Traditional grip has come under considerable fire as of late in the drumming community. They say that because of its origins in marching where the drums were tilted, it loses most, if not all of its relevance in a world where mostly position our drums with much less angle then in the old days. They also cite (correctly) that matched grip is a much more natural grip. Both arguments have their merits, but I am of the opinion that traditional grip is and shall remain formidable presence for as long as there are drummers.

I will be the first to admit that matched grip has many advantages over traditional and may be a better general grip. However, there are some areas where traditional grip is superior to matched. One of these area is subtlety. Much of which has to do with the upside down nature of the traditional grip and its placement in front of the fulcrum an opposed to behind it. Subtly comes from the ability to control the stick beginning, during and after the stroke. While matched and traditional are roughly even in the beginning and the end of the stroke, traditional excels in the area of control of the stick during flight. This comes mostly from its being in front of the fulcrum. Read the rest of this entry →