Music Exam > Music Videos > Learn how to Play Drums: The Complete Tutorial > Learn Drums Lesson 02 - Introduction to Stick Technique
Learn Drums Lesson 02 - Introduction to Stick Technique Video Lecture -
Text Transcript from Video
in this video I'm going to be showing
you how to get started with your
drumsticks but before we do let's take a
look at some of the types of different
sticks available and examine some of the
parts of the stick in detail when
playing a drum kit or any percussion
instrument for that matter we have a
tremendous array of drum sticks to
choose from here are some of the many
sticks available the wooden tipped stick
the nylon or plastic tip stick the brush
the multi rod the hard felt beater and
the soft felt be there
each of these sticks helps us create a
different sound on the drums or cymbals
and therefore helps us choose the right
texture or feel for our music
most of the time on a drum kit will be
spent using regular drum sticks which
are usually made of hickory maple or oak
and we'll have a tip on the end of
either wood or nylon these nylon tips
make a slightly brighter sound on the
cymbals than wooden tips but other than
that are identical to the wooden tip
sticks each stick has several components
each important to sound production and
grip let's start at the end this is
referred to as the butt of the stick and
as we travel on up the stick eventually
we come to the shoulder of the stick at
this point the wood starts to get
thinner and tapers away gradually until
we get to the tip the tips of drum
sticks come in different shapes and
sizes in order to produce different
sounds some are round oval big or small
the most common stick available is
classified 5a and it is produced to have
a medium diameter length and weight
distribution so it's ideal for someone
starting out other sticks either come
with a bigger diameter or longer
while some have a different kind of
taper therefore affecting the weight of
the stick at the tip end of the stick at
the end of the day choosing drumsticks
is a personal thing go and try many
pairs out and see which ones suit the
size of your hands and generally feel
comfortable to play with now let's move
on to grip there are two main grips
matched grip and traditional grip we're
going to be looking at matched grip
German style although it's interesting
to note that there is also a variation
called matched grip French style also
known as timpani grip German style match
grip has the thumbs pointing at each
other and the palms of the hands
pointing down and French style matched
grip has the thumbs pointing up with the
palms facing side woods it's really
important that for now we concentrate on
palms facing downwards as we want to use
the natural up-and-down motion of the
wrist joint to help us generate the
first strokes in order to hold the
sticks in German matched grip we should
take a stick and slot it in between the
first finger and thumb at the point of
the first joint on the first finger this
point is called the fulcrum and is the
pivotal point of motion for the
drumstick
now without squeezing the stick just
curl the rest of your fingers around the
stick but don't close it in we don't
want to choke the stick or stop it from
moving you should move the stick until
you can see a centimeter or two stick
out at the butt end of the stick
near the soft fleshy part of the
palm ensure all your fingers are
touching the stick even our little
finger then repeat this process in the
other hand if we now sit at a practice
pad or snare drum we can place our hands
in the home position adjust your pad or
drum so the height of the surface is
comfortable for you
to rest the sticks on almost horizontal
this will mean you have the correct
angle at the point of impact the home
position should look like this from
above we can see a shape similar to a
big slice of pizza and notice too that
the thumbs are in the side on position
and that the palms of the hands are
facing down it's a very common mistake
when starting out to let one or both of
the hands creep in and rotate turning
into a kind of French grip avoid this at
all costs as it can lead to wrist and
joint problems if you're not careful
when playing the drum try to think of it
like bouncing a ball on the drum head
rather than hammering a nail through it
we need to bounce the drumstick on the
surface of the drum repeatedly as if
bouncing a basketball if we keep our
wrist and grip loose enough the stick
should rebound just like a ball start
with your lead hand first and raise the
stick to an angle of 45 degrees or more
by using your wrist in a relaxed manner
give the stick a gentle push forward and
when the stick strikes the surface and
starts to rebound just let it push your
hand back up to its start position
repeat this action many times at this
stage the
to remain as relaxed as possible it's
little more than dropping the stick on
the drum try to think of bouncing the
stick and catching it again rather than
pushing and pulling on the stick once
you've got a rebound happening stop and
move on to your non lead hand just
repeat the same gentle push action over
and over and try to relax as much as
possible don't worry if this hand feels
a little more awkward but normal it
usually takes some time to pay your
hands up okay now we've got some
rebounding exercises for you to practice
and there are a couple of things to
remember when attempting these exercises
watch to make sure your grip is good
remember the big slice of pizza and
check to make sure you've got your
thumbs on the inside and your palms
facing downwards another couple of
things to remember are always try to get
both left and right sticks to the same
start height every time so that your
lead hand is not louder than your non
lead hand and also try to consistently
hit the same area on the drum so you
achieve a similar tone from each hand
playing in different areas of a drum
produces different sounds the following
exercises require you to play them in
time and therefore we need to generate a
pulse to start our pulse will count
continuously 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
3 4 and by keeping all of our counts the
same distance apart we can establish a
good steady pulse and also a reference
