What is WRONG With My Technique??
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2017
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What is wrong with my technique, and what can I do to improve it? These are excellent questions, which I do my best to address through 3 main points. Today we talk about GRIP, MOTION, and POSTURE, and how these three areas of technique are extremely important to your sound and fluidity as a player. Choosing your type of grip and where you form the fulcrum on the stick can actually depend on what dynamic or style you’re playing. The type of motion you use to hit the drum can determine the smoothness of your sound and your ease of playing. Posture, the super-important final point, may make the difference between back problems and fluid playing with good feel. This video is definitely a “crash course” in the truest sense, but I hope to give you the basic advice and information you may need to get your technique squared away. We close with a discussion on how to become your own teacher - how to evaluate yourself - which is crucial toward growing as a player (especially if you are "self-taught").
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Liked solely for "ain't nobody got time for trad".
Great video. I am requesting a more detailed Lesson on Hand Grip Technique.
Thanks a lot Stephen!! Great vid! Every vid of yours that I have watched so far is really helpful and delivered well!! 🤙🏼
I am a 6'3" Drummer like you so really appreciate your perspective on this. You have answered a lot of my questions through your videos and I really enjoy them.
Great video and tips as usual, Stephen, so thanks very much. One thing I don't do very often but must start to do is video my playing.
Cheers, and keep the excellent lessons coming,
Ray
Just found your channel - I'm not a beginner drummer but I found your videos extremely useful and well made... At the very least as a tool to show my beginer friends. Thanks for the vids!
Great video Stephen. Thanks
Thank you for the upload!! Really enjoying your videos!! That’d be awesome if you could make the sequel to this video! It’d be awesome to see how the grip can effect your drumming and the ability to learn how to play quicker and always keeping things clean!
Good stuff man, very informative
Thanks for a great video mate. I was self taught 25 years ago so have plenty of bad habits... This really helps. Thanks again.
It is not explicitly stated in this video so I feel compelled to comment: Stephen is using his middle finger as the pivot point (fulcrum), allowing the stick to be primarily controlled between the 1st & 2nd knuckle of his middle finger, not the index. Look closely at the 2:10 mark, you can see the stick moves rather freely across his index finger, using it only as a "housing" for the stick in conjunction with the thumb. The stick never slides or moves off of his middle finger, it simply pivots back and forth. Using the middle finger as the fulcrum will be monumental for anyone trying to gain finger speed and control for lightning fast singles, etc etc.
Great video, I've been struggling to find a simple and comprehensible posture guide and here it is :) Also, please make the in-depth grip guide that you mentioned!
Thanks! I'll add the "grip Pt 2" to the list 👍
I have been playing drums for about 7 years, self taught and never paid any attention to how I grip the sticks or how tightly I hold them. Thanks for making these videos!
Translating something clumsy into anything that's been learnt so easy.👍
Awesome tips!
Thanks, Randy!
Good stuff!
That last one.
YES! I learned a VERY harsh lesson about two years in when I first did that.
Great video man helped a lot.
Thanks, Tate! Glad it helped you out. 👍
For those super serious about developing their matched grip, check out Steve Smith's "Pathways of Motion" book. You can't go wrong by learning from one of the world's best drummers. Totally worth the money.
Dude thank you so much
Hey brother. Love the videos. One thing. My first drum instructor, Mike Johnston, taught me a slightly but significantly different grip. Rather than rotating around your index finger he taught me to rotate around the middle finger. This gives one more control in both directions. Just my or his two cents. Keep it up youngster.
I'm definitelly gonna try this
thank you Stephen
Nice vid! I’ve really been working on my motion lately.
Cool! 👍 Thanks!
excellent stuff...EXCELLENT....subbed! :)
Hi Stephen Thanks so much Im a self taught drummer, and your videos really help me, Which of your videos show how to do finger technique? Thank You
Ur doing great explaining it bud.for me anyway.ive been playing off and on for 20 pluss years though
Very interesting video.
Thanks!
