How to Hold the Drumsticks

There are two basic ways of holding the drum sticks, one is called traditional grip and the other is match grip. In traditional grip, each hand holds the stick differently. This grip evolved out of marching band snare drum playing where the snare drum is held to one side. However, this method has no practical advantage when applied to the modern drumkit. For beginning drummers it is more practical to use match grip which means that both hands hold the sticks the same way in the manner shown:

The drum stick is usually held between your thumb and the first joint of your index finger.

 

Close the other fingers loosely around the drum stick. Don’t grip the stick with these fingers. They are merely a support to the stick rather than part of the grip itself.

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