7 Simple Ways You Can Turn A Bad Grip Into A Good One
Key to the world. Source: azrainman
Last part in the grip series
By now you know why your grip is important, you know which grip you should be using, you know which part of your grip you have been overlooking and now... you can put all this information into action and turn your current grip into a new one that will allow you to take over the world (seriously).
So the first thing you need to do to change your bad grip into a good one is:
1. Learn
Make sure you have at least read my other articles in this series. But don't stop there. Look around for videos of your favourite drummers, go and see bands play live, ask questions to other drummers on Twitter. That's what I do. But my personal favourite is to get a teacher. Not only do you get to see their grip and technique but you can ask them specific questions and
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The Most Overlooked Part Of Your Grip
Notice that pinky. Source: Sonny Side Up!
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
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Should You Use French Or German Grip?
French and German Drumstick Grip
There's only one way to find out
In the previous part to this series on grip, we talked about Why Your Drumstick Grip Is So Important. Now we're going to look at what type of grip you should be using.
To know which grip is best for you, you're going to have to spend a bit of time with each one, discover the benefits and use the one that works best for you.
I'll give you my personal recommendations in this article but everyone is different so what works best for me may not be what works best for you.
Before you go any further
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Why Your Drumstick Grip Is So Important
Grip is important. Source: beeto456
Drums are a weird instrument
With most other instruments you have to hold them or at least touch them in order to play them eg. guitar, saxophone, trumpet, harp, violin etc. But with drums (and percussion instruments in general) you don't actually touch them. On a drum kit you're either hitting things with sticks or pushing pedals with your feet. But you never come into contact with the drums or cymbals themselves.
So the main point of contact that you have with your instrument is your sticks. If you have a bad grip on your sticks then you'll play badly. This is why so many drummers recommend that you practise for hours on a pad because once you get control over your sticks then playing drums becomes so much easier.
Nick (one of my Facebook friends) suggested that I make holding drumsticks a blog topic. He rightly pointed out that
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What Type Of Drumsticks Should You Use?
Lots of sticks. Source: el clinto
"I didn't realise there were so many..."
I always thought that a set of sticks were the same as any other set of sticks. Boy was I wrong... The different types that you see in your music store all have their own unique size, length, weight, feel, tip, bounce and balance point.
It's confusing if you're not sure of the difference between all of them and, to be honest, I still don't get why there is such a stupid naming system.
Just stick to the points below and you'll be fine!
Always buy a named brand
To start with, you need to buy sticks from one of the big name brands like Vic Firth. They're more expensive but there are
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How To Boost Your Stick Tricks At School, At Work Or Wherever
This changed everything for me.
I learned it while I was studying at Univeristy. Who would've thought that those endless hours of reading through Psychology books in the library would have paid off. After you've learned all the moves you need and where your fingers should be, you can do this pretty much on atuo-pilot while you're reading, researching or stuck in a meeting. You can practise your drumming anywhere if you're creative.
Most of your stick tricks are based on either
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Stick Trick - Full Stick Spin
This is my favourite stick trick. Its really easy to do when you get the hang of it. Its also really quick so it fits into your drumming easily.
All you're doing is just making the stick do a whole rotation behind your middle finger. Then you catch it in your normal grip.
- Start with the stick in between your third and middle finger. So that if you're looking at your palm, the stick is behind your third finger and in front of your middle finger.
- Bend your
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