Hi Stephen, new subscriber. Great channel!! Q: the Aquarian Drumhead at 2:30-is that a practice pad? The only Aquarian practice pad I can find when I search is a black one.
Your videos are great. I like how you're just chilling in your slippers.
Haha thanks! If I think about it I'll put my actual shoes on, but most of the time it doesn't even occur to me that my feet are in the shot 😜
Great vid. You mention you start your practices with those rudiments, how long do you keep them up before moving on? Is 30 to 45 minutes per day practicing enough to show serious improvement after some months, or am I wasting my 30 to 45 minutes per day that could be better spent golfing?
If you do it daily and consciously focus on what you're doing I bet it will give you great effects
Let's be honest, with dynamics of golf, what you can do there in 30 minutes?
this is useful, i play drums as well and when i play some rock or funk groves the hi hat most of the time gets out of tune and that i have to start the tune all over again. plus the roll i do i cannot do it in a high speed.
Stephen thank you for your videos on hand developing. I am right handed and I play traditional grip. My left hand is weak. Do you have points to playing traditional grip and weak left hand.... Thank you
I like the video tip because I look in a mirror but I need to watch more complete with a video camera for relaxed playing. Going to get a video camera. Thanks
Great tips man. You have any other stuff on sticking technique? I’m a long time, self taught drummer but I feel like I should have taken some kind of lessons along the way to have a better technique. Now I feel like I’ve been playing “wrong” all these years, if you know what I mean.
Hey. So. I've been curious for quite some time. I tend to play gripping exactly as you do. However i see many people (including some of my faves) gripping with a very lose index finger. Like hardly gripping at all and halfway towards pointing. Is this some magic I've missed and is actually the key to good technique?
Hi Stephen. It seems you are using the second joint of your index finger when doing your single stroke roll. I have been using the first joint, and have had trouble with the stick slipping out. The second joint tends to correct this, however makes fingering slightly harder. Your thoughts?
Been watching your videos and they are very helpful, but I'm having problems with my "weak" hand. I thought I saw one of your videos on exercises for the weak hand but can't find it now. I saw one on using your left or weaker hand more but thought there was another one? Thanks for all your help and tips.
Robert Tuttle im no teacher or anything but try leading with your weak hand when practicing rudiments, it worked wonders for me and also alternate back and forth, eventually that weakness will disappear 👍🏼
I can ensure you that even in Germany we call the first grip you demonstrate in the video "American Grip". ...... greetings and thanks for all the great videos :-).
Thank you, Mr Clark.... R3N
Really great tips! I've been getting more and more advanced on drums and these tips still apply well in my playing. One thing I still struggle with is comfort while hitting my tom drum heads. It's really strange to explain, but I use Evans black chrome heads and they don't have that natural feeling of tom rebound and comfort other kits have. I used to use Evans red hydraulics, which were great heads but it seemed like they weakened my playing. I also use Vic Firth 7A, and I've tried others, but the 7A weight feels good to me, it's just this awkward rebound that I've only had experience on my kit. I've played drums at church, which feels the best to me, and other house kits at gigs which were actually very decent. I see Instagram videos of these outstanding players who's toms have that satisfying ripple effect when they hit them, but mine are just motionless. They are tuned low on birch drums. I don't know if this is a good explanation but any advice on tuning or bettering my comfort when playing? Thanks man, take care. Live well, sound well, drum well :)
Thanks, man!
Hey I don't have any experience with those particular Evans heads you're talking about, but that's a really interesting issue. I'm guessing those are pretty thick heads? Maybe that would explain the awkward rebound. I will say...I've been playing on a house kit with coated Remo emperors on it, and they FEEL amazing. They have the perfect amount of give to them where I can really lay into them, but they're not too dead. (I have them tuned fairly low.)
I've played on a birch kit before, which frustrated me because of the less low end that those shells produce. That wouldn't affect feel of heads though...
I'd experiment with different heads and maybe even try whatever head is the polar opposite of what you've got. I always like emperors and Evans EC2s, which feel and sound great on most kits.
