Things You'll Need:
- Snare drum
- Rod drum sticks
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Step 1
Put your snare drum comfortably between your legs. In a drum kit, this is usually determined by where the high hat and the kick drum are. But since this is a technique being practiced for the snare, the entire kit isn’t necessary. The only requisite is that the face of the snare be above your thighs, so you are not accidentally striking your legs with your hands.
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Step 2
Choose whatever grip you like. Because the rods are used for lighter playing, the French or American styles are recommended. However, when you flip the sticks over you will be going for power, so the German style will become an attractive option.
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Step 3
Hold the stick upside down. The dowels will be facing toward you and the rubber piece that caps off the end will become the tip of your drumsticks. If you are used to drumsticks, the rod will feel awkward at first. Even if you are used to rods, the change in weight balance will feel odd as well.
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Step 4
Strike the snare with the rubber end cap of the rod. Just as things were feeling weird in step three, striking the snare with rubber instead of wood will also be a strange experience. Just because it’s strange doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. You should get a nice large sound with some different characteristic tones from striking with rubber.
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Step 5
Practice flipping the rods as you play on your set. This technique is a mid-playing maneuver. It helps to be comfortable with flipping your sticks around and staying on beat before you try to play a show. You can even just practice flipping the sticks while doing something else like watching TV.
