Re: Short Moeller Method Video
Your focus shouldn’t be on the wrist, but on the entire motion of upper arm, forearm and hand. The motion of the Moeller stroke is a feeling, and it is almost as strong as a reflex. Once you have it, you will know it. Once you know it, there is no longer anything to worry about. It is nothing short of enlightenment.
Alex
P.S. Whatever you do, don’t practice any exercises to “straighten” your wrist out. Remember what Freddie Gruber says, “There are no straight lines in nature”.
Please don't bring Freddie Gruber into this discussion. The man can't play. If Morello and Chapin have no use for him, then neither do I.
...and as a matter of fact, there ARE straight lines in nature. Light is straight (unless you're going to start talking abut the curvature of space-time itself), there are many crystalline structures that form straight lines, the pull of gravity towards the center of a mass is straight. I could go on...
What I have learned from studying with Morello, Famularo, Chapin, Verdi and Mangini is that every single one of them feels that their method is correct. Every single one of them performs their stokes in a different manner. I remember Chapin telling me how Dom "lunges" durimg his pull-outs. I also remember Joe Morello making fun of Moeller and his elbow accents, saying that he could do more with a straight arm throw ala Gladstone without "looking like he was trying to fly away". I remember Mangini hiding from Chapin a few years ago at NAMM in L.A. because he didn't want to hear Chapin tell him what he was doing wrong. This was after Mangini broke the record for WFD singles, btw.
I have seen Jacob's vids and his hands are terrific. If he has no pain, then there is no argument. All this talk of "correct" Moeller trikes me as odd. Moeller himself did not have the chops that Steve Smith or JoJo have today. Yet we revere him as some sort of unassailable authority on how a drum should be struck. Why? Because Jim Chapin hasn't shut up about him for the last 50 years.
The essence of Moeller is the whip, the concept that one can get more than one strike per large motion (whether this motion involves wrists or the entire arm is irrelevant). Once you understand that concept and how relaxation leads you there, you can figure it out on your own. Moeller wasn't some anatomy expert who wanted to discover the best method of hitting a drum. He just observed what the parade drummers were doing. Get it? PEOPLE WERE ALREADY DOING IT WHEN HE "INVENTED" IT. So why call it "Moeller" and not just a whipping motion?
So just do the same, observe, imitate and use what works for you. If you spend your time worrying about whether your wrist is turned 15.7 degrees off of the lateral axis you'll never actually play any music.
Edit: Alex, I just checked out your video and it was excellent as well. Your dynamic transitions are smooth as all. Good stuff.