17 items | 13 visits
How can one build a solid technique on the drumset? What are the best online ressources?
Updated on Nov 14, 11
Created on Mar 30, 08
Category: Music
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How to develop the free stroke or the Gladstone way.
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:
Although we will be specifically discussing wrists and fingers, what you learn can be applied to arm technique as well.
How to do a full stroke and a half stroke afterwards => how to controll the rebound.
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.
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.
17 items | 13 visits
How can one build a solid technique on the drumset? What are the best online ressources?
Updated on Nov 14, 11
Created on Mar 30, 08
Category: Music
URL: