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Set-up Fills | Smooth Transitions | Relaxing the Grip

Relaxing the grip to develop control and minimize tension

by Danny Gottlieb

Hello drummers! Welcome to my second article for Mel Bay. The topic for this issue is "relaxing the grip". Those of you who are familiar with my teaching methods know that I have studied for years with the Master drummer and teacher, Joe Morello. He in turn, studied with George Lawrence Stone (famed author of "Stick Control"), and Billy Gladstone. This concept comes from the approach Joe demonstrates in his lessons.

There are two complaints that I often hear, in regards to technique. One is that drummers complain that they can only reach a certain level of speed, and then get tight in the arms, wrists, or hands. The other is that they have to hit the drum harder to get a loud dynamic range, and that those loud strokes promote tension as well. What to do?

The main answer that I refer usually comes from Joe's teaching system. When he demonstrates the basic hand positions, he has you raise your arms next to your body, without tension, and then has you make wrist movements without sticks. Is there any tension? Usually not. You are just moving your wrists. The only tension in the arms at this point usually comes from the elbows being held out to the side, and Joe will then ask you why you are doing that, and the answer is "I don't know", and then you lower the elbows and there is no tension!

When you turn the wrist, there should be no tension whatsoever! Joe then says this is the way your body moves, and I agree. You then place the sticks in the hands in an as natural, and tension free a manner as possible. With matched grip, the thing to look out for is squeezing the thumb against the first finger. if you do that, it is usually a sign of tension.

I, again from Joe's teaching, usually keep a space in between the thumb and first finger.

Try it yourself. Squeeze the stick, and then lighten up. You usually feel the tension right up your forearm, when you squeeze. With traditional grip, some teachers years ago used to have you squeeze the stick to develop a fulcrum. With this method, you do NOT do that.

With this, you place the first finger on top of the stick without squeezing, and then turn your wrist, without tension. It should be natural, and pain free.

The next issue is; where on the stick do you hold it? Joe promotes a balance point. Too far back, there's not balance…Too far in front, no balance. Try to find the area on the stick where the stick rests at balance between the two ends. If you play traditional in one hand, and matched in the other, you will notice the area of balance is about the same place.

The next concept is not to make two motions when you strike the drum. If you start low, and then raise the stick up at first to hit, you are doing two motions. And if you isolate the up motion, you have tension when you pull it up. Better to start at the distance from the drum that you want dynamically, and just throw the stick down, and let it bounce back to the starting position. That way you can control your dynamics from the height at which you start, not at some arbitrary starting position.

With no tension, you can then take any exercise, and practice the strokes slowly and easily, until they are accurate. You can also develop each hand individually, as with the "Stone Killer" exercise from Joe's Master Studies book.

The main thing is to relax that grip. Just about every drummer that I meet that complains about tension is inevitably squeezing the stick (or using arms instead of wrist). When you let the body work naturally, it makes it much easier.

I remember when electronic pads first became popular. Many drummers complained that it was like hitting a table top, and that it hurt their hands. For me, it was so easy, when playing without squeezing the stick. There was so much rebound, I just let the wrists make the motion, and allow the stick to rebound without tension, and I had a ball with them. I even used a full set of pads on tour with guitarist John McLaughlin. You would think that drums would be the worst offender, in terms of pressure from the wrists. But if you play in a natural way, it's much easier.

I'm happy to mention that this concept will be covered in much more depth, in a new DVD, featuring Joe Morello teaching me on camera! In it he covers the grips, hand holds, and how to make the relaxed motions.

In any case, I hope this information is helpful in your quest for musical knowledge and growth. My thanks to Michael Green and all at Mel Bay for their continued support of music education! Good luck to all!
Danny