the hole. If you're performing Garfield grip you would put the strap on your hand (your other hand still holding both ends of the bandana on the other side of the cymbal) and adjust until the fit is VERY snug and almost tight on your hands. If you were to have the bandana all tied up, you should be able to lift the cymbal bottom-facing-floor without the cymbal leaving the pad of your hand. That's how snug it should be.

Get your washers, insert one into each end of the bandana. Slide them until they're up against the hole of the cymbal. If there's too much fabric and the washer won't slide down to the cymbal, then take out the bandana and re-wrap it until it's a nice thin rope with not much fabric sticking out.

Once the washers are nice and snug, you tie up your bandana in a tight knot. When we did this at Teal Sound, we just did simple knots over and over until there was little to no more extra fabric left to be tied. Over time, the bandanas would stretch so they require a lot of extra tieing. At one point I was tieing six or seven knots just to keep the damn things in place.

In my experience, bandanas aren't worth it. They tear easy, they tend to slip out of their knots or even out of the cymbal hole (use big washers to prevent this), and they're actually quite uncomfortable. I've had skin damage from leather straps, but never have I worn more uncomfortable straps than when I used bandanas. I had stretch marks on the backs of my hands, welts, bruising, skin flaking, and not to mention pain. This was of course using Garfield grip. I've never had experience with pistol-grip.

Excuse the rambling if any.

about the skin damage....just buy a cheap pair of batting gloves or get a pair of the hornlines gloves
that works for us

Yeah, but . . . that's like . . . not cool. :p

Just kidding. Personally, having been brought up by the lines I've been apart of, I'm a little bias when it comes to using gloves and just keeping your hands bare. I prefer having bare hands when playing cymbals. I guess there's just a "hardcore B.A." factor for me, and the rest of the people I've worked with. We always find joy in showing off "battle scars" from seasons past. Not to mention the awesome tan lines you get on your wrists and palms after a whole season of marching plates. And to me, it seems like you become a stronger, more unified group overall if you all can bear the pain of marching plates bare-handed. It feels as though we gain more respect from ourselves, our counterparts, and the rest of the marching group when we all realize just how much it takes to march bare-handed.

For the record, I've marched gloved.

But no shame in marching gloved. It's all about preference and demands of the music, I guess. :p

I always felt like I had less control when I used gloves. After a while( 4 weeks or so), youre hands stop hurting any way.

wsup, 2cymbal! Im experienced in showstyle percussion especially in the art of cymbal twirling. i agree w/ Front about not using gloves. Insomniac is right about your hands not hurting anymore after about a month of playing and I like the control i have when i play gloveless.

first things first: THE BANDANA
the bandana is the ideal choice for showstyle cymbal straps; they're cheap, strong, and easily replaceable. They can tear, but some marching cymbals come with a small, metal ring fitted inside the centre hole of the cymbal. This ring slows the progression of your strap tearing.
To strap your cymbal, start by unfolding the bandana. crease the bandana in half diagonally, then open it back up and fold two opposite corners inward, making them meet at the crease like this: >|< Crease these new folds into positon, then fold these new creases toward the center crease (like you did with the opposite corners at the begining)and crease them ,as well. Repeat this until your strap is about 1.5-2 inches wide from either side of the central crese to the edge. Fold the strap closed (like closing a book)and thread the tips of the strap through the cymbal hole simultaneously(this takes a little muscle)until your hand can fit VERY snug in the strap. Finally, double-knot the strap to ensure it doesn't become too loose during performance.
Trust me, i wouldn't waste anyone's time. This method of strapping up the cymbals keeps the hands comfortable, makes the straps last longer, and allows the straps to hold their shape in order for you to perform certain tricks and visuals.

If you see this post, let me know and i'll post more to help you start on actual cymbal visuals (eg. twirling, spinning, flashing, freestyling,etc...or whatever you may know it as

peace

P.S.
use a good pair of cymbal pads, as playing and spinning using the pistol grip can be very painful on the knuckles.