Hope that helps!
Stephen Clark ayy thanks a lot man, I really appreciate the advice. Take care!
Dear Stephen, I hope this comment get your attention.
So I watched all the videos related to your hand techniques. And what I wanted to suggest you is to provide some basic practices to get to know the rebound, the motion and then the grips and what are their functionality. You know, the problem I had with finding these subjects on UA-cam, is that mostly the videos tell what are these techniques but for many drummers just like me who are used to play wrong hand grips, its not kind of easy to change the pattern. Before I left the country, I met a great master but as the time was short I couldn't benefit that much from him. But I saw him giving some really fundamental basic practices first to his students to help them understand the Golden Spot or the rebound, and then he slowly goes into subjects of different hand grips and these grips can help you on your dynamic and speed.
What I have never also seen on UA-cam, was a part of his practices in which he used the subject of rebound and the height you let the stick fall, to hold your volume and also speed. Its like you know on which BPM, from where your stick should fall in order to make a specific sound on a specific note like 16th note. So, he actually by that could help student to play a lot more better on timing and having a better dynamic.
All in all, the way and the material you shared caused me posting this comment as I felt you are truly a good teacher who also really likes to help other drummers. So If it is possible, please make some series on one of the most important part of drumming in which many does it wrong, the hand techniques.. Thank you :)
Cheers
If you ever find these things on yt please let us now in comments. This sounds like half logic half magic and might be really useful
ok im suscribing :)
Would love some more specific tips on all these if you can :)
Cool! I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Bryan! 👍
Excellent video,especially the bit about watching yourself play,what a great tip
Is it fair to say striking the drum instead of hitting the drum, which results in the whip like motion. Kind of what I teach my students.
Nice Bro
My biggest issue is drumming is playing fast, but I also have issues with fatigue if songs are a bit faster and fairly steady
this is an awesome video, but unfortunately, you lost me with your mocassins :D. To be fair, they must be really comfortable to play with. Someone asked this already, but what can we do to improve our weak hand? I'm left handed, but when I play, I'm sort of ambidextrous since I can lead with both hands, but the right hand, damn, i've been practicing for years and I cannot feel the same with both hands, especially with the fingers. Any tips on that?
Practice on pad more using this hand only and both of hands simultaneously. Just compare how they work and try to mimic what the other hand do. Maybe it's the grip, maybe fingers work differently. You'll find solution
I treated myself to 🥁 lessons for my 60th🎂 and have not compared myself to the other students nor set a pace to hurry up and learn. But now I find that my patience is turning into frustration. Seems to me that I’m never comfortable holding my sticks. When I hold them without tenstion there’s is no control.
The sticks rebound off the surface all over the place. Feels like the stick is going side-to-side especially in the left hand. I practice every day but begining to feel like I’m practicing wrongly. We’ve been doing lessons by Zoom since March so maybe NOT being able to be corrected durring the lesson is what’s fueling the frustration.
Beginning to concentrate on the buzz roll and it seems like I’m getting the buzz separately on each hand but not in sync where it sounds like a continuous roll. Any suggestions?
What is your opinion about using the thumb and middle finger instead of the thumb and index finger? I tend to use both depending on what I'm playing.
Jim Smith I know you didn’t ask me my opinion but I just attended a lesson with Todd Sucherman of Styx. He is all about thumb and middle finger. Conversely, Tommy Igoe is all about thumb and fore finger. Both great players, two different approaches.
Is there any solution to practice without having to buy a drumkit? Probably renting a place? I barely have the money and space to have a drumkit in my room. Any solutions?
I use the squirrel grip!
Great video! You should make it a Patreon perk to analyze a short video of their technique and give feedback
Hay I see the red rim wrap is gone how did the goo gone work for you?
Actually the wrap is still there....though from certain angles you don't actually notice it. I did order some goo gone, but I just haven't gotten around to taking the hoops off and doing a wrap-removal :) I bet it'll come off no problem when I do.
Make a sequel!
