Am I learning the right way? (German and French hybrid)

haroldo_psf

Senior Member
So, I have been taking lessons for about 3 months...

My teacher, when I had my first lesson, told me he has developed his own style of playing (he even has an acronym for it) which was a consequence of an elbow injury. He claimed his style require little effort for a lot of playing. Sounds good, right?

So, he had me practice for the first month only using my thumb and the first joint of the index finger (the joint closer to the tip) to hold the stick, not the other fingers should not be used at all. He said he would "give" me the other fingers gradually later.

I complied. It was hard to practice like this, but I made me really work on always having a good fulcrum.

A month later he "upgraded" me and told me I could use my middle finger now. As soon as I tried, it was soooo nice. It felt much easier, and I was now trained to still keep a good fulcrum between thumb and first joint of index.

I am still at this stage, but I have been curious and have been sneaking practices using my fourth finger (the one by the pinky) as it helps me close my hands a little more and have even more control...

I see his method has really helped me use a fulcrum without thinking about it.

However, after watching JoJo Mayer's Disc 1 (the one on technique basics, grips, etc), I see something wierd.

The grip he is teaching me is not the German, neither the French. It is in between both!

The grip is teaching me has the palms down like the German grip, but instead of having the fulcrum on the first joint of the middle finger (like JoJo described the German grip to be), the fulcrum is on the first joint of the index finger, like the French grip. So, this grip seems like a hybrid of both.

Has anyone seen this or even uses this?
Should I worry that I am learning wierd stuff?

The thing is, after two months of learning from him, he invited me to go see his R&B band play at a fine Restaurant and Lounge, and I have to say, it was world class drumming... It was the most incredible and elaborate and technical drumming I have ever see UP CLOSE.

So, he does walk the talk, as I saw him holding the stick like he teaches me... I just don't know if he is trying to push something very specific to him onto his students, where he should maybe be doing more of the standard stuff...

Thoughts please...
 
I'm just about as new as you are so I can't say whether his method is valid or not, but I don't think German grip implies fulcrum on the middle finger. What you're doing still sounds German to me.

As I understand it:
German: Palms down, a lot of wrist, little finger, maybe some arm.
French: Palms in, a lot (all?) of finger, little (no?) wrist, no arm.
American: In between German and French in both respects.
 
For better or worse, every teacher has their own unique way of teaching how to hold a drumstick. I've been studying drumming for over 20 years and have yet to see 2 people teach it exactly the same way.

Some people (like your teacher) say that the fulcrum should be the first knuckle of the index. Some people say that it should be the second knuckle of the index. Some people say that it should be the little segment of finger IN BETWEEN the first and second knuckle. Some people say the fulcrum should be the middle finger. Some people say the stick should lie in the center crease of the palm. Some people say the stick should lie across the fleshy "pad" below the pinky. Some people say that there should always be an open gap between the side of the thumb and the index. Some people say to make sure the gap is always closed. And so on, and so on, and so on...

I listed these things out because I want you to be prepared for some of the specific contradictory information that you are going to encounter. Just know that this is how it is in the drum world right now. As drumset players, we're dealing with a relatively young instrument (compared to something like the violin). The drumming community just hasn't been able to reach a consensus yet on the exact details of "proper technique." The more you study, the more different approaches you encounter. You can let it upset you and confuse you, or you can just accept it and have fun exploring all the different systems. I started out feeling very frustrated from all of the conflicting information I was getting from people. Eventually, I realized everybody teaches this stuff differently, and now I actually take pride in being familiar with countless different methods from my studies with countless different teachers.

In case you're wondering, my current favorite hand technique approach comes from my studies with Bill Bachman. And yes, Bill's approach is different than I learned from my lessons with Jim Chapin and numerous other master teachers. Like I said, that's just the way it is with this stuff. Remember to keep a positive mindset about that fact. If you want to check out Bill's ideas, I would recommend his DVD called "Rudimental Beats." Have fun and best of luck!
 
First, the terms French and German are actually borrowed from timpani grips- maybe someone else knows European technique better than me, but I never heard them applied to SD before Mayer's video. Every reputable variation on SD technique (concert and modern rudimental, anyway) I've ever seen looks something like his "German" or "American" grips. The thumbs-up "French" thing is an adaptation for the drum set.

The location of the fulcrum isn't dependent on your wrist position, and flat wrist/index finger fulcrum is not unusual. If you were my student I'd be telling you to put the fulcrum between the thumb and the space between the index and middle fingers.

The thing of starting you with just the index finger and thumb for three months is kind of strange. I hope the guy knows what he's doing. I would have to have a lot of faith in him as a teacher and technician to follow him on a course like that.
 
For better or worse, every teacher has their own unique way of teaching how to hold a drumstick. I've been studying drumming for over 20 years and have yet to see 2 people teach it exactly the same way.

Some people (like your teacher) say that the fulcrum should be the first knuckle of the index. Some people say that it should be the second knuckle of the index. Some people say that it should be the little segment of finger IN BETWEEN the first and second knuckle. Some people say the fulcrum should be the middle finger. Some people say the stick should lie in the center crease of the palm. Some people say the stick should lie across the fleshy "pad" below the pinky. Some people say that there should always be an open gap between the side of the thumb and the index. Some people say to make sure the gap is always closed. And so on, and so on, and so on...

I listed these things out because I want you to be prepared for some of the specific contradictory information that you are going to encounter. Just know that this is how it is in the drum world right now. As drumset players, we're dealing with a relatively young instrument (compared to something like the violin). The drumming community just hasn't been able to reach a consensus yet on the exact details of "proper technique." The more you study, the more different approaches you encounter. You can let it upset you and confuse you, or you can just accept it and have fun exploring all the different systems. I started out feeling very frustrated from all of the conflicting information I was getting from people. Eventually, I realized everybody teaches this stuff differently, and now I actually take pride in being familiar with countless different methods from my studies with countless different teachers.

In case you're wondering, my current favorite hand technique approach comes from my studies with Bill Bachman. And yes, Bill's approach is different than I learned from my lessons with Jim Chapin and numerous other master teachers. Like I said, that's just the way it is with this stuff. Remember to keep a positive mindset about that fact. If you want to check out Bill's ideas, I would recommend his DVD called "Rudimental Beats." Have fun and best of luck!
Three days ago, I purchased Jim Chapin's "Speed, Power, Control, Endurance", and I love it so much that I've already watched it 4 times. So, I'm very curious: do you see/feel any similarities between Jim's approach and Bill's? I saw a short clip of Bill playing on his quads, and I have to admit that I'm very interested because it looks absolutely effortless for him.

Of course, one of the reasons I'm asking is not only for my benefit, but for haroldo_psf's.
 
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