What I see often with my juniors is that they squeeze their ring and pinky fingers into the palm and at the same time squeeze the stick between middle and ring finger. I gave them balls of crumpled paper appropriate to the size of their hands to hold in their palm whilst playing. After a while they got more relaxed and the fingers stayed separated from the palm. This is quite an easy fix for an overall cramped trad grip.
Rob been a traditional grip guy since 1962 and my problem was reversed had a hell of a time switching to match. Bit I was always taught to put the stick between my thumb a first finger (in the cradle ) and use a repetitive wrist action , like shaking a hand with left and yes, it was hard but everyone of your workouts are always with traditional grip. Natural for me ....nice job on promoting Traditional grip though.
I remember getting blisters between third and fourth fingers when I first started out with trad grip; I was taught Trad grip first then switched to match grip. I play both grips now; 👍Good video
Been playing traditional grip since day one,1966,up to now,2022,listen to what he is explaining, that,s spot on,on the practice pad,once you transition to your actual snare, reality check
Great tutorial. It's very useful that you discuss in such an organized, systematic way the different problems and have such practical solutions for each. You're one of the best teachers for breaking down the components of every move or topic, and also put all the pieces for it together in a bigger picture of how to properly execute each technique.
Sooooo… practice the shit outta it? Haaaa! Been using this grip off and on for 35 years. Looks awesome and everyone knows you know your bleep! I switch back and forth and always practice both. Great channel BeatDown! Luv ya man!
Been playing drums for twelve years and realizing now that I've never known how to play them. Bout to slice my thumb off I hate myself so much lol. You're unreal
Some great tips on developing traditional grip. In addition to adjusting cymbal height, I would add that to get a consistent & solid backbeat the angle (tilt) & height of the snare drum will need to be adjusted to accommodate trad grip. Otherwise you will find yourself unnecessarily dipping or dropping your left shoulder to get good consistent rim shots.
I have a hard time with buzz rolls and a good snare rimshot. My double stroke opens are slow but that's a work in progress. The other two things I haven't been able to solve yet.
I've been playing traditional grip on and off for about 25 years and now I know how to play it properly because of this video thank you so much I've been struggling yes that's right for 25 years trying to figure out what am I doing wrong I sound good but I play but I don't do it perfectly now because of you you're amazing thank you thank you thank you
Thanks Rob! I started using traditional grip as a way to deal with really cramped drum spaces for gigs, where I focus hard on kick, hat, snare. When I really am pushed to hug the snare, it felt easier to hold the left stick traditional grip.
Thanks so much for this! I‘ve been basically guessing at the traditional grip, holding the stick way to much on the fingertips. The “cradle” concept is really helpful. I’ll need to go back and relearn a bit, but I’m sure this will have spared me years of practicing incorrectly. Thanks for the excellent and timely lesson - much appreciated! ☮️💙🥁🎶
Please never stop making these videos. Lol. Much love. Im 38 and haven’t played since I was about 24 or so. I picked up a cheap kit a year ago just to see if I’d take it seriously again. I have found that passion again and saving up for my dream set (ludwig classic maple). Do you sell a dvd set or have a video-lesson plan I should look into? I’d like to start from the basics and gradually get better. Thanks!
Thanks for this Rob, I've been working on traditional grip for about a year, it's slowly getting better. Most trouble I have had is getting the power 'equalized' on each snare hit.
This is all good info. Even at my age I still like look for ways to refine things. I started on matched and trad, but the junior high band teacher told me about matched, “we try and discourage that.” Ouch. But matched persevered until I had another teacher tell me I should pick one or the other and stick with it (no pun intended). Not terrible advice, but like many other drummers, swinging is just better with trad, and matched is great for classical percussion. My issue is that I tend to crook my wrist back when I play rolls. They sound fine but it is a bad habit. So watching your video, I now have some very basic exercises I can work on to help build the proper muscle memory and keep my wrist inline with my forearm.
An effective way to develop TG for many, has been to devote considerable time to practice thumb only-- no fingers on the stick. ie. a page of sick control a day or Stone Killer devoted to thumb only. Or, say eight on a hand where you alternate thumb only with index finger in the LH.
Another excellent and insightful lesson have been working on my traditional grip for a couple of years now have a problem with getting it a good constant volume like the matched grip however what I find really fascinating is my doubles and the pressed roll is way better and with more finesse with the traditional grip so am sticking with to develope it further 🥁👍💀
congrats on the Thomann Music affiliation! Nice timing on this vid too, I admit I'm guilty of hating on trad grip a bit. But like anything in music I feel like working on my trad grip will improve other areas of my playing...
