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Summary: The grip a drummer has on his sticks is essential to his playing style. Learn how to play drums with the French grip int his free video.
Joel began his official study of music in middle school, and went on to immerse himself in every music making opportunity. After high school, his focus narrowed to the drum kit and he...read more
The drum is the oldest known musical instrument in the history of man and its basic design has not changed in thousands of years. Far from today’s uses as a percussive foundation for pop music or for fueling marching band excitement, drumming has a more profound history as a method of communication, and the drum as an implement of religious symbolism. The drum was perhaps first created from the primal idea of mimicking the human heartbeat, yet today its music has developed into a technical, complex arrangement of beats and grooves.
The modern approach to drumming is to try and master the fundamentals of beat and time signature, and then to create fresh, innovative patterns and fills for each song. In this free instructional video series you will learn how to play drums with several different styles of grips including American, German and French. It's a completely different sound and style for each grip but our expert Joel Siegel will share techniques for creating the best stick sounds as you add fills. He offers tips and advice and walks you through some great informational steps to becoming a more advanced and original drummer.
"JOEL SIEGEL: Hi there. My name is Joel Siegel. I'm with Expert Village, and I'm here today to talk about some of the basics of drumming. And the first thing that we're going to start off with is your grip when you're drumming. So there are three different kinds of grip, when you're playing. The first thing when you're holding the stick, you want to have anywhere from 1.5 inches to 2 or maybe 2.5 inches coming down below the bottom of your palm here, and that's going to depend on the length of your stick, how much leverage you like, whatever feels natural for you. This first grip is called French Grip, and you can see my wrist is to the side. The top of my hand is pointed up and my fingers are going to be doing the work here like that. Your French Grip is going to sound like this."
eHow Article: The French Drum Grip
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