Traditional grip idology (drums)

Let me start this off by saying the following: I am not a drummer. I know quite a bit about rhythm and about drums themselves. I can hold some basic beats on the traps, but I would not…by any stretch of the imagination…call myself a drummer. So take the following as you will.

For those of you unfamiliar with what is ‘matched grip’ and what is ‘traditional grip’, here’s a brief explanation. In matched grip, both drumsticks are held the same way in each hand: the hand is held in a loose fist-like posture, with the drumstick gripped between the palm and the fingers. In traditional grip, the right hand is held in this same manner, but the left hand is different. The left hand (or in very rare cases, the right hand) is held palm-up with the middle finger extended and the index, ring and pinky fingers curled back toward the palm. The drumstick, when held, goes between the thumb and the index finger, across the palm, and then between the middle and ring fingers. If it sounds awkward…that’s because it is.

So, why would someone purposely choose a more awkward way to play? That’s because historically, it was once less awkward than the alternative. Modern marching snare drums (such as you would see in a marching band or drum corps) have a solid - usually aluminum, plastic or some other polymer - shoulder harness that allows the drum to be carried directly in front of the player…positioned much as a snare drum would be in a concert setting, on a stand. Such drums easily allow a player to move his or her legs without disturbing the position of the drum much, if at all. Snare drums, though (or really, many types of marching drum) have been around for centuries. Before advances in technology allowed such things as rigid snare drum harnesses, marching drums were carried using a flexible harness worn around the neck or shoulder. With such a harness, carrying the drum in front of the body and trying to play it at the same time is impractical since it would be moving all over the place from one’s knees running into it. Thus, it was held on the left side of the body and tilted forward. This was the optimal place because it was out of the way of the knees, but still reachable by the right hand. However, this made holding the left drumstick in the above mentioned ‘matched grip’ uncomfortable on the left arm…and thus, a style of gripping that drumstick in a palm-up manner was developed. This alleviated awkward pressure on the left arm, and allowed the drummer to march and play at the same time.

Now, since that method of playing has been antiquated by technology, that grip is called ‘traditional grip’. Though, it is only traditional in the sense that it is a less modern way of playing a particular type of drum. So how did this style of drumming transfer over to being used in a drum kit? It really has to do with the development of drums in modern music. In the early 1900s, jazz began to evolve from its roots in ragtime and African music. This was the first style of music that used anything resembling a drum kit, and most of the drummers in this genre got their first experience with percussion in a military setting…as marching drummers. So it would make sense for them to play in the same style that they learned, which was ‘traditional’. This certainly explains the prevalence of traditional grip in a jazz setting. In those early days, there were very few, if any, recordings of this music. When new players learned the style, they learned by hearing/seeing the music live. They would watch what their predecessors did and how they played and this lent itself to the tradition being passed down directly from drummer to drummer.

This tradition was carried on into the 30s and 40s, and into the big band style of music. Some of the most famous drummers to ever live came from this era…not the least of whom was Buddy Rich, arguably the greatest drummer of all time. Rich played almost exclusively in traditional grip, as did his influences such as Gene Krupa and Chick Webb. And, as with most drummers, he took not only influence from their sound, but from their playing style as well. If Rich had somehow magically invented the art of drumming without ever having seen or heard someone else do it before…what do you think the chances are that he would have decided to hold the stick in his left hand differently than the one in his right?

So, of course, the tradition continues to be passed down from influence to learner, from drum teacher to student. And since many of the seminal drummers in history came from that earlier big band and jazz era, they are looked upon favorably by drummers...rightly so. They are held up to be the gold standard for what drummers should aspire to be…rightly so. They are emulated…rightly so. But this is where the problem occurs. Because drummers in the past who played that way are so revered, so is their style of playing…which somehow includes the manner in which they gripped their sticks.

This leads to what I consider to be a backward-ass ideology in drumming communities. Essentially it’s “since all these great drummers played traditional grip, then you have to play traditional grip to be a great drummer.” It also doesn’t help that jazz itself is regarded by many musicians to be a form of music that is superior to other genres in terms of music technicality. “Anyone can be a musician…but you have to be a good one to play jazz!” There is some truth to the statement, but it puts undue pressure on drummers especially to play in a style that is seen as “superior”. The sad part is, this ridiculous stereotype is actually inadvertently perpetuated because of tradition. Many drummers will get a nod or a second look…or an automatic acceptance from other drummers just because they play using traditional grip. “He plays traditional, so he must be good…like a cerebral jazz drummer.”

All of this, of course, lends itself to elitism. I’d always known this, but it was really brought to the forefront of my annoyance by this youtube video. The video is obviously tongue in cheek…but correctly summarizes the ideology.

I doubt there’s anyone (who isn’t a moron) who would try to argue that traditional grip is physiologically superior to matched grip for playing a drum kit. It’s been proven scientifically several times that more muscles can be utilized in matched, and it causes less bending of wrist and elbow joints. If traditional was a better way to hold a stick, wouldn’t you want to use that grip in both hands?

To equate it to another instrument, let’s take the guitar, for example. Brian May of Queen is a very good guitarist, and an even better composer, in my opinion. He primarily plays guitar using a coin (usually a British sixpence) in his right hand instead of a more traditional plectrum (pick). So let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Brian May was the most influential guitarist of all time…he’s not, but this is just an analogy. So if he was, would guitarists everywhere swear that striking the strings with a coin was superior to using a plastic or nylon pick…even though it was quite evident that a pick was a superior object to use from a technical standpoint? The answer is, yes, they probably would. And yes, it would still be ridiculous.

The point is, the greatness of a drummer comes from his/her sense of rhythm, timing, and creativity…not for the manner in which the sticks are gripped. In my above example with Buddy Rich…would he have been any less of a drummer if he’d learned to play matched grip instead of traditional grip? No, he would have been just as good.

Hopefully if you’ve read this diatribe, you’ll realize that my problem is not with the different grips, but rather with the culture and ideology surrounding them. So to all you drummers out there, if you learned to play traditional grip and you like it…more power to you. I have no problem with that what-so-ever. But I don’t think for a second that you’re a better drummer because of it.

Welcome to a world of pain!

Welcome to the angry_music_guy blog. This is a space where I rant to the world (read: no one, since no one will read it) about anything music that annoys me (which is a lot of things). I will probably update it infrequently, and lose interest faster than a A.D.D. gnat on crystal meth.