I tend to find the balance point (between "V" & "F" on Vic sticks then slide back about and inch. Typically right in front of the flag. Anyone else notice a habit of bouncing the stick off you palm? Nobody evermentions that but it looks like even Stephen is doing it.
everytime i do the american grip i get a blister on my pointer finger anything to help with that???
pineapple productions yeah I had that problem, don’t squeeze as much on your pointer finger and use your other fingers as well, if you continue squeezing the crap out of the stick with your pointer finger than you will get carpal tunnel
thanks for the advice
i'm using my mom's computer awsome thanks
Most of modern dci/wgi marching technique doesn't really use German grip. Slowly, we are moving more toward what is comfortable to us. Generally bass drummers will use a German grip when practicing on a pad. However, the majority of snare drummers tend to use American grip. Quads/quints tend to stick more to a french grip. There is a lot of leeway now. Go and watch Santa Clara Vangaurd this season in the lot. Center snare practically is playing with just french grip. Some people are playing closer to German. There is also practically no tension. We try to teach complete relaxation to avoid injury and get a very resonant, quality sound out of our drum. Just wanted to post this for clarification. A little tip though, try not to talk about something that dont have much experience with. I'm glad he mention "marching band style." However, he was real far off.
can i get your mail id ?
so i can send my short video related with my hand technique because most of the people told me its a very poor technique but i feel comfortable and love with these technique.
What about African grip?
Looks like I gotta make a part 2 :)
Any tips on getting volume on accents during rudiments and single stroke rolls? example of what i mean is in ua-cam.com/video/pSqUCQeEY9k/v-deo.html around 3:30 ish
In terms of just straight up volume and cut, I would play the "ghosted" snare notes as quietly as possible, then rimshot the accents to really bring them out (probably what's going on in the recording).
From the purely technique perspective, I would use a lot of wrist to really snap the stick down, but then control the rebound so that I can maintain the ghosted notes immediately after.
Stephen Clark yeah I think recovering the ghosted notes after my rimshots, have to work on that. Cheers for your help 👍
Yeah that can be tough 😬
I think the general tip for that is just suppressing the rebound so that the stick stops an inch or two over the drum after the accent. That way you're prepared for the ghost. Happy practicing!
Maybe try finding a slower song first that uses the same technique all the time. Deftones - 7 words is a good song to practice this.
Not me posture checking pretty much this entire video...
How tall are you?
About 6' 3" without shoes :) Just enough taller than most people to have to make adjustments on the kit.
Stephen Clark damn, really? I'm only 6'1 and I get these problems too, I'm in a pretty confined space
Yeah... I run into issues anytime I'm setting up in a tight space or in a drum enclosure. Enclosures are tricky because they don't have high enough ceilings. I just have to not back myself too tightly into a corner though in most settings. I always try to allow a little extra wiggle room so I'm not sliding the entire kit if I realize I need an extra inch of leg room!
Man, here comes another damn essay, but until you start deleting my comments I don't think I'm gonna stop with these so there, it's your fault :) Ok, so here's what I've learned about posture, and the hard way, through bouts of tendonitis, whiplash, muscle tears and locked joints.
So like most beginner drummers I too followed that stupid tendency to sit very close to the drums, having the false sense of comfort and ergonomy: everything is close, therefore I can reach everything easily, oh how Ive cracked the drum code all on my own! And what a recipe for disaster that was.
What basically happens when you sit too close to the drums is that in order to put some distance between you and whatever you're hitting, you're raising your shoulders, twisting your wrists overextending them and also you're putting a ton of stress especially on your bass drum leg which also doesn't really get a chance to rest in between playing notes. Barks on the hi-hat or finer grained play? Forget about it, it's either open or close and it's also no rest for that foot if you're trying to keep the pedal some level of in between engaged.
