DrummingIsArt
Junior Member
My (right) hand was cramping up at some rock gigs, and I figured it was a strength/stamina issue since our band was playing much louder at the gigs than we rehearse.
Leading up to a gig I practiced for an hour a day, for 7 days prior to the gig, on a pad with these sticks:
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_900046496
They are HEAVY! It's like swinging a baseball bat with those weighted doughnuts on them! Often times, after practicing with those sticks for an hour, I'd pick up my normal 5A's and they would feel like twigs! I couldn't believe how light they made normal sticks feel like, and can only imagine if I had gone back to my trusty 7A's!
We played a full 3 hour show (with a super long 2 hour first set!) at the end of the day neither of my hands started cramping, nor were the muscles sore afterward. We were playing just as loud, if not louder, than ever before and I credit the stamina to the pad-time I spent with those heavy drum corps sticks. I now keep the heavy stick/pad practice going, but not an hour-a-day, more like an hour-a-week and it seems to maintain the strength and stamina I need for any gig, no matter what the volume.
Leading up to a gig I practiced for an hour a day, for 7 days prior to the gig, on a pad with these sticks:
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_900046496
They are HEAVY! It's like swinging a baseball bat with those weighted doughnuts on them! Often times, after practicing with those sticks for an hour, I'd pick up my normal 5A's and they would feel like twigs! I couldn't believe how light they made normal sticks feel like, and can only imagine if I had gone back to my trusty 7A's!
We played a full 3 hour show (with a super long 2 hour first set!) at the end of the day neither of my hands started cramping, nor were the muscles sore afterward. We were playing just as loud, if not louder, than ever before and I credit the stamina to the pad-time I spent with those heavy drum corps sticks. I now keep the heavy stick/pad practice going, but not an hour-a-day, more like an hour-a-week and it seems to maintain the strength and stamina I need for any gig, no matter what the volume.