Snares & Grips

[RickCogley]

The rudiment gods made me post that statement twice, to shame me into doing some endurance rolls, no doubt!

--

Whatever, it's kind of a religious war. When I marched, in the early 80s, there were some really good matched lines out there. I sandwiched a year of traditional between a few years of matched, and there were definite differences in what you could do in terms of both drumming and visuals. Some difference in feeling and the physical aspect.

Either way, a good line is a good line. I am sure there are plenty of matched players out there that can kick some butt... Actually, with my decrepit chops these days, it's easier to get various rudiments clean with traditional. My left hand is just too weak to play good matched grip, I'm embarrassed to say.

Edited November 4, 2006 by RickCogley

[LancerLegend]

............And... DO NOT tilt snare drums...it completely ruins the look of the line.

That is exactly why traditional grip came about - the tilt of the drum while carried under the arm of the regimental soldier. The drummer could not play traditional grip. Check out how druming was used in military as a means of communicating to the troops, and how the drum was carried. It was origianlly called a "side" drum, it eventually moved from under the left arm to the left leg and rope was wrapped around your leg to keep the drum steady, then a the leg rest was adopted, the rope tension drums disappeared, calf skin heads are gone, straps dissappeared for harnesses, free floaters became fashionable but that introduced kevlar heads, and still, the left hand has remained pretty much locked into the traditional look.

Lines that have used both styles with the same members - very successfully - are the 27th Lancers and SCV - several times each during their history. The use of match grip allows the other members of the ensemble to move "up" (or "down".... b**bs ) to snare and not have to deal with a "bent" wrist. There are plenty of students that can play rudiments so well, but have difficulty adjusting to traditional grip.

[Piper]

For some reason, the thing that sticks in my mind the most is when we made the transition from tilt to level. It seemed like night and day - left palm up to left palm down ( or almost down). I had to use muscles in my left forearm that I never even knew I had. Then came the transition to match grip, which required another muscular and tendon adjustment of the fingers, wrist and left forearm. That lasted for one year until we switched back to traditional. By that time my left arm was ready to kill me! :P

[RobH]

Back in my day, traditional grip was standard.

Today, I think whatever works re grip should be incorporated.

The ONLY drum in percussion that requires a traditional grip is the snare.

EVERY other percussion piece is matched.

As long as it works, that's what should be used!

[Guest watergoat]

For me, the only practical argument for a matched grip snare line --at least in most bands-- is that if the time to properly develop a traditional grip line isn't available. If it's not, then one can never go wrong with matched grip.

I also maintain that the only traditional grip advantage --such as it is-- to carrier-tilted snares is that one can somewhat more easily do left stick/rim shots [and, conversely, somewhat less easily with the right stick]… but nothing else: be it band OR corps. Having started on snare with slings and leg rests in 1965 [adding Ludwig’s “Angle Reduction Bar” in 1968] and eventually switching to carrier, to me the relatively recent carrier-tilted head "re-discovery" is little more than a visual effect. Tilted snares look slightly different than non-tilted snares. But that's all.

See, at the center of the head where we play 99% of the time, the effect of the carrier-tilted drum head's angle [10-15 degrees, I’ll guess] on the “vertical difference” where our stick tips contact the head, is essentially non-existent. And even when we play at or near the rim [far from or close to the waist along the “diametric tilt line” of the head, this imaginary line more or less centered and coming from the waist] the head angle still doesn't change, to speak of. Too, there's no appreciable difference in the physiological/anatomical movements, stresses or hypothetical ‘advantageous range of motion’ between the tilted/non-tilted head and the hands/arms.

So apart from esthetics, whatever other benefit/s that carrier-tilted heads supposedly offer to traditional grip, completely escapes me.

[azwethinkweizm]

Personally, it comes down to this:

If your drum isn't tilted, then use matched grip. Traditional was used for sling drums so it makes no sense to use it on a right side up drum. Matched grip is also a lot cleaner.

[Tristan]

Using traditional grip is mostly a visual and tradition thing. I wouldn't go so far as to say that its use on flat drums is wrong, though, because in percussion, there are often many "right" techniques. Take for example four-mallet marimba technique--there are at least five accepted techniques.

[the_soon_to_be_famous_drummer]

Matched grip is good for concert snare drumming, drum set, tenors, etc. But traditional is just much more versitile for marching snare. Many more visual options. It would be awsome if more corps went with the tilt. The tilt is bad ### and makes traditional even moreso.

[RobH]

I personally believe that a snare line should use whatever grip makes them "tight" and sounding like "one snare" - I don't CARE which grip is used as long as the snares sound as one!

And that's all I got to say about that!

[Tristan]

w/Stp:

add to that the caveat that it doesn't hurt their wrists.