All potential gravity afforded energy is lost to all limbs so you have to use more muscle power to hit the drums and you're putting more strain on your wrists and also sitting straight becomes a painful experience. Pretty soon your back is hurting, especially the neck and shoulders, you get inflammation in your wrists and it can get even worse if you're playing tense, which most likely you are, especially as a beginner and especially because of that helluva "ergonomic" setup. Basically all the levers that joints form are under stresses that make injuries very easy to get. So instead of playing a few hours of music or exercises and feeling happy you are left feeling like a train hit you, which is not what drums were invented for, and which no music you play should make you feel like.
Now, ok, so posture is bad but at least I'm holding the sticks right, right?! No way, with bad posture comes bad grip; Because the drums are so close even if you think that you're holding the sticks French or American or whatever, what you're actually doing is holding the sticks so as to accommodate the awkward relationship between drums and sticks. Which means over griping, over extension, zero rebound, and just the never ending struggle to find balance and the slow but certain damage to muscle and tendon which sometimes can be major and irreversible. Thank heavens I wasn't into very aggressive music back when I started playing, I would probably have lost the use of my wrists by now and be walking with a cane.
So, this is of paramount importance, in fact this is like caps lock type stuff beginner drummers need to know: You are most probably not sitting your drums right, and it's not only keeping you from playing better and getting a feel for techniques and that nice feel of a good setup drum set, it's probably slowly eating away at your health too. If you've just started playing do anything it takes to take a lesson on, if nothing else, just sitting at your drums. Doesn't matter if you're playing a shared drum set, doesn't matter that you're playing once a week or every day, a drum set needs to be setup properly, otherwise it might just be your worst enemy.
So how do you generally sit with a drumset? The answer is you don't generally sit with it, you very particularly sit with it depending on your body, a lot more so based on your constitution than style of music. Well, Stephen is doing a well enough job of it but if he asked me for an opinion I would tell him that maybe he's sitting too low. But he's definitely not killing himself with his setup either, so his can be a good setup to emulate. But there's no need to emulate nobody's setup because there is biology and physics and the laws of mechanical/bio mechanical structures which can help us find our position/positions best to play within. What basically dictates position is as follows:
A Length of foot. You want your throne setup to allow both feet to be sat so as to require zero muscle energy when you're not using them and they're at rest. You want the height of the throne to afford you a straight upper body position that doesn't put any strain on any part of you. But this can mean so many positions so to find the best ones for height of throne you have to consider that your feet are not going to be relaxing most of the time: So what's the best position that affords you the use of the least amount of energy to transition to a working/moving position for your feet? Well, it turns out that that position is when your upper foot is descending or ascending towards the floor rather than being parallel with the floor. This can be achieved in a few ways:
(continue1!) 1. very high throne (not for beginners); Your feet are descending very abruptly, so much so that it looks like you're sitting up. Many drummers will tell you that this is not an ideal sitting position and in many ways it isn't, but for certain height type drummers it can be a great option; also if you consider the physics of the human body it actually makes sense since it leaves the upper body be more relaxed when at rest. It also takes a lot of the stress from your upper leg muscles, but makes playing heel down not ideal. It's definitely not a beginner's height, it can easily unbalance you and if you insist on playing heel down it can lead to tendon and muscle stress . You would also need really good core muscles to help with your balance, since your balance point is shifted upwards.. However, for shorter drummers without a lot of reach in their arms this can be great, and also, for shorter drummers the balance issues won't be as pronounced due to their specific weight distribution. What is gained though is better reach, less extension of the forearm and drums and cymbals can sit closer to you but healthily. A notable example of this stance can be observed with Meg White. I would argue that a certain amount of her play style was influenced by her stance also, but you can actually play very busy sitting a higher throne, quite easily actually and balanced but it takes some practice and it's very picky with regards to playing techniques, especially for the legs.
