Traditional grip
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Traditional grip is a technique used to hold drum sticks to play percussion instruments. Unlike matched grip, each hand holds the stick differently. Commonly, the right hand uses an overhand grip and the left hand uses an underhand grip. Traditional grip is almost exclusively used to play the snare drum, especially the marching snare drum, and the drum kit.
This grip is called traditional because it descends from the early days when the snare drum was carried over the shoulder on a sling. Since the drum is tilted, using an overhand grip on the high side of the drum forces the elbow in a very awkward position. An underhand grip is much more comfortable. Even when the drum is on a stand, many drummers will tilt their drum when using traditional grip, although tilting is not required. Many drummers use traditional grip on drums that are perfectly horizontal, especially in marching percussion.
The overhand grip most commonly used is the American grip. With the underhand grip, there are several different techniques employed which involve slight variations in finger positioning and usage. Common with all techniques is the usage of the wrist in rotating (a motion like turning a door knob) as the fundamental motion of the stick. The stick then rest in the space between the thumb and index finger, and the two fingers close around the stick with the thumb atop the index at the first knuckle. The middle finger then rests slightly on top side of the stick (typically the side fingertip is the only contact made). The stick then rests on the cuticle of the ring finger with the pinky support the ring finger from below.
Criticism
Some percussionists reject traditional grip, especially for orchestral use, as it can take years and years to perfect the left hand grip, and each hand will almost always produce a slightly different sound. Also, you cannot transfer traditional grip to mallet percussion or timpani, unlike German, French or American matched grip. Despite these criticisms, traditional grip is or has been used by such world-renowned players as Steve Gadd, Stewart Copeland, Vinnie Colaiuta and Buddy Rich. Neil Peart uses both grips but mainly uses the traditional grip for snare work during drum solos.
External links
- [Introduction to Traditional Grip] (pdf) from the University of Minnesota drumline
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