Has anyone ever felt like they need to hold onto the stick far up or all the way back?

I always locate, without giving the process even a moment's thought, the point on the stick that naturally pivots in my hand, permitting effortless rebound to reign. For me, that's not unusually "far up" and certainly never "all the way back." Sticks will vary, of course, in accordance with their length and balance. I use nothing but AHEAD 5B Light Rock sticks now, so variance isn't a factor I need to accommodate.
 
I will sometimes hold farther towards the butt end if I'm just playing heavy.
 
I hold near butt, in fulcrum middle and rarer towards tip. Just depends- my grip changes to from French to German to American, and though I play matched they rarely do. So ride might be French and snare German or American. Just depends.
 
I usually go for an inch (ish) sticking out at the back, but I do grip closer to the end sometimes when I want to hit harder...
 
Ikebongo said:
...
Click to expand...


Back when I was trying to be Weckl (this in the Back to Basics Day) - I noticed he had his left hand REALLY far up on the stick - and I also read an interview with Stewart Copeland where he talked about his left hand holding the stick really far back to get some power in his rimshots....so I had a huge phase where I played traditional grip and had the left stick super far up....a longggg phase (maybe a decade or so).

However - now I pretty firmly always have the balance point of the stick between my thumb and fingers (middle or index depending on the overall volume of the music) - and that helps a lot to move the sticks around the kit quickly with singles etc. I also almost never play traditional grip.

Sometimes if I really feel like hitting hard - I'll move up on the left stick below the balance point towards the butt end just for a little oomph - but only when the song requires a big ol' backbeat and isn't that busy.

Has anyone ever seen Stephen Perkins's grip? The butt end of his stick is at like his middle finger - I have no idea how he does that.
 

Attachments

  • sp-1.jpeg
    sp-1.jpeg
    243.1 KB · Views: 32
NouveauCliche said:
Has anyone ever seen Stephen Perkins's grip? The butt end of his stick is at like his middle finger - I have no idea how he does that.
Click to expand...

While I like Perkins' drumming, his technique has always seemed strange to me. How he gets any rebound at all with that grip is beyond my comprehension. He also plays thumbs up (French grip) quite a bit. I can't relate to that either. Execution is a personal pursuit. We all do it differently, not unlike walking.
 
Soft Hi-hat half way up
Normally about an inch up from the end of the stick
Different strokes for different folks
?
 
It's interesting, recently I discovered that when I'm playing with marching sticks on my pad, I hiked up the sticks quite a bit, almost to where my fulcrum is nearly halfway up the stick (example here:
), but when I play my 5a's on a drumset, they're pretty close to the butt of the stick. I think its because the sticks are so much heavier, my body just naturally moved them up so it would be closer to the same weight as a 5A.

Oddly enough, when I forced myself to play further back on the pad, everything got way easier. Imagine that.
 
For trad grip, it tends to depend on the style of music and how much power you need to impart to the snare drum. Holding the stick too close to the pivot point means less energy directed to the drum head for more forceful strokes. Rimshot playing falls into this category, as does rock drumming and most contemporary playing. If you're going to be playing jazz standards out of the real book, then probably more at the pivot point for maximum bounce.
 
rhumbagirl said:
For trad grip, it tends to depend on the style of music and how much power you need to impart to the snare drum. Holding the stick too close to the pivot point means less energy directed to the drum head for more forceful strokes. Rimshot playing falls into this category, as does rock drumming and most contemporary playing. If you're going to be playing jazz standards out of the real book, than probably more at the pivot point for maximum bounce.
Click to expand...

I concur. I use matched grip for 99% of the time and only play traditional when a song or part needs some more sensitive playing. I notice that for some reason that feels and plays more natural. The fulcrum shifts as well, further to the center of the stick then with matched grip.

Unconsciously i adjust the stick in my hand with my fingers when it starts to slip so it get's back to the comfy fulcrum position. I don't adjust to using the butt end for more power or slide more towards the center of stick when it's needs to be a tad softer. Everything is controlled by the fingers.
 
Last edited:
Drummer friend asked why my grip was so far back on the sticks ( matched grip) as oooosed to where he held same sticks. It was determined the fulcrum point was in the exact same place ( marked his with pen) , it’s just that my hands are pretty damn big and almost a full 2 inches across the back and inch and a half longer total hand length not to mention much longer fingers than him . But I do also tend to hold further back than some others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iCe
I've always had a problem holding my sticks at the fulcrum. I've been playing for about 60 years and have studied under some of the greats. Most of them have said to watch your fulcrum. But I still have to be behind the fulcrum. If I try to play at the fulcrum, I feel like I'm holding the sticks under the bead and it hinders the bounce. Does anyone else have that problem? Maybe I just have weird
AzHeat said:
I seem to naturally hold mine further back then I see with others. Butt of the stick is barely visible. The fulcrum just feels right in that position. I'll slide up on them when I'm trying to lower my volume.
Click to expand...
I tend to play about an inch behind the fulcrum. I've been playing drums for about 60 years; still playing. I've studied under some of the greats and most of them told me to make sure I hold at the fulcrum. It just doesn't work for me, I can't get a good bounce and I feel like I'm holding the sticks up next to the bead. Maybe I just have weird hands, but I think you need to listen to your hands and do what's comfortable and seems to work. I'll admit when I teach drums, I tell my students to hold at the fulcrum because that seems to work for most drummers; but not all.
 
NouveauCliche said:
Has anyone ever seen Stephen Perkins's grip? The butt end of his stick is at like his middle finger - I have no idea how he does that.
Click to expand...
his middle finger does all the work, maybe doesn’t need the last two. I do that to keep my other 2 fingers from kicking the stick sideways. Still, just asking for developing trigger finger.
 
I've been trying to do a Tony Allen grip with my R hand lately and having to watch it carefully as it is tricky to keep in position there.
I had been gripping far back at the butt because it's much easier to go fast that way. But it's loud and also more difficult to do a crushing stroke on hats or snare that way.
Different sounds
 
I play traditional grip. I tend to hold both sticks fairly far back. For my right hand I'd say the butt of the stick is right at the pad of my hand nearest my pinky finger and just before where the wrist meets my hand. For my left hand I choke up just a little so that about and inch to an inch and a half of the stick extends beyond the fulcrum created by my thumb and index finger.
 
Dr_Watso said:
The way I look at it there's no "perfect" or ideal grip. Moving your hand or holding the stick differently will quite often result in a different sound, and I want those options.
Click to expand...

Got any tips for using a closer to the center grip? Probably I just need more time and practice to be able to feel when the stick starts slipping too far.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top