2. What most drummers and especially beginners should sit like position: throne height dictates that the upper leg is descending towards the bass drum but not too sharply and that the lower leg is not making a straight descent directly on top of the bass drum pedal, but instead it descends at a rather sharp angle. When you're sitting correctly, playing heel up will engage your upper leg muscles but when at rest you won't feel a strain in these muscles(or joint) and balance is very easy to maintain, without a lot of effort from your core muscles. You can play your pedals any style and technique you want and no technique is out of reach. You can setup all your drums ergonomically around such a bass drum pedal to throne setup and it will serve you well in all styles. If you're tall don't be afraid to raise the throne to reach this position; it's okay if you're towering above your drums, your main concern should be that upper leg angle, that it's not too flat. Too flat with the floor and you're expending more energy for heel up playing, too sharp downwards but not sharp enough, you're sacrificing balance but not for enough power gain. Too high and you've reached position no. 1, where your entire weight distribution shifts and the stance sort of feels like this kind of position, only with more strain on your core muscles (and playing heel down is not recommended)
3. The bad-ass rock drummer stance aka very low throne position aka I don't quite like and recommend it, especially not to beginner drummers, but it can actually work done properly. So with this stance you're siting very, very low; your upper leg is ascending towards the bass drum, your lower leg is descending towards the pedal at quite an angle. If this angle is right you should be able to play heel down without strain, but most thrones won't allow you to go that low; it's a sitting stance that most drummers are doing wrong because it's very dependent on the setup of the entire kit and requires a very low throne and a low overall setup. It also forces your back into a chopper riding position (it's a technique best used with thrones with a sturdy backrest) when done right, which, if you're tall it's almost impossible to get right. When done right it helps your balance a lot, as instead of pushing your pedal from above, you're pushing it almost parallel with the floor which doesn't unbalance you forcing you from side to side. What makes it a lot less useful outside of busy double pedal music (again, granted that you get the angles right, which is very sweetspotty and hard to achieve) is that you will have most of your cymbals and drums higher. You can see Dave Grohl siting low but not low enough for this stance in this video: ua-cam.com/video/GcuFXCKcMac/v-deo.html I'm pretty sure his right leg, especially the upper leg muscles were not thanking him by the end of that show! All things considered, rather than going crazy low, it's best to use medium height and try and take your throne away from your snare maybe more than usual, forcing your feet away from the pedals more, sort of achieving the same balancing trick of not playing your pedals from above. However if you wanna go low, make sure you're not half ass-ing it, go super low, but make sure your equipment allows it.
Going back to what dictates drum setup:
B. Arm length; So you've decided on a foot position now you basically have your arm length to dictate drums and cymbals setup, as well as their height and angles. The rule is to put enough distance between you and every drum and cymbal so that you won't have to work your upper arms too much to reach them. (which is kinda counter intuitive) Your resting/ready to play position should have your upper arms descending around your torso, without muscles being engaged. From this position, say, being sat at a rightie 4 piece drum set you should be able to reach your floor tom with minimal pulling of your upper arm backwards and your wrist tilted to the right but not over extended.
You will also reach your snare without having to pull your upper arm backwards much if at all, so don't be afraid to sit a little back or have your snare moved forwards. The angle at which you should hit your snare is will have your wrist straight and your stick forming a sharp angle with the skin of the snare. You don't want to have to raise your hand to hit the snare, that means that you've set it up too high. Your hi-hats are best setup away from your snare and at a considerable height from it. Whether you usually lead left hand or no, you also want your left hand to be able to play the hats without over extending. Don't forget that you don't have to play the hats at the same angle as your right hand plays them, they sound the same hit from all directions!
Cymbals I like straight and not too high; and right side rides I like high but not as high as a left hand/right hand crash and straight as well, easily crashable, easy to play the bell. I don't play a lot of cymbals though, so with cymbal heavy setups you may end up needing to stack them on the vertical, extend to reach them more. Basically the cymbals you use the least let them sit farther away from you and your mains have closer by. I don't like tilted cymbals towards me or away from me, I crash them all, and I don't want to break them either; so use tilting depending on their height and how you play them.
C. Finally, style of music. I can only speak for my pop rock kind of setup which I don't feel like I need to change, but Stephen's right - height and distance from stick means space and energy, so less of it might be more useful for jazz intricacies though I would also disagree; I feel like cymbals heights and positions tend to burn themselves in your brain and maybe if you mess with the them a lot you'll need to pay attention to where and how you're playing a note more. But then again, Stephen plays in the real world, I mostly play in my basement, he might need to be more versatile than me!
