dmfootworks Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Peart's been doing traditional for some five years. In his case, because he is a rock drummer and *can't* swing, he would have been better off keeping the matched grip and old set up, in my opinion. He might have developed a complex about the Burning for Buddy thing because he went to study with this Freddy Gruber guy, who is called a master instructor and has worked with some of the true greats of today. It's peculiar because he was already one of the most widely known drummers in the world but it was as if he wanted to move into this realm of the educated drum elite. It's had mixed results among drummers and fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimedrummer Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 (edited) Peart's been doing traditional for some five years. In his case, because he is a rock drummer and *can't* swing, he would have been better off keeping the matched grip and old set up, in my opinion. He might have developed a complex about the Burning for Buddy thing because he went to study with this Freddy Gruber guy, who is called a master instructor and has worked with some of the true greats of today. It's peculiar because he was already one of the most widely known drummers in the world but it was as if he wanted to move into this realm of the educated drum elite. It's had mixed results among drummers and fans. Thanks for informing. I agree with you that Peart should have stayed with what worked for him. He at least deserves some credit for trying to move to the next level. I think Dave Weckl might have studdied with Gruber as well. Edited February 28, 2004 by oldtimedrummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 (edited) I think Dave Weckl might have studdied with Gruber as well. That's right, and it did him a lot of good! Weckl always had marvelous technique, but I thought he lacked a sense of nuance in the past. His playing seems less machine-like now. What Freddy Gruber did for Weckl was to get him to hold the sticks nearer to the mid-point, rather than near the back of the stick as he once had. If you think about it, this would tend to improve facility and dynamic range. Edited February 28, 2004 by dmfootworks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimedrummer Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 (edited) I think Dave Weckl might have studdied with Gruber as well. That's right, and it did him a lot of good! Weckl always had marvelous technique, but I thought he lacked a sense of nuance in the past. His playing seems less machine-like now. What Freddy Gruber did for Weckl was to get him to hold the sticks nearer to the mid-point, rather than near the back of the stick as he once had. If you think about it, this would tend to improve facility and dynamic range. Weckl is a beast! Talk about an "in your face" guy. I mean I love his playing, don't get me wrong. I too have always thought he was capable of more musical nuance in his playing and writing. Last time I saw him was in Columbus Oh. at Pasic a few years ago and he was working with a latin cluster to his side. I thought it was a nice change of pace for him. Good point about holding the stick closer to mid point. Makes a lot of sense. After seeing a guy like Dave, it's hard to argue that traditional grip is obsolete. Edited February 29, 2004 by oldtimedrummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 Weckl is a beast! Talk about an "in your face" guy. After seeing a guy like Dave, it's hard to argue that traditional grip is obsolete. I saw Dave only once. It was over 20 years ago at a Simon & Garfunkel concert in a big outdoor stadium. At the time he was up and coming, and people were kind of looking at him as Gadd II. The influence of Steve Gadd on Dave Weckl was unmistakable. And so now we've really come full circle oldtimedrummer. For where did Steve Gadd develop his chops? He marched in drum corps!!!!!! So you might say that in an indirect but significant way, Dave Weckl's playing is influenced by drum corps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimedrummer Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 Interesting you mention Simon and Garfunkel. I played for Garfunkel in an orchestra a couple of years ago at a Pops concert and got a chance to meet and work with Tommy Igoe, another drum corps(Bridgemen) guy that can play his ### off. A super nice guy too, (unlike Garfunkel) Tommy was nothing but a class act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 Interesting you mention Simon and Garfunkel. I played for Garfunkel in an orchestra a couple of years ago at a Pops concert and got a chance to meet and work with Tommy Igoe, another drum corps(Bridgemen) guy that can play his ### off. A super nice guy too, (unlike Garfunkel) Tommy was nothing but a class act. Well, then that's coming full circle! It's great that you've been able to do things like that. I've heard about the infamous temperament of Art Garfunkel. It's hard to imagine that the choir-boy-looking, I-Only-Have-Eyes-For-You-singin' guy could be like that! As Neil Peart once said, "If you have a problem, take it out on a drum." (had to throw that in to stay on topic and not annoy anyone) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PercussionMafia Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Personally, I think that some of you (mainly non-drummers - no offense ) are picking at this WAY too much. Traditional grip is just a style - much like, well anything that looks good but has no technical purpose. Sure, matched grip may be more practical, but trad looks SOOOO much better. But if this activity were all about practicality, then why march in circles (not literally) on a field when you could just stay in place and get a better sound from not having to move around??? It's just because it enlightens the show, brings some style into it - like traditional grip does for the snareline. You also can have better visuals by utilizing the left hand - it adds variation. That's my opinion. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Traditional grip is just a style - much like, well anything that looks good but has no technical purpose. Sure, matched grip may be more practical, but trad looks SOOOO much better. But if this activity were all about practicality, then why march in circles (not literally) on a field when you could just stay in place and get a better sound from not having to move around??? It's just because it enlightens the show, brings some style into it - like traditional grip does for the snareline. Right. And if the activity were all about practicality, it seems that the first thing that should be tossed is the uniforms -- they're expense to purchase and maintain, are restrictive in the image they present, and aren't always the most comfortable things. But then it wouldn't be drum corps, right? So it's an excellent point: traditional grip is utilized because that is the *essence* of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezedogg 23 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Which all gets us back to the topic as it was questioned. Why do corps still use Traditional grip. And the general consensis (spelling?) seems to be that its for tradition and style. From what i can tell. An added note for the topic would be that a alot of percussionists also use it for Set playing because it aides in playing certain styles, while other styles some would switch back to matched-grip on Set. (wow a rare discussion that got somewhere, in a nice manner too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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