Drumset techniques

Down: Good - Up/Down:
BAD!

How do you make your drum stroke? Grab a stick and try it. Play a single
stroke. Now play another one but this time watch the tip of your stick
both before and after the stroke. Can you coordinate your stroke with
the words "up" and "down?" In other words, do you
find yourself pulling the stick "up" slightly before making
the "down" stroke? Or, do you find yourself making the "down"
stroke and then pulling the stick back "up" to prepare for the
next stroke? If so, you are NOT playing the Gladstone way, and you are
working twice as hard as you should be.

Think about it. Every time you play you are making two distinct motions:
up and down. With the Gladstone technique, there is only one motion: Down.
The natural motion of the stick wanting to bounce back up is what pulls
your hand back up with it. The key is to train your hands to follow your
sticks. Once you learn that, you'll be well on your way to developing
real monster chops.

There are three basic techniques used for drumming:

1. Arms: Sacrifices extreme speed for power and maximum volume.


2. Wrists: Sacrifices maximum volume for speed.


3. Fingers: Sacrifices volume for maximum speed.

Although we will be specifically discussing wrists and fingers, what
you learn can be applied to arm technique as well.

Half Stroke to
Full Stroke (Up)

Think of this exercise as the Up Stroke. Although in the previous two
parts of this series I said that the Gladstone system uses no Up Strokes,
technically, these aren't really Up Strokes. You are still using a Down
Stroke to make the motion but because we will now be starting at the Half
Stroke level and stopping at the Full Stroke level, we call this as an
Up Stroke (to avoid confusion later when we actually apply the technique).

Start with the stick at the Half Stroke level (photo 2) and throw it
down to the drumhead with enough force to allow it to rebound, bringing
your wrist back up to the Full Stroke position (photo 1). Move your stick
back down to the Half Stroke level (photo 2) and repeat the exercise,
just like you did with the Full to Half Down Stroke exercise before.

Full Stroke to
Half Stroke (Down)

The first exercise we'll work on is the Full Stroke (approximately 18
inches from the drumhead) to Half stroke level (approximately 5 inches
above the drum head). See photo 1 for your beginning (Full Stroke) position
and Photo 2 for your ending (Half Stroke) position. Think of this exercise
as a Down Stroke.

The only difference between this Down Stroke and the Free Stroke type
Down Stroke from last week, is instead of beginning at the Full Stroke
position (photo 1) and ending in the Full Stroke position (photo 1), you
begin at the Full Stroke position (photo 1) and end in the Half Stroke
position (photo 2). This is accomplished by stopping your wrist at the
Half Stroke level. Remember, don't grab the stick to stop it from moving
because that creates tension. Simply stop your wrist at the Half Stroke
level and the stick will (eventually) stop as well.

If you're using the Gladstone technique correctly, the stick will flop
around a little before stopping at the Half Stroke level. Also, remember
to hold the stick only as tightly as you must to avoid dropping it. What
makes the Gladstone system so devastatingly fast is the lack of muscle
tension in your fingers, wrists, and arms.

Repeat the previous exercise with each hand separately. Start at the
Full Stroke level and stop at the Half Stroke level as explained. Then,
move your stick back up to the Full Stroke level starting position and
repeat the exercise. Repeat this process until you get comfortable with
the technique of stopping your wrist at the Half Stroke level. Once you
are comfortable with each hand, continue with the next exercise.