French grip - pain!

I

ingvald

Member
Hey

I´ve just started practising the french grip! I do jojo mayers finger excersises! But every time i switch from german to french ( or do the excersices ) it hurts! Why? Am i tensioning to much? Is there any ( relaxation ) excersices for french grip i can do!

Im so tired of aces and my hands hurting!

Thanks
 
Hard to say without seeing your hands...

check out Dom Famularo's videos on vicfirth.com. French grip is just German, with your wrists turned so your thumb is on top. Same grip, just turn your wrists. Good exercise is Full Strokes, starting slowly - letting the sticks rebound way back...
 
Slow down!!!!! Pain is usually an indication of trying to do too much. while french grip is only german grip with the thumb on top it does utilize different muscle movements which have to be developed just as carefully and slowly as the initial german grip. dont worry about speed and just slow the tempo of what you are doing down to where you are relaxed and it isnt much effort. slowly speed up and when you feel the slightest bit of tension slow down again. eventually you'll build up the speed. When first starting a grip it will always feel like you've lost all of your chops. Be Patient.
 
You can use your wrist but don't use too much, the up and down handshake motion will cause pain eventually. Also, relax. Speed doesn't come from forcing your muscles as hard as you can, it's built on economy of motion. Work smarter, not harder.
 
I disagree about using wrists - If you're grip is loose and you use rebound - you can use a lot of wrist. You can play backbeats in French as well as German... It's not going to have the power of German, but you can still play a Full Stroke in French. Getting the feel with Full Strokes is great for getting the motions down and the feel for proper rebound - but your grip has to be right (thumb, middle finger fulcrum)...

Instinctively on the drumkit you might switch back to German when you need power, but practicing French at different dynamics will get your technique together for quieter situations, where French might be more useful. Don't abandon French (once you're free from pain) - the great thing about matched grip is the versatility of French, American and German grip. Each one has its place...
 
1. If just playing the motion at normal speed for even short periods of time causes pain then you need to see a qualified health practicioner asap.

2. Do NOT spend long periods of time doing full stokes from the wrist in French grip. I speak from experience. Use French for finger and small motions, use German for the "big" stuff. The wrist turn is much more natural and uninhibited in German grip.
 
Jeff Almeyda said:
1. If just playing the motion at normal speed for even short periods of time causes pain then you need to see a qualified health practicioner asap.

2. Do NOT spend long periods of time doing full stokes from the wrist in French grip. I speak from experience. Use French for finger and small motions, use German for the "big" stuff. The wrist turn is much more natural and uninhibited in German grip.
Click to expand...

best advice you can get is right here ^^^^
 
Jeff Almeyda said:
2. Do NOT spend long periods of time doing full stokes from the wrist in French grip. I speak from experience. Use French for finger and small motions, use German for the "big" stuff. The wrist turn is much more natural and uninhibited in German grip.
Click to expand...

Not only that, it will help define your ghost notes and accents.
 
Jeff Almeyda said:
1. If just playing the motion at normal speed for even short periods of time causes pain then you need to see a qualified health practitioner asap.

2. Do NOT spend long periods of time doing full stokes from the wrist in French grip. I speak from experience. Use French for finger and small motions, use German for the "big" stuff. The wrist turn is much more natural and uninhibited in German grip.
Click to expand...

I went looking to see if anyone mentioned pain with French Grip.

Number 2 is absolutely correct. I'm currently dealing with weakening pain on the outer side of both wrists for the last two weeks that was likely caused by me suddenly practicing full strokes in the French Grip position. You also risk developing a TFCC tear from bending the hand too far towards the pinky-side of the wrist in that position, which I'm a bit worried about and now have an appointment scheduled to have checked. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has dealt with a TFCC tear in the past.

In any case, be wary when practicing in FG..
 
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I’ve been working on french grip recently and found that my forearm naturally rotates when playing louder - it replaces some motion in the wrist. I’ve found this really comfortable so it might be something to experiment with?

Something interesting in this thread is the idea that french grip is german grip rotated. That’s not been my experience re: finger technique. In german grip the fingers guide the stick towards the palm in a vertical movement. But if you rotate the arm so the thumb is facing up, that vertical motion becomes horizontal so the stick won’t actually make proper contact with the drum. My right hand has adapted to switching between grips through years of ride playing, but I’ve had to work really hard to get my left hand fingers to guide the stick along the correct axis rather than waggle pathetically from side to side. It’s still a work in progress, but the progress I have made has really changed my playing and control, and it's done wonders for my fingers in german grip too.

This video maybe explains what I’ve been experiencing better than I can.

 
I would recommend checking out Bill Bachman's "Extremely jacked, nutty, ill, French grip learning system". There you will learn how to properly use the wrist in French grip, which is nothing at all like a handshake. It's more like turning a door knob. www.drumworkout.com.
 
The orthopedist performed a few examinations and believes it's almost certainly a TFCC tear in my right (dominant) hand.

Along with that came the sh*tty news: up to 8 months to heal, if it does at all.

The center of the TFCC doesn't receive a blood supply for healing and is basically treated like the meniscus in the knee. That means they shave off the frayed parts and bore a bigger space where the tear is in order to reduce pain.

I wouldn't mind giving up French Grip for good except for the fact that I use it a significant amount of time on the ride cymbal.

Anyway, on to the long process of rest/rehab/etc...
 
Dang man, sorry to hear about that. All the best with recovery.
 
I recently approached french grip more seriously to avoid pain, actually. I think you're just too tense, stay relaxed and keep practicing.
 
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