(continue 2!) Other considerations;
Don't use sticks that were meant for someone twice your size and don't use pedal springs set up too tightly if you're not sure about your setup. If it's already a pain playing a half tension pedal, and it's exhausting, maybe some setup mods need to be made first. Only begin foot muscle building exercises when you feel that your setup is well adjusted and doesn't strain you. There's a big difference between normal muscle burn and normal effort fatigue and tendons and muscles being overexerted and possibly locked or tore because of strange angles/bad setups. Don't power through pain as if that were some sort of treatment, you're just making it worse. Unless you're in the middle of a serious event take a break when you feel your wrists, back, feet, etc are aching and use that to evaluate - is my drums and or technique doing this to me? Am I tensing up when I'm playing, what am I doing wrong. And also warm up, even for exercising and your feet too!
And for Stephen keep them videos coming! - and do a Jazz for beginners one maybe. I've been discovering that I like jazz more and more but I'm not quite sure where to begin with the genre.
TLDR: Set up like CC Spina in this here video! ua-cam.com/video/100-bKy8AkY/v-deo.html
Continue 3 & final!) Common symptoms of setups in need of serious change:
PAIN! In your joints, feet and arms; restlessness - you're always fidgeting, repositioning yourself, you tire very quickly. You can't reach easily between a floor tom and mounted tom, your right hand seems to be in the way. One exercise to check for a well adjusted drumset is playing in between hats snare and toms and seeing if your forearm needs to move too much (pulling it away from you or having to push it forward too much). Try and play the beat in the link above (and with that precise sticking too) to see how your setup is working for you. Notice how C.C. isn't moving her upper right arm too much to quickly reach between toms and hats, but instead mostly uses her wrist. That's a good setup for most any 4pk.
I enjoyed reading this week's essay! You make a lot of great points, all of which I agree with. So many things that I've thought about and worked on over the years. That's also a good comment on my throne height. You're right, for a 6' 3" guy I should sit a couple inches higher. I've sat on the "lower end of things" because of a house kit I play on often, that I'm not able to fully adjust (long story short, it's easier to adjust my throne height to this particular kit than adjust the kit to a slightly higher throne height). But I haven't had any issues at the height I'm at, though I definitely wouldn't go any lower. The throne height discussion is super interesting though because there are so many opinions on it...some drummers who sit low and some who sit high, regardless of height. Aaron Sterling (studio guy who toured with John Mayer a couple years ago) sits crazy high. But it works perfectly for him. I think that also has to do with whether you play heel up or heel down as well. Heel up you should probably sit higher, heel down you can go lower. I'm almost always heel down on kick, so that may be why I'm comfortable lower.
Thanks for the comment, man! I can definitely consider doing a jazz technique video as a part 2. There are a lot of important technique aspects to play jazz, for sure.
Thank you! Now I have written proof that people enjoy drum talk; I find that whenever I bring drum talk to social situations people start remembering overlapping commitments requiring their presence elsewhere; or they start talking about Game of Thrones, which seems very random to me! Keep them videos coming!
Keep your fingers on the stick, especially the pinky. You can get allot of power out of that guy.
Not to mention that it looks horrible when your pinky is sticking out like that. One of the first things my drummer teacher told me was to keep my pinky on the stick and use it with the rest of the fingers.
You look like Benny Greb
great tips and great channel but I can't look at your nails D: cut them dude !
Bruh
Everyone in these comments sound like and look like new or self taught drummers. This guys tips for posture is good but his technique isn’t the best. I don’t mean to hate on the video it’s a great video, just with incorrect tips for technique. Btw I’ve been drumming for 8 years. The thumbnail is actually proper technique. 😬 sorry I don’t want to hate on the video I just want to give you new drummers out there some advice
AND ANOTHER MATCH GRIP TEACHER !!!!!!! WRONG !!!!!!!