Stick angles

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
Following on from my moeller thread - a forum user who teaches offered me a skype lesson, which was very cool and very nice of him.

I was told that I still wasn't angling the stick enough. I had been working on this but it wasn't really improving. I had this silly little idea of putting training wheels on (i.e a drum key obstructing obtuse stick angles).

I practised with this drum key in the way for a while, it felt really awkward and I wasn't able to play very well.

I am still going to try regardless of what anyone says but do you think this will work after a few days? Is this the angle the better technicians have?
 

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Oh I do, and I love it but I can't get the power, speed or the accuracy that I want. I also had wrist pain recently and I think technique is my Achilles..
 
It is simple yet important questions like this that many of us who have not yet established good mechanics need answered. If you have the answer please tell! :)

MM
 
Oh I do, and I love it but I can't get the power, speed or the accuracy that I want. I also had wrist pain recently and I think technique is my Achilles..

Pain not good. If you can, forget Skype and go and find a reputable teacher (i.e. one known to churn out good players). Even if it means traveling a long way once a fortnight.

I used to get wrist pain too. I think in my case it was tension and pinching the stick in a way that strained my thumb (too much like holding a pencil). Problem is I played like this for years, so sometimes now I have to release my hand.. sometimes it takes me a moment to know what muscles are actually creating the tension, but it feels so good when I do. The tension can be subtle.

Tommy Igoe's phrase always conjurs up the right mental image for me.. "soft hands"..

Also what helps me is trying to make sure I can feel the bounce of the drums. Sometimes if you are too tense you can't feel it so much.

Hope that helps a little bit.
 
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That's usually where mine are relative to the lugs :) I think it's more of a product of the rotation of your wrist- i.e. German grip, wrists near-flat to the floor, you'll have more horizontally oriented sticks as opposed to French grip which would be more vertical. I don't think it's a big deal though.
 
The hand position/angles look fine (I'm the teacher Dre25 is referring to).

As already mentioned, this is German Tympani method. Knuckles are on top, thumbs at the side, wrists far enough apart so the sticks form an equilateral triangle.

There are some more detailed shots on my website here:
http://www.drum2one.co.uk/how_to_hold_the_sticks1.html
http://www.drum2one.co.uk/how_to_hold_the_sticks2.html

I use this method on snare and toms. When I play ride I mostly use French grip with the thumb on top.
On hi-hat I use both methods depending on the feel.

It takes a while for this to feel natural because specific tendons have to become stronger, through exercising with the correct motion. Thus, it's very important to practice these motions at a slow enough pace where they are being executed correctly. Playing to a slow click is very helpful.

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Tommy Igoe's phrase always conjurs up the right mental image for me.. "soft hands"..

Also what helps me is trying to make sure I can feel the bounce of the drums. Sometimes if you are too tense you can't feel it so much.

Hope that helps a little bit.

Ive had the thumb and hand pain as well. This kind of simple advice has been more helpful than much time analyzing my grip in the mirror, and working with different grips, and changing the pivot point to the second finger, and all kinds of other stuff.

however you play - play so it feels relaxed and good to you - hard to hurt yourself if you do that and it goes a long way to ensure good technique as well.
 
I might be the only one who cares but I just wanted to report that it's been 4 or 5 days and this drum key trick is working. If it wasn't such a temporary thing I'd have something low and flat made to span over 2 lugs to promote the correct angles on both hands.

I'm impressed by how quickly my body has adapted. I had low expectations to begin with.

I feel like my left hand has a bit more freedom and some things are coming out sounding a little better, ghost note patterns for example.

As Kroy said - I would be using different tendons, and I do feel some fatigue on the top of my wrist.
 
This has finally become muscle memory... I stopped putting the drum key there some weeks back and I this is now happening nicely for me.

It feels so much nicer, I know some pro's hold it fairly straight but for me it's a world of difference.
 
I'm sorry. Are you talking about the angle from your hand down to the drum, or the angle as far as your hands are away from your body? Hands close to the body?

edit edit.....After looking at the photos I understand. My elbows are almost touch my sides at time. Good or Bad???
 
The angle of your stick relative to your wrist, it's a grip/fulcrum thing.

If your elbows are always near your sides then that's supposed to be good - holding your arms out/forward or backward uses energy.
 
The angle of your stick relative to your wrist, it's a grip/fulcrum thing.

Have you done Bill's drumworkout hands-makeover program? I'm a month in and it's been quite change for me. I'm not so much concerned with fencing off the angle to the snare, or putting up string to catch the height. The big change is in how I hold the stick, use my arms, turn my wrists, fingers, thumb, and fulcrum.

It might be worth a peek.
 
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