A question for drummers

[The Unknown Gomer]

Just a very quick question for you drummer folks, something I've always wondered about since my days as a band geek.

Why do some drummers hold their sticks upside down / backwards in one hand? (see screen cap of YouTube vid of Charlie Watts.)

92487

I know they teach it that way in school band, and apparently some drummers retain it, like Charlie Watts. I think Stewart Copeland does it too (although only when he's sitting at his drumset, I noticed, not so much when he's going percussion happy with all the gongs and bells and timpanies and such that were behind his drumset during the live show). And early videos of Larry Mullen Jr show him holding one of his sticks that way, although I think he's since stopped doing it.

I played clarinet in my days... at band camp... :P so I didn't get to hang out much with the drumline back then. But I've just always wondered WHY drummers are taught to hold the sticks that way, what the reasoning behind it is. Can anyone enlighten me? Thnx!

[The Unknown Gomer]

*bump*

Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?...

[lilmikey]

Some players I guess have more strength and control that way. I was never able to do it that way.

[Sharon]

actually ....... that is the proper way to hold the sticks

the way you see most others holding them brings a lot of wrist problems ... also .... hitting with the back end instead of the bead end produces more sound

[The Unknown Gomer]

It's just always seemed odd to me hold one stick one way, and the other stick a whole DIFFERENT way.

Are they supposed to BOTH be held that way, or is it normally just the one? And IS it primarily done that way to avoid wrist strain then?

I've tried it with pencils :P and it just feels really REALLY awkward. But I know that all through school band, watching the drum section whack away on those snare drums, they always played one hand up and one hand down like in that pic. It just never made a whole lot of sense to me.

I hadn't really given in much thought again until recently, when I saw that Stones film at IMAX several months ago, and noticed that the drummer, even at his somewhat, um, advanced age, still held the sticks the "old school" way, one up, one down. And then I started paying more attention to how other drummers did it.

Doug thinks it's kind of odd that I noticed the difference, he's never paid any attention to it, and never really noticed it until I pointed it out to him after the Stones IMAX thing. Just one of my quirky "need to know why" things... :)

[Tony Trout]

Just a very quick question for you drummer folks, something I've always wondered about since my days as a band geek.

Why do some drummers hold their sticks upside down / backwards in one hand? (see screen cap of YouTube vid of Charlie Watts.)

92487

I know they teach it that way in school band, and apparently some drummers retain it, like Charlie Watts. I think Stewart Copeland does it too (although only when he's sitting at his drumset, I noticed, not so much when he's going percussion happy with all the gongs and bells and timpanies and such that were behind his drumset during the live show). And early videos of Larry Mullen Jr show him holding one of his sticks that way, although I think he's since stopped doing it.

I played clarinet in my days... at band camp... :P so I didn't get to hang out much with the drumline back then. But I've just always wondered WHY drummers are taught to hold the sticks that way, what the reasoning behind it is. Can anyone enlighten me? Thnx!

actually ....... that is the proper way to hold the sticks

the way you see most others holding them brings a lot of wrist problems ... also .... hitting with the back end instead of the bead end produces more sound



I've seen Don Henley (The Eagles) hold his drumsticks that way (one normally and one 'backwards'). I tried that once and never could get used to it.




Are they supposed to BOTH be held that way, or is it normally just the one? And IS it primarily done that way to avoid wrist strain then?



Good question....and, for those that do play and use the "bead" ends of the sticks all the time, how do you avoid wrist strain? I'm also a drummer but have never encountered wrist problems by playing using the bead ends (some of then are just nylon 'tips' that can and do break off) all the time.

Speaking of the nylon ends/tips 'breaking off', Ronnie Tutt (drummer for Elvis Presley from 1969-1977 and Neil Diamond from 1980 to the present) tells a story one night of playing along on a song with Elvis during rehearsals and the nylon tip flew off and nearly hit Elvis. Elvis turned around and said, "I thought you were firing bullets at me, Ronnie!" and laughed. :eek: :P :D

[HBdrummer]

What you are referring to is what is known as traditional grip.

[DanGross]

What you are referring to is what is known as traditional grip.

Yes, and playing with both hands the "same" way is called "matched grip." Traditional grip dates back to the old marching days (we're talking "Fife and Drum"), when the field drum was slung more at an angle. The drum would be tilted toward the right, which would not allow for a good strike from the left hand using the matched grip. If you "pretend," you can see how well the traditional grip works in those situations.

But, before I sound like a "matched grip apologist" (really, there are "matched grip" and "traditional grip" "camps" and they both argue theirs is the best/only way :eek: ) I'm not saying traditional grip has no place in modern drumming. There are things you can do with that left hand grip that you can't with the "matched" grip. Anyone arguing otherwise needs to be sat in front of a video of Buddy Rich doing one of his famous "one handed rolls." I feel there's a place for both grips, though I admittedly primarily play matched these days.

[-_-prune-man-_-]

you find that alot of old jazz drummers play like that. sometimes I adopt the traditional when playing my ride cymbal in a jazz or swing situation, i just find it easier to swing the sound then. and if its a soft song i might use the traditional in my snare hand. I find its just down to preference.... there is no "wrong" or "right"... aslong ad it makes a beat and you feel comfortable!

[Martyred]

It's called "traditional grip"

for Snare Drummers in band, it's the way that they're supposed to hold the sticks.

one all cock-eyed and weird in one hand, and the other stick normal in the other hand.

I'm a bass drummer myself in band, and I've never liked playing snare with that grip... I much prefer match grip.

it's much easier.

[R. Smith]

...drummer. I quit playing drums a year ago... I always thought the upside down holding style was for Jazz drummers.

[The Unknown Gomer]

I forgot I posted this! I thought "what was I doing asking a drummer question?!?" Then I remembered I'd asked it after seeing the Stones movie at IMAX... :)

Yes, and playing with both hands the "same" way is called "matched grip." Traditional grip dates back to the old marching days (we're talking "Fife and Drum"), when the field drum was slung more at an angle. The drum would be tilted toward the right, which would not allow for a good strike from the left hand using the matched grip. If you "pretend," you can see how well the traditional grip works in those situations.

That makes sense. With the matched grip you'd have to sort of contort your hand over the high end of the drum to hit it, vs just being able to hit it, holding it the other way.

"Good answer! Good answer!" *applauds* :)

[MBishop08]

That grip is indeed the traditional grip.
I find that it just helps with control - for my right hand, on the ride cymbal.

[energizerbunney]

its actually the correct way to hold drumsticks, as drumming like all the rest of us do could cause wrist problems in the future.

[Musicdude]

I was a snare-drummer/quad-drummer in marching band in high school, and they taught us to play using the matched grip. I had seen other bands at football games and competitions using traditional grip. But really from what I saw, about half the bands used traditional and half used matched.

I've tried traditional and I can play that way, but it is never comfortable to me.

If I remember correctly (it's been 12 years since high school for me), but there are two different types of marching bands. "Core (or maybe Corps)" bands, and "Military" bands. And I think it's the military bands who use the traditional grip, and the corps bands who use matched grip. Our high school band was a corps band and we used matched.