Dropping Sticks and hitting Rim

[RotoPete]

Hi all, yes I'm a newbie, please be nice.

My mentor, good friend and drumming instructor is having some problems. He told me he has started to drop the sticks when he is drumming and has started to hit rims when moving from drum to drum.
I experienced this when I 1st started drumming but seem to have not only increased my speed but if (when) I do drop a stick lot of time I am able to snatch it in midair. I only drum every other day. My friend drums everyday. I suggested maybe he drum every other day. He doesn't use a computer at all so i don't think it is Carpal Tunnel.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Rock on!

[eddiehimself]

If he's dropping his sticks then maybe he should invest in some grip tape for the sticks? (IE ahead drumstick tape, not like skateboard stuff lol). Either that or drumming gloves.

As for the rim thing. That's harder to explain but i would say that carpal tunnel syndrome actually can be caused by drumming without the need for any computers. Loadsa drummers got it before computers became widely used. Probably before the invention of the electronic computer too but of course such things would have been less well known before WWII and that. Not saying it is but don't think that you have to have a computer to cause it.

[RotoPete]

Hmmm. that's a great idea! He is always telling me I should get some gloves. Thanks, that should earn me some brownie points!

[beastdrummagirl]

Hi all, yes I'm a newbie, please be nice.

My mentor, good friend and drumming instructor is having some problems. He told me he has started to drop the sticks when he is drumming and has started to hit rims when moving from drum to drum.
I experienced this when I 1st started drumming but seem to have not only increased my speed but if (when) I do drop a stick lot of time I am able to snatch it in midair. I only drum every other day. My friend drums everyday. I suggested maybe he drum every other day. He doesn't use a computer at all so i don't think it is Carpal Tunnel.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Rock on!

Ever heard of Gorilla Snot??!!?? It is for drummers. Its a paste you rub on your hands and it helps your hands stick to the stick. Also certain drumsticks like a certain brand of Pro-Mark start to turn tacky (sticky)in your hands. Plus, rapped sticks(Zildjian dip sticks) help you to grasp the stick and keep from dropping it. Maybe he should move his kit farther away from him so he doesn't hit the rim or maybe he should move it closer, whichever works! Drumming everyday is good for the soul though. It just sounds like a technique issue. Watch him play sometime and figure out what might be causing it.(be sure you stand at least 5ft back, out of the stick throwing zone!!!!;))

[Pollyanna]

It sounds to me that he's losing concentration. Hitting a rim unexpectedly is a good way to drop sticks. I expect just about everyone's done it.

Maybe he's distracted by something going on in his life? Maybe he's due for a bit of woodshedding to get his playing back in shape? Maybe he's gotten a bit out of shape physically and needs to regain fitness to stay fresh for longer? Or it could be something more basic, as BDG suggested, like spending a bit of time reconfiguring his kit to make sure everything is comfortable and functional - especially tom heights and angles. Drummers tend to be pretty individualistic about those preferences. Is his kick drum creeping away from him and taking his mounted tom/s with it? Then the answer could be a mat.

It sounds like a recent problem so if he wasn't doing it before, he might need to think about what's changed.

[Togg]

Well... I go through phases of doing this, I havn't dropped a stick in months then suddenly at the last rehearsal I dropper three...go figure
It's no biggy, infact I used it as a way to practice picking up a new one from the stick bag without dropping a beat, so every cloud and all that.

To be honest I have always had a tendency to drop sticks, no idea why, don't think it makes me any worse a drummer, saw Roger Taylor drop several over the years.

I think when I lose concentration it happens or when I am trying to play something that involves a move I have not done in a while.

I honestly think most drummers do it every now and then, most guitarists hit a bum note from time to time or break the odd string.

My bet is your mate will be back on form in a short while.

One thing you can also consider is changing stick. I went up a size a few years ago and it made a big difference to my playing, much more relaxed and much smoother, I also find i don't drop the sticks nearly as much as I did.
Well apart from last week!

[blake4all]

Haha
And I thought I was the only one with the drop stick syndrome! :)

I find when I drop sticks whilst playing is either when I'm thinking of the next move when playing or if my hands are really sweaty and the sticks go flying across the room ..

thats my two cents on it..

[Ian Williams]

It's an practise issue. I don't mean to practise for hours at a time, it's a matter of just keeping the muscles remembering what they're meant to do, and it might be two or three minutes a day.