Translating the Traditional Grip (part one)

It’s summertime!  For me, that means it’s drumline season, and right now I’m teaching quite a lot of traditional grip snare drum to beginners.  Several years ago I began teaching by “translation” from the right hand to the left.  This afforded me two advantages: first, each working part of the left hand is identified and assigned its tasks; second, the commonly more-developed right hand may be used as a point of reference.  In this post I will set out the basics, which are designed to be easily put to use at moderate tempos.

There are four tasks to assign each hand.  The Driver, the Fulcrum, the Down force and the Up force.

Right Hand:

Driver = Wrist.  The motion of the wrist powers every basic stroke on a marching snare.  Use of arm and finger is variable with style and content but the wrist is always there.

Fulcrum = Thumb and First Finger.  This is the point where the stick pivots.  My preferred method of playing sets the fulcrum back toward the middle joint, as opposed to the last joint used more commonly in concert snare playing.

Down force = Back Fingers.  The pinky, ring and middle fingers wrap around the stick and push it into the head.  This is different than the wrist, which supplies power.  The back fingers deliver that power, and can be adjusted on their own.

Up force = Back of the Hand.  The squishy part on the outside of the hand holds the stick off the head and lifts the stick in an upstroke.  This is often overlooked by beginning players.

Left Hand:

Driver = Arm Rotation.  Not wrist rotation.  Wrists don’t rotate.  The whole forearm from the elbow forward turns, which also turns the hand.  When the arm is fully turned out the palm faces more or less straight up.

Fulcrum = Base of the Thumb.  The stick itself rotates in the webbing at the base of the thumb.  This can be painful at first, as the stick rolls over the lower thumb joint, but the body adapts in a few days.

Down = Connection of Thumb and First Finger.  Different than the arm rotation, which supplies power.  The connection of the thumb and first finger delivers the power to the stick, and is adjustable on its own.

Up = Ring and Pinky Fingers.  Much weaker than the back of the right hand.  The ring and pinky fingers hold the stick off the head and lift the stick in an upstroke.

Part two will cover Down, Full, Up and Tap strokes, and how stroke mechanics translates from Right to Left.

Thanks for reading!  Stay Tuned!