How to Do a American Upstroke on Snare Drum

Whether you are just beginning to play drums or you’re a seasoned veteran, you are probably going to be using the American style of drumming most of the time. It is the comfortable compromise between the French style of drumming, which is swift and fluid, and the German style of drumming, which is loud and powerful. Here are a few steps that will teach you a common American style technique for striking the snare.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Snare drum
• Drum sticks

How to Do an American Upstroke on a Snare Drum

1. Hold the stick about ¼ of the way up from the bottom in your snare hand. If you play drums right handed, you will use your left for the snare (vice versa for lefties). You should practice this maneuver with both hands. You may need to use it during drum rolls or fills that require many rapid hits.

2. Grab the stick as you would a flashlight, with your thumb flat on the backside of the stick. Do not hold the stick too hard, or your arms will become tired and sore very quickly and you won’t be able to move quickly.

3. Keep your wrist turned down toward the face of the snare head. Your forearm should be level and lowered to the snare drum. The tip of the drumstick should be floating no more than a few inches from the drum face.

4. Flick the stick lightly downward to strike the snare. You do not need to smack the drum head as hard as you can. This is an accent hit, and the most important part of this techniques sound is in step five.

5. Pull the stick quickly upward into a vertical position by flipping your wrist back. Imagine that you are lifting the sound out of the snare drum. This movement will give the technique its characteristic sound.

Resources

• American upstroke
• Basic technique