HELP, permanent beastmode

I dont see the problem with using the stick tip to hit the cymbal. You say its because your practice space is now smaller? If its just for practice the tone of the cymbal means little, Its accuracy you are aiming for when practicing, right?

I was a heavy hitter, and I am 5' 5" and just over 9 stone when wet. That was because I was using my arm as well as the wrist. Now I use mostly wrist and I can control the dynamics of my playing easier. I am also faster around the kit as there is little arm up/down stroke involved. I can still play very loud like this but I can control it.
 
Sounds like an argument I(6'7") had with my Dad (6'3") about splitting firewood. My dad worked construction laying rock for a living, I was a tall thin drink of water. My Dad always but the firewood on another piece so he could use his muscles to force the mall through the wood. I stood up hill and let gravity do its work, since the relationship between velocity and distance traveled at a constant acceleration is squared. We had a good natured argument until one day I broke a steel handle splitting mall in front of him, which was almost impressive as him dropping a brick.

Sure, larger muscles means larger acceleration, but that relationship is linear compared to the cummulative effects of acceleration on velocity which is squared.
Sounds like you were enjoying more of a gravity assist, and not working as hard as your dad was. But at the time of impact, it's the velocity that matters (or momentum, if you prefer), and not so much the acceleration source it took to reach that velocity.

With a drumstick, it's the velocity at the end of the stick that matters, as opposed to the velocity of the part of the stick you're holding. Big muscles (forearms) control the velocity of the part of the stick in your hand, and where on the kit the stick is. Small muscles (wrist and fingers) control the speed at the end of the stick using a fulcrum at the fingers (whipping motion), which should be largely independent of the motion of the forearm and how many muscles are packed into it.

My take on the OP's situation was that there is under-developed wrist and finger muscle control, so he is using a tight grip and his large frame to over-power the kit. More stick control at the hands will allow the upper body and arms to relax which will help to achieve more dynamic range.

The drummer in one of my bands (where I'm on bass) is a smaller guy on a slight frame who plays like this too. Powerful as hell, but at the expense of any finesse. Works for this band though.
 
For me, the key to finding my quiet dynamic was to practice with my 8-month-old in the same room. I mainly do hand-over-foot practice (no crash, snare turned off), and developed a light touch on the toms. It's nice because I've discovered what I perceive to be two major elements to percussion.

First is that I discovered the note values of toms. It started simple (three blind mice) and progressed into original compositions from there.

Second is that I began to exaggerate my dynamics during normal practice (when the baby was not in the room). I would use the light touch on unaccented notes, and really put the stank on the accents. It made my fills sound cleaner and far more mature than they had in the past.

So if you have a week to burn, try working on your light touch. Make everything as quiet as possible, and see if it gives you a new perspective and additional dynamic range.
 
Volume is a matter of the force put into the drums. Force is mass X velocity squared, so velocity is the way bigger factor. Faster strokes (in terms of stick speed) can easily produce more sound (and a way better sound) than hard strokes. So, a scrawny little person can easily play really powerfully, and a big hulking menace of a guy can play extremely quietly. It's a matter of physics based on how you manipulate the sticks.

That's why I often say, "play big, not hard." I'd say it worked out pretty well for John Bonham. (His tech said he pretty much never broke anything.)
 
The thing that fixed me was playing in a professional setting where I HAD to be quieter. It takes time to get used to the different technique but it's actually a nice way to play. I don't think it's about your height either, look at Gavin Harrison, he can play quiet as a mouse.

Me too Dre. I have a steady 3 to 4 times a month gig where I'm tapping a good portion of the night. All hard surfaces and when there's not a lot of people (like last night) I am holding back all night long. Playing that room was a crash course in tapping all night long. I have to say, being able to play soft is one of my most valuable assets. The amount of people who tell me they appreciate that I don't curl their hair is surprising. The only thing is... the rooms I play, I can't hit hard, but when I do get a chance to hit harder...I feel out of practice doing it.

For me, the key to finding my quiet dynamic was to practice with my 8-month-old in the same room.

Can I borrow your 8 month old? I want to further develop my quiet dynamic too lol.

Drums can sound really good at lower dynamics if the drummer has good, even control. Dynamics are a little more tricky because the dynamic range is pretty limited when all you can do is tap for backbeats. It is necessary to have an extremely quiet tap for ghosts when the max drum volume is about the same as normal conversation. At that volume, in lieu of crashing normally, I'll use controlled shoulder spanks on the bow of the ride, or alternately, instead of a crash, I'll substitute a simple ride cymbal tap with the stick tip. You have to be able to hit the bass drum lightly, the snare drum lightly and the cymbals lightly all the time. It's very disciplined playing. It seems like for every 100% increase of force when you smack a drum, you get 1000% increase in volume. So a hit that's just a little too hard sticks out. Sticks out. No pun intended lol.

As long as the time feels good and the volume is kept steady, quiet playing sounds better than you might think from behind the set.
 
Sure, she's also helping me learn to use brushes this week! I'll supply the frozen breastmilk if you supply the diapers.

Good thing you had a daughter! How else would you learn to play quietly and with brushes too!

Are you sure your wife isn't the supplier of the frozen breastmilk? Lol.
 
With regards to playing loud, here is some very old school advice.

With proper stick control you can hit the drum very hard, allow the drum head to produce the loudest maximum sound possible and never dent the drum head.

Proper stick control includes being able to remove the drum stick from the head as part of the stroke. Allowing the drum stick to rebound off of the drum is as much a part of the stroke and is just as important as hitting the drum with the stick.

This is why practicing on a pillow is an essential part of learning the proper stroke technique. The pillow forces you to lift the stick up off the pillow. After practicing with a pillow and then practicing on a regular drum head; you will learn to help lift the stick off the drum head allowing the natural stick rebound action to assist you.

If drum stick rebound control is not part of your stroke, you are not using proper technique. And you won’t be getting the maximum sound (loudness) out of the drum.


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I've had the exact same problem over the years. The first and quickest thing you can do is go down to the smallest stick size you can manage. You'd be amazed at the difference a smaller stick can make volume wise while hitting at the same level. I go from a 2b all the way down to a 5a for lighter gigs, and it really works. Of course, you really just have to practice at it, (especially to a metronome so you don't slow down tempos with the reduction of force/volume). The hardest thing is making yourself hold back, because you don't want to, as it can be lame. If you find you just can't manage it with sticks, then get some pro mark hot rods. You can still hit hard with those, yet the volume is cut substantially, and they're still a good size.
 
Just learn it already. Heavy without light is monotony. It's why 99% of people tune out hardcore acts after two or three songs. The lighter you learn to play the more effective your heavy playing will be. Unless of course your just that good. If you're going to be a one trick pony then it has to be a really good trick.
 
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