This year I am making my snare line transition from match grip to traditional grip, and after a few days they seemed to have some problems. I can understand it because they are new to this playing style. They told me that the tip of their ring finger beside the nail where the stick rests on is being very irritated hurting them slightly, and that their wrist is sore from playing. I'm mainly concerned about their finger because I would like for them to continue playing this way without possible injury. Is this a normal problem when you begin to play using this grip?

Irritation or even blisters near the cuticle on the ring finger are pretty normal for a traditional grip newbie. Over time, with enough playing, a callus will develop and the tenderness will go away. In the meantime, when the irritation gets painful, a Band-Aid over the hot spot is usually pretty effective.

The wrist soreness would be a bigger concern for me. With a good fundamental approach, there shouldn't normally be wrist pain.

Hello. I transitioned my line to traditional grip this year also. I think you have to choose the transition group carefully, but that isn't really relevant to your question.

So, here is what is. In my opinion and experience, discomfort and even small amounts of pain are totally normal for that part of the finger when you transition at an older age. I have been teaching my beginning students both matched grip and traditional grip this year, and they haven't experienced the pain or discomfort.

I believe that the discomfort comes from the expectation we as players put on ourselves when we change grips. We are totally aware of our abilities when we are using one grip, so when we change grips, we don't like accepting that we can't be just as good right-this-second. Natural human tendency is to what? Try harder! We stress our hands, and we work and work until our diddles are just as crisp and powerful as they were before the transition.

This is all well and good, but it is better for the beginning student because they don't have the expectations or the muscle memory to contend with. Fresh slate = great start.

I have heard of college freshmen losing a portion of their fingernail when they learn traditional, and I'm sure everyone traditional player on this forum has gotten a blister and developed a callus. That being said, I don't think it is something you should worry too much about. If they are experiencing too much pain, you can let them use a band-aid on their finger for a day or two to give it a rest, but I only had to do that with a kid that had a popped blister.

I'm not sure about the wrist pain though. I think a lot of things will change how your student's wrists feel after playing. Warm-up time, head tension, drum tilt, general technique, and even drum height. It is difficult to say "pain bad" or "pain good" because none of us have seen your line. I can say that there is a difference in the pain that is associated with muscle growth and the pain that is associated with the incorrect use of technique. Pay attention to stick angles, placement, finger positions, heights, rotation, and every other detail you are capable of picking out. If you see anything that looks even remotely strange, stomp it out!

Also, I have never really loved the idea of sacrificing individual player "comfort" for absolute uniformity. Yes, I think that lines should strive to look great, and uniformity is a big part of that, but I also know that nobody on my line has identical hands, and expecting everyone to hold the sticks identically and still achieve the level of playing I want is a little harsh. I would much rather give a set of criteria for the students to follow, and then let them develop a strong technique that looks very similar to their neighbors, yet it still allows them to play in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

Ok, enough for now. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Happy Drumming!
CR

Ok thank you. As far as the wrist pain goes, I'm sure they are over exaggerating a little bit and getting it mixed up with soreness. I remember when I had to transition when I played on snare and I was a little sore at first, simply because my muscles weren't used to the different way they had to be used in traditional grip. But as far as how I have them play is like this. I have the top rim level with the belt line, and the drum angle is level. Sticks 2 cm. off the top of the head when not playing, and I try to have them bring their left hand as high up as they can, unless I work them on Accents, inner beats etc... Generally what you expect from a HS Snare line.

I remember when I first learned traditional, after a few hours of playing, my cuticle was all blistered up and bleeding. It's just like anything else you can imagine that involves working with your hands. I just did what everybody else has suggested on here and put a band-aid over it to let it heal without making it worse while I continued playing. Within a few weeks, my finger was tough enough to not have any pain with it.

However, I believe the reason mine got irritated so quickly was because the first sticks I learned traditional grip were good 'ol Ralph Hardimons. And they were also taped, which created more friction than the smooth wood. So, there are a few things that could be taken from that experience:
- Start learning traditional grip with lighter and smaller sticks (maybe concert, symphonic, or drumset) and gradually build up size to the desired marching sticks.
- For more reasons than just this, only tape past where your hands make contact with the stick, and tape only where the stick will be hitting the rim from the fattest shots to pings. (This will save tape, and create less hassle when re-taping.)
- Band-aids are your friend if breaks are not an option.

Also, with the wrists, I'm no doctor, so I won't diagnose anything, but I will mention some experiences we've had in my percussion section. We've had two percussionists this year get diagnosed with carpal tunnel from playing. Although one of them primarily plays mallets (matched grip obviously), she also has played traditional grip in concert season and has given her more issues with her wrists.

Other than that, I would say it's just like with the blisters, it takes getting used to and building up some strength as playing traditional grip is a whole different wrist movement in the left hand that isn't used very often otherwise unless the student is a professional door-opener.

Hopefully this helps and builds on what has already been mentioned!

Try to get to the point and solve the problem. The wrist pain problem seems to be a major concern as if played correctly there is none. So it is how the wrist is turned that will cause the pain. If you turn the wrist toward the body and drumhead too much it will cause some pain since you are not making a natural flowing movement and stressing the muscles and ligaments and bones in the wrist. Let the wrist lay away from the body but still line the thumb up straight with the arm and the right action will happen. Easy to show in person not so easy explaining with words. Isolate the left hand with some tap exercise and watch them play it will show you if they are using the right action.

Everyone who uses traditional grip will have a callus near the fingernail of the ring finger and using a band aid should help get through the first blister to callus process we all have gone through.

Alright I'll see what I can do. I have a friend who is a College Percussion Instructor and I'll get him down one day to make sure I taught my line Correctly on the proper way to hold the stick and play.