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The Most Overlooked Part Of Your Grip

I use this phrase a lot but...

This changed everything for me and it affected so many parts of my playing:

• Increased endurance
• More power
• Faster singles
• Less tension
• More control
• Less aches and pains
• No more blisters

So far in my series on Drumstick Grip, we have talked about why your grip is impoartant, and you also which of the two grips you should use. Now its time to drill down into what you're hands are actually doing.

There are two parts to this. First, let's take a look at the part of your grip that you'll already be familiar with:

The front of your grip

This is also called your fulcrum. It's the point where your stick balances. It's made by either pinching the stick between your thumb and index finger or between your thumb and middle finger. Most people focus their presssure here instinctively and some people focus all of their pressure here.

Try and keep this as loose as possible. Any tension here will kill the energy in your stick and stop it from bouncing. The only time when you need a lot of pressure here is when you are playing buzz rolls. Otherwise, just hold tight enough to stop the stick falling out of your hand.

What you need is a shift in where you focus your grip. From the front, to the most overlooked part:

The back of your grip

A lot of people don't even know that this exists. It involves the fingers that aren't being used in the front of the grip: namely your pinky, 3rd finger and maybe your middle finger. These fingers wrap around the stick and help pull it into your palm. These fingers should always be in contact with your stick. As soon as they leave it, you lose your control.

Have a look at the way you play. If any of your back 3 fingers are not touching the stick or, worse still, are sticking out into the air like a posh gentleman drinking his tea then you're in trouble. You are not using the back of your grip.

How to learn to use the back of your grip

The best way is to try just holding on with the back of your grip for a few days. In other words, hold the stick with your pinky, 3rd finger and middle finger only. Straighten your thumb and index finger and remove them completely from your stick.

When you play you will see that the stick bounces in a totally different way. It has more energy and bounces higher because the front of your grip isn't getting in the way anymore. That's great, that's what you want because

1. You get more power
2. You do less work, and
3. Fewer vibrations travel back into your hands.

I still make it a point that whenever I hit my snare, I remove my thumb, index finger and middle finger from the stick (read more about this in How to play Wrist Technique). You'll find that this takes a little while to get used to but it does make sure that your hand doesn't soak up any vibrations (very helpful if you play a lot of rimshots).

So try this out, switch to the back of your grip for a few days and get a feel for a more balanced, effortless grip.

Alexander

So have you been overlooking this part of your grip? Maybe you've known about this idea all along? What techniques do you use to drink tea?

Leave your thoughts and wisdom in the comments below:

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