10 Things That Will Explode Your Drumming - Your Fingers
Photo credit: said&done
Your fingers are very important.
The front of your grip is formed when you pinch the stick between your index finger and thumb. The back of your grip is formed when you close your other 3 fingers (middle, third and pinky) around the stick. These fingers help guide the stick and make sure it doesn't fly off in any unwanted direction.
Taking these fingers off the stick is the surest way to lose control of what you're doing. If your other 3 fingers are not on the stick, then you get half the control over the stick that you should be getting. Half the control! Thats like trying to play video games with one hand.
Finger Strength
Rock climbers appreciate the strength in fingers and design workout routines designed purely for fingers. That seemed crazy to me at first but it makes sense when you think that rock climbers need to be able to support their whole body weight on just their fingers as they climb.
As drummers we don't need our fingers to go through the same stresses but, with this much power in these small parts of our bodies, why not take advantage and start training them?
How to train your fingers for drumming
Hold the stick in French position with your thumb on top of the stick and pinch it loosely in between your thumb and index finger.
This is your fulcrum, the point at where the stick will pivot. This part of the stick should not move. Check out the video.
Use one finger at a time to push the back of the stick up. This will send the tip down towards the drum. Let it bounce back up and repeat.
Get a feel for how each finger moves and reacts, then combine all fingers together.
If you find that the stick is moving about a lot don't worry. This is normal at first. Try this: Grip your fulcrum with the index and thumb of your other hand to increase stability.
In the video you can see me using each finger in turn then using all of them at once. It takes time but if you take a couple of minutes every day to practise this you'll notice improvements quickly. Just try it out every day for a week and see the difference.
Have fun with it,
Alex
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