Question about "fully up" position of the full/free stroke

Mark_S

Silver Member
When using German/American grip and about to execute a full stroke or free stroke, when the hand is in the fully up position, on the way up do you rotate your wrist so that the thumb is practically facing up? Or do you keep the palm down and just accept the stopping point of where you can raise your hand to? If you see what I mean...
 
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I always go by the rule that angle of the wrist on the horizontal plane should be the same at the end of stroke as it is at the start. If you're twisting your wrist mid stroke you're a) gonna waste energy and b) you're going to end up straining certain muscles with that twisting motion.

I can understand a change postion when moving around the kit, say from the snare to the ride cymbal or floor tom (German/American to French), but I wouldn't have thought it'd be beneficial for you to do it mid-stroke.

Again someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what logic informs me.

Hope you're well,

Kev
 
I cant pesonally move around the kit that efficiently or quickly if i play with my palms down (or horizontal) like a see some cats do... I need my thumb more ontop of the stick in an "american grip" fashion. When I take this grip my palm does NOT rotate or twist throughout the stroke... the only motion would be more of a "whiping" motion not a twisting motion.

If the motion/movement doesnt come or feel natural then I would advise against doing it... cause eventually it will hinder you
 
There is a slight raising of the forearm and forward motion of the elbow (actually the shoulder moving the elbow via the biceps) as the stick comes up to it's highest position for me, and I was taught to allow that to happen. It's simply the mechanics of the entire arm being engaged in the highest/loudest strokes. The added thrust created by the weight of the forearm coming downward as the stroke unfurls helps create velocity at the stick tip - i.e. volume - if you're using your fulcrum correctly to allow the stick to rotate/accelerate. Holding the forearm static while simply bending at the wrist doesn't feel very natural to me. YMMV. This, of course, all applies to the German/American (I hate those labels) position.

In the French position, there is a slight rotation inward as I come up which exposes the palm and the underside of the arm to my view on the way up, but at the highest point the radius bone has rotated inward to start the downward motion. But, the French position relies on the torque created by that rotation of the forearm for its power.
 
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