Drums: What Are match-grip Patterns?

Series Summary

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 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. In this free video series, an experienced drummer demonstrates match grip patterns in which a grip is matched on both drumsticks and played in alternating sticking patterns. Alternate eight strokes all the way down to one, and then learn how to lead with the left hand. Become a more ambidextrous drummer with these tips and techniques.

Video Transcript

"Alright so we're going to be talking about matchstick grip patterns and what I mean by matchstick grip is match grip on your sticks is like this, with your palms down. And traditional, as opposed to traditional which is this way. We're going to be doing match grip today with alternate sticking patterns in both hands. I'm going to start with eight strokes in my right hand and then eight in my left alright? And then I'm going to go down from there and subtract each one by one. So it's 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. And on each down beat of the one it's going to be, you're going to come down with your feet and it's going to be like so. For instance, it's going to be like. And so on, the next one 7,6,5,4,3,2,1. Alright. And what that's going to help you with, that's going to help you with your subdividing and different time signatures and playing different feels. So let's just get down to business."