In another posting i told you about the history of the traditional grip. Although this grip looks a bit old-fashioned, it’s still a cool one, used by many famous drummers such as Thomas Lang, Stewart Copeland and Vinnie Colaiuta, just to name a few. I’m going to show you how the traditional grip works in detail…
My first teacher introduced me to the traditional grip. I kept on playing this way for one or two years, until another teacher let me play “matched”.
Today i use the matched grip most of the time, it’s my main grip. But still i like playing the traditional way, because it makes me feel (and drum) with another approach. I like to switch between the 2 grips just to jump into another feeling…
I think this could be a good argument for you to learn the traditional grip as well.
4 steps that show the traditional grip in detail
Just follow these 4 illustrated steps carefully:
The stick is mainly held by the thumb which is pressing the stick into the “valley” between thumb and index-finger. This is also the balancing point of the stick.
The fingers are split into two groups. While ring- and pinky-fingers remain under the stick, index- and middle-fingers stay above:
Also there is less movement in the ring- and pinky-fingers, while the other two constantly open and close (more or less) to support the strokes.
Hitting and beating with the traditional grip
Start this lesson without a drum.
To create a proper stroke open the index- and middle-fingers a bit, and try to let the stick move up by only pushing the thumb way back.
At its highest position try to snap the stick down, let it snap onto your ring finger.
Repeat it several times. Also start to turn your wrist in the appropriate direction to provide the movement of the stick.
Bring the index and middle finger back closer as well. Open them more when you need space to strike out, close them together with the stroke.
Now try to create some equal sounding strokes on the snare drum.
In the beginning you will have some problems with the traditional thing, the stick slips and slides from left to right and it’s hard to create a fat stroke… that’s pretty normal, don’t give up.
Spend some minutes for the traditional grip every time you practice. It will widen your horizon and – it just looks cool ;)