point in time we can then try to play
the drum
in time with our counts the first
exercise is 8 right strokes and eight
left strokes remember if you are
left-handed to switch the stickings
around to fit ok here we go
I'll always count in 2 bars of 4 before
we begin each exercise 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
right right right right right right
right right left left left left left
left left left right right right right
right right right right left left left
left left left left left
try to keep everything relaxed and
sounding nice and even and repeat this
and the next exercises for a couple of
minutes each the second exercise is
called single stroke roll and consists
of playing alternating single strokes
right left right left right left right
left at 0 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 right left
right left right left right left right
left right left right left right left
right left right left right left right
left right
left right left right left right left
the third exercise is called double
stroke roll and consists of playing two
hits with each hand right right left
left right right left left etcetera one
two three four one two three four right
right left left right right left left
right right left left right right left
left right right left left right right
left left right right left left right
right left left now let's try and repeat
our exercise with all three sections it
will go like this eight rights
eight left's single stroke roll right
left right left right left right left
etc followed by double stroke roll right
right left left right right left left
here we go
one two three four one two three four
right right right right right right
right right left left left left left
left
left left right left right left right
left right left right left right left
right left right left right right left
left right right left left right right
left left right right left left repeat
this exercise many times these exercises
are the building blocks of everything we
do on the drumkit and are therefore
really important to practice to develop
some ability on the instrument try and
set aside some time each day to practice
these exercises and once you've got ten
to fifteen minutes practice done why not
make some of your own exercises up how
about this shave and a haircut two bits
shave and a haircut two bits or this
football clap one two three and four one
and two one and four one two three and
four one and two and and four or even
just use words to practice caterpillar
caterpillar butterfly butterfly
caterpillar caterpillar
butterfly butterfly
don't forget when practicing to look at
your hand position regularly especially
making sure that your home position is
good and pay close attention also to the
sound you are creating and the feel of
the rebound
everything should feel relaxed and
moving freely but if you discover you
have tension anywhere stop and try to
relax either your wrists fingers or arms
and start again most problems with grip
usually stem from tension in the fulcrum
or wrist as the saying goes practice
makes perfect so go ahead and practice
as much as you can next lesson we'll
explore more hand technique bye for now
you how to get started with your
drumsticks but before we do let's take a
look at some of the types of different
sticks available and examine some of the
parts of the stick in detail when
playing a drum kit or any percussion
instrument for that matter we have a
tremendous array of drum sticks to
choose from here are some of the many
sticks available the wooden tipped stick
the nylon or plastic tip stick the brush
the multi rod the hard felt beater and
the soft felt be there
each of these sticks helps us create a
different sound on the drums or cymbals
and therefore helps us choose the right
texture or feel for our music
most of the time on a drum kit will be
spent using regular drum sticks which
are usually made of hickory maple or oak
and we'll have a tip on the end of
either wood or nylon these nylon tips
make a slightly brighter sound on the
cymbals than wooden tips but other than
that are identical to the wooden tip
sticks each stick has several components
each important to sound production and
grip let's start at the end this is
referred to as the butt of the stick and
as we travel on up the stick eventually
we come to the shoulder of the stick at
this point the wood starts to get
thinner and tapers away gradually until
we get to the tip the tips of drum
sticks come in different shapes and
sizes in order to produce different
sounds some are round oval big or small
the most common stick available is
classified 5a and it is produced to have
a medium diameter length and weight
distribution so it's ideal for someone
starting out other sticks either come
with a bigger diameter or longer
while some have a different kind of
taper therefore affecting the weight of
the stick at the tip end of the stick at
the end of the day choosing drumsticks
is a personal thing go and try many
pairs out and see which ones suit the
size of your hands and generally feel
comfortable to play with now let's move
on to grip there are two main grips
matched grip and traditional grip we're
going to be looking at matched grip
German style although it's interesting
to note that there is also a variation
called matched grip French style also
known as timpani grip German style match
grip has the thumbs pointing at each
other and the palms of the hands
pointing down and French style matched
grip has the thumbs pointing up with the
palms facing side woods it's really
important that for now we concentrate on
palms facing downwards as we want to use
the natural up-and-down motion of the
wrist joint to help us generate the
first strokes in order to hold the
sticks in German matched grip we should
take a stick and slot it in between the
first finger and thumb at the point of
the first joint on the first finger this
point is called the fulcrum and is the
pivotal point of motion for the
drumstick
now without squeezing the stick just
curl the rest of your fingers around the
stick but don't close it in we don't
want to choke the stick or stop it from
moving you should move the stick until
you can see a centimeter or two stick
out at the butt end of the stick
