How to hold drumsticks

[StricklandPropane1]

Hey man great video! Helped out a lot. I just have one question. I'm having a lot of trouble holding the stick in my right hand. My thumb and index finger constantly slip off the stick and its frustrating when im trying to do rolls. I have noticed however that my pinkie is not fully wrapped around the stick. Could the position of my pinkie be affecting the fulcrum? Thanks a lot!

[rea1high]

HI, I've been having problem swith my grip, in that i found the stick rolling up my finger to the secong knuckle rather than staying by the first. Would this cause me problem? Anyway, you mentioning keeping the gap close between the thumb and finger may be what i need to do to sort this out. So if it does, thanks! If it doesn't, again, would it be a big problem?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Thanks for watching! The knuckle thing and the closing the gap thing work hand in hand. In terms of closing the gap between the thumb and finger, this approach places the pivot point of the stick onto the index finger. So the stick would have to stay on the first knuckle. If you choose to let the stick slide down further, be sure to still let the stick have a nice loose upstroke when you play. Overall, you want to stay loose and relaxed when you play. Thanks Again!

[rea1high]

That makes perfect sence. Thanks for replying.

Peace

[EddieLandsberg]

Fantastic communication and teaching skills !

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Thanks!

[bananas93827]

i've been playing for about a year now .. n i can play beats fine .. but i have problems doing drum rolls .. could it be the way i hold my sticks?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Perhaps you're holding the sticks too tight or maybe causing the sticks to hit the drum at a bad angle or something...it's probably something simple; which is what makes it frustrating...give me some more details and I'll try to help you out

[anonomousness]

try loosening your shoulders

let them move in the direction your wrists are going

relax your back.. may be your holding the sticks too tight. make it so you can just feel the stick bouncing

[penutwi]

im just getting those down and ive been playing for a yr too lol

[utsawin09]

dude your brutal, thanks dude, helping people out ! *thumbs up*

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Thanks for the compliment...glad it helped!

[KeithosZC]

im a drummer, been playign for about 4 years, but recently my arm seems to be getting tired quite early and the muscle between my wrist and elbo starts hurting... Could it be my positining?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

(I think my first reponse got deleted so I am responding again)

As you play, check to make sure that you are not raising your arms. You may even have your arms in a good position when you first start playing...however, you may be raising them gradually as you play...focus on relaxing your arms and whole body more in general and this should help...Thanks for watching!

[pyrohydro]

what are the advantages to using the traditional grip?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

You know what my favorite thing is about traditional grip? It forces you (namely beginners) to pay attention to how you are holding the sticks. Match grip is very important too; but in the beginning people don't pay as much attention to their stick holding technique. In the beginning, traditional grip is very daunting, which in turn forces the beginning student to pay more attention to how they are holding the stick; which is what a drummer is supposed to do anyway.

[shlempnar]

my teaching was telling me digs tradish for solely jazz tunes. apparently it leans you in on the light touch by the way it rests.

[manka6]

Both my pinkies are really messed up. The only way I can describe it is that they're triple jointed, when I move them, they lock in 3 places. They just plain can't move fluidly like my other fingers can. Any tips?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

You don't really have to use your pinkies all that much anyway. Some of the older techniques use the pinkie finger very much....some techniques don't use the pinkies at all. I would just try to play without using the pinkie fingers in your case. Let me know if this works!

[kingRG13]

i mean like on the sheet that tells you to play an instrument.i play another instrument so i know about the quarter notes,etc

[kingRG13]

i play drums but i dont have the hang of the notes can u help

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Do you refer to just reading the notes in general? Like note values of quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenths etc? I (and I'm sure many others in the YouTube community) would be glad to help

[unholymonkey]

Thanks but I cannot use my left hands pinky due to the fact that its bent, is there any hope of me using a different style grip where i dont need my pinky so much?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Thanks for watching.

I would actually have to see your hands to get a better idea of how to approach this...however, you can play without using your pinky. Remember, this is NOT the only way to hold a drumstick. Try using your middle finger, rebound, wrists, etc to create the motion. In the technique that I use, the backfingers (pinky and ring) just stabalize the stick anyway. Keep in touch!

[unholymonkey]

WOuld it be alright if i sent you in a picture?

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Sure, email it. This will benefit me too. Chances are that someone will come to my studio in the future with a similar situation. You will have given me experience in dealing with it... Thanks!

[fruitarier]

thanks...now i know!

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Thanks for watching. Just click my username to view our other instuctional videos...feel free to subscribe/friends

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

Comments and Questions are welcomed. Any ignorant, irresponsible, or immature comments will be removed immediately....