Thanks for the tips. I came looking for how improve my weak crashes. It looks like you have to trade some bounce for leverage. I notice in your demo you are far further back on the stick than I am.
I've been trying to get into playing traditional grip for a while now - not entirely sure why other than it looks pretty cool - so this has been a most timely lesson. The crashes thing has been a big issue for me, as has moving around the kit in general. I don't know if it's just because it's a relatively new set of motions or whether I need to adjust the way my kit is set up but I guess the answer, as always, is keep on practicing... P.s Rob, congrats on becoming a Thomann affiliate. Beatdown goes Transatlantic... just need to get you an affiliate here in the UK now 😁
The cradle is the fulcrum, so if you want to maximize rebound, the position of the cradle on the stick should be the same as the fulcrum for the right hand. Holding it further back like Rob does (and Erskine, Carlock, et al.) makes backbeats easier and gives you more reach, but the stick will not rebound nearly as high. (Granted, Rob did put the cradle slightly further forward when specifically addressing the rebound issue, but it could've been even more forward.) Notice how Weckl stopped holding it that far back once Freddie Gruber fixed his hand technique.
Hi Rob, Thanks for the video. I've tried switching from matched to traditional grip but my groove / musicality still sucks! Any suggestions? The rest of the family has suggested that I should find another hobby! Best wishes, Mr G 🥁🥁😱😱🤣🤣😂😂
I’m learning traditional grip and unless I’ve misunderstood what I’ve watched so far.. saying to use your thumb. I’ve been practicing but it’s painful and doesn’t feel natural. Using your ring finger for the control makes more sense. Is this what you mean to use ring finger for control and not use thumb for strokes? Thanks for the video!
Thanks Rob ! I have been practicing "La Grange" (ZZ Top) and that left hand shuffle is very hard with traditional grip. If you can tell me what kind of practice I should do that would be great. Thanks!
Rob, great content as usual. What made you gravitate to the Traditional Grip? Were you not a Matched Grip Player ? Far be it from me , a 70 YO, retired guy as a Resurrected Drum Player (after 50 Years [1969]), to question the benefits of the various Stick Grips. I suffer with arthritis in my spine and many other joints including my fingers and Wrists. Trying very hard to NOT let that stop me. In my case, I have found to vary the grips as I play to various songs. It eliviates the stress on the hands. I play about an hour each day to My Music. I too feel the Stick Burn and the Stick "riding" when playing with either Grip. I offer a tip ... I tried Promark's Reuseable Stick Grips that wraparound the stick (the bottom 40% ) and has served as a cushion to lessen the Shock transmitted to the Hand and definitely allows for a solid Non-Slip Grip. I believe it is a Neoprene material that wraps the stick, stays in place and is Reuseable. Got them on Amazon. I have determined that EOD, use what makes You Happy and Comfortable. Happy Drumming All......We Need it More Than Ever in this Maddened World.!!
I experience a variation of "drift" that I call "creep" where the tip of the stick wants to creep towards me and out from under my index finger. My snare is basically flat and raised up a fair amount, but because of this issue, I just can't get a good single stroke down.
Thank you Rob! I occasionally work on my traditional grip especially when it comes to playing jazz. When I work on pad stuff, I notice I always go to traditional grip automatically without even thinking about it. Strange but interesting. Anyways.....did you find yourself experimenting with your snare height and angle too?
I had a problem with my sticks ALWAYS sliding I thought it was all technique I tried everything worked my but off on traditional but never improving one day I got out a pair of Dave Weckl sticks and even though I can't use them ( they feel terrible to me) the sticks never moved in my hand and the stick sat in my trad grip like it was glued there ? So I went to the hardware store and purchased a can of spray lacquer sprayed some thin coats on my sticks and Viola haven't had one issue with sticks sliding again so just a little food for thought there.
I have a question and I apologize because it's off topic. What is the boom stand that you're using for your snare mic? I've been looking for something like that.
Dave Weckl demonstrates in his videos a finger technique in his left hand and the back of his hand doesn' face up. I can't do this; when using fingers I have to turn my hand around, does anyone know what I am talking about?🙄😀
Got any advice for my issue my left hand ring finger has some indepndence wilst my pinky has none and that causes my pinky to do whatever my ring finger does so when i have my pinky rest under my ribg finger it never stays and i have to tense up alot for that to even not fly out of my hands but my right hand is perfect need to learn the left for marching and advice?