near the soft fleshy part of the
palm ensure all your fingers are
touching the stick even our little
finger then repeat this process in the
other hand if we now sit at a practice
pad or snare drum we can place our hands
in the home position adjust your pad or
drum so the height of the surface is
comfortable for you
to rest the sticks on almost horizontal
this will mean you have the correct
angle at the point of impact the home
position should look like this from
above we can see a shape similar to a
big slice of pizza and notice too that
the thumbs are in the side on position
and that the palms of the hands are
facing down it's a very common mistake
when starting out to let one or both of
the hands creep in and rotate turning
into a kind of French grip avoid this at
all costs as it can lead to wrist and
joint problems if you're not careful
when playing the drum try to think of it
like bouncing a ball on the drum head
rather than hammering a nail through it
we need to bounce the drumstick on the
surface of the drum repeatedly as if
bouncing a basketball if we keep our
wrist and grip loose enough the stick
should rebound just like a ball start
with your lead hand first and raise the
stick to an angle of 45 degrees or more
by using your wrist in a relaxed manner
give the stick a gentle push forward and
when the stick strikes the surface and
starts to rebound just let it push your
hand back up to its start position
repeat this action many times at this
stage the
to remain as relaxed as possible it's
little more than dropping the stick on
the drum try to think of bouncing the
stick and catching it again rather than
pushing and pulling on the stick once
you've got a rebound happening stop and
move on to your non lead hand just
repeat the same gentle push action over
and over and try to relax as much as
possible don't worry if this hand feels
a little more awkward but normal it
usually takes some time to pay your
hands up okay now we've got some
rebounding exercises for you to practice
and there are a couple of things to
remember when attempting these exercises
watch to make sure your grip is good
remember the big slice of pizza and
check to make sure you've got your
thumbs on the inside and your palms
facing downwards another couple of
things to remember are always try to get
both left and right sticks to the same
start height every time so that your
lead hand is not louder than your non
lead hand and also try to consistently
hit the same area on the drum so you
achieve a similar tone from each hand
playing in different areas of a drum
produces different sounds the following
exercises require you to play them in
time and therefore we need to generate a
pulse to start our pulse will count
continuously 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
3 4 and by keeping all of our counts the
same distance apart we can establish a
good steady pulse and also a reference
point in time we can then try to play
the drum
in time with our counts the first
exercise is 8 right strokes and eight
left strokes remember if you are
left-handed to switch the stickings
around to fit ok here we go
I'll always count in 2 bars of 4 before
we begin each exercise 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
right right right right right right
right right left left left left left
left left left right right right right
right right right right left left left
left left left left left
try to keep everything relaxed and
sounding nice and even and repeat this
and the next exercises for a couple of
minutes each the second exercise is
called single stroke roll and consists
of playing alternating single strokes
right left right left right left right
left at 0 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 right left
right left right left right left right
left right left right left right left
right left right left right left right
left right
left right left right left right left
the third exercise is called double
stroke roll and consists of playing two
hits with each hand right right left
left right right left left etcetera one
two three four one two three four right
right left left right right left left
right right left left right right left
left right right left left right right
left left right right left left right
right left left now let's try and repeat
our exercise with all three sections it
will go like this eight rights
eight left's single stroke roll right
left right left right left right left
etc followed by double stroke roll right
right left left right right left left
here we go
one two three four one two three four
right right right right right right
right right left left left left left
left
left left right left right left right
left right left right left right left
right left right left right right left
left right right left left right right
left left right right left left repeat
this exercise many times these exercises
are the building blocks of everything we
do on the drumkit and are therefore
really important to practice to develop
some ability on the instrument try and
set aside some time each day to practice
these exercises and once you've got ten
to fifteen minutes practice done why not
make some of your own exercises up how
about this shave and a haircut two bits
shave and a haircut two bits or this
football clap one two three and four one
and two one and four one two three and
four one and two and and four or even
just use words to practice caterpillar
caterpillar butterfly butterfly
caterpillar caterpillar
butterfly butterfly
don't forget when practicing to look at
your hand position regularly especially
making sure that your home position is
good and pay close attention also to the
sound you are creating and the feel of
the rebound
everything should feel relaxed and
moving freely but if you discover you
have tension anywhere stop and try to
relax either your wrists fingers or arms
and start again most problems with grip
usually stem from tension in the fulcrum
or wrist as the saying goes practice
makes perfect so go ahead and practice
as much as you can next lesson we'll
explore more hand technique bye for now
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Apr 21, 2026 Last updated
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