BillBachman
Gold Member
Hey guys, here's some food for thought that stemmed from an earlier thread with questions on fulcrums,gaps and buzz rolls. I think it got lost in the shuffle over there and I think it can start a good discussion on its own. Here goes:
I think it's foolish to lock yourself into one fulcrum or the other (1st finger or second finger). Both are great tools for different applications. Plus, sometimes it's somewhere between the two and sometimes there's pretty much no fulcrum (like when the wrist does pretty much the whole job while the fingers just lightly contact the stick).
As a general guideline, the first finger fulcrum should be used when playing any combination of low/light/fast when lots of finger control is needed. This also sets up the all important trigger finger for the finesse up front. AND, second finger fulcrum (or sometimes no fulcrum/general grip) should be used when playing bigger slower strokes where the wrist or arm is primarily driving and there's less need for finger micro-management.
Another general guideline: If the wrist can do it, let the wrist do it. If the wrist would struggle at all, then the fingers come in to bail it out (and the back fingers take priority over the front--don't micro-manage up front with the index if the ring & middle finger can get the job done). If the whole hand would struggle, then the arm comes in to bail it out (either through a general big motion or pumping motion, or through Moeller whipping style where the wrist motion is replaced by a forearm motion).
Now, I know there are guys who've thrown out the blanket statement, "If there's no gap between your thumb and index finger that means you're tight." That's a terribly incomplete blanket statement and I've had many students come to me with tendonitus because they were squeezing the crap out of the stick in order to "stay relaxed" maintaining an open gap. (These guys should specify that an open gap assumes you're playing second finger fulcrum, spelling that out would help prevent injury.) From that standpoint, if you go exclusively second finger fulcrum with a gap then you're quite often shooting yourself in the foot as far as high speed & low dynamic playing is concerned, and anything requiring downward pressure. (Also note, second finger fulcrum does not assume there's a gap, there's a time to have no gap when using both first and second finger fulcrum.)
And now, "The Gap." It's not about a gap or no gap, it's about the placement and function of the thumb. When there's a gap the thumb is functionally on the side of the stick, when there's no gap the thumb is functionally on the top of the stick. Both are fantastic and fantastically vital for completely capable and relaxed hands. (Yes, having no gap allows you to play many things infinitely more relaxed!) The beauty of American grip is that the thumb (and hand) is at about a 45 degree angle such that the thumb can easily jump to either of these roles in the blink of an eye--and it will need to quite often. The placement of the thumb in American grip borrows on the attributes of German or French grip. Pure German and French grip are "one trick ponies" where the thumb is relegated to one or the other (not that that's bad of course, I use lots of French grip in addition to my primary American, and occasionally a tad bit of German).
And finally the buzz question: If you play a buzz roll that crescendo's from ppp to ff, you'd start with first finger fulcrum and only your index finger (2nd finger fulcrum would be a way too big/heavy/klunky tool for this level of finesse). As you crescendo and more pressure is needed you'd gradually add fingers one by one toward the back of the hand to easily add more pressure.
I think it's foolish to lock yourself into one fulcrum or the other (1st finger or second finger). Both are great tools for different applications. Plus, sometimes it's somewhere between the two and sometimes there's pretty much no fulcrum (like when the wrist does pretty much the whole job while the fingers just lightly contact the stick).
As a general guideline, the first finger fulcrum should be used when playing any combination of low/light/fast when lots of finger control is needed. This also sets up the all important trigger finger for the finesse up front. AND, second finger fulcrum (or sometimes no fulcrum/general grip) should be used when playing bigger slower strokes where the wrist or arm is primarily driving and there's less need for finger micro-management.
Another general guideline: If the wrist can do it, let the wrist do it. If the wrist would struggle at all, then the fingers come in to bail it out (and the back fingers take priority over the front--don't micro-manage up front with the index if the ring & middle finger can get the job done). If the whole hand would struggle, then the arm comes in to bail it out (either through a general big motion or pumping motion, or through Moeller whipping style where the wrist motion is replaced by a forearm motion).
Now, I know there are guys who've thrown out the blanket statement, "If there's no gap between your thumb and index finger that means you're tight." That's a terribly incomplete blanket statement and I've had many students come to me with tendonitus because they were squeezing the crap out of the stick in order to "stay relaxed" maintaining an open gap. (These guys should specify that an open gap assumes you're playing second finger fulcrum, spelling that out would help prevent injury.) From that standpoint, if you go exclusively second finger fulcrum with a gap then you're quite often shooting yourself in the foot as far as high speed & low dynamic playing is concerned, and anything requiring downward pressure. (Also note, second finger fulcrum does not assume there's a gap, there's a time to have no gap when using both first and second finger fulcrum.)
And now, "The Gap." It's not about a gap or no gap, it's about the placement and function of the thumb. When there's a gap the thumb is functionally on the side of the stick, when there's no gap the thumb is functionally on the top of the stick. Both are fantastic and fantastically vital for completely capable and relaxed hands. (Yes, having no gap allows you to play many things infinitely more relaxed!) The beauty of American grip is that the thumb (and hand) is at about a 45 degree angle such that the thumb can easily jump to either of these roles in the blink of an eye--and it will need to quite often. The placement of the thumb in American grip borrows on the attributes of German or French grip. Pure German and French grip are "one trick ponies" where the thumb is relegated to one or the other (not that that's bad of course, I use lots of French grip in addition to my primary American, and occasionally a tad bit of German).
And finally the buzz question: If you play a buzz roll that crescendo's from ppp to ff, you'd start with first finger fulcrum and only your index finger (2nd finger fulcrum would be a way too big/heavy/klunky tool for this level of finesse). As you crescendo and more pressure is needed you'd gradually add fingers one by one toward the back of the hand to easily add more pressure.