| On holding sticks:
There are two main schools: the "matched grip" and the "traditional
grip". There is as much contention within the drumming community about
which is "right" (i.e., should be taught to students) as there is in
the most emotionally provocative topics ever raised within Noteland.
I play (most of the time) with the traditional grip. It's easier to
demonstrate than describe, but I'll try. The left hand is more or less
palm up, with the butt end of the stick resting in the fleshy area
between the thumb and index finger, and the middle of the stick running
between the two pairs of fingers formed by the Star Trek "live long and
prosper" gesture. I find that the butt end of the stick often migrates
towards the knuckle of my index finger, but I'm self taught and I'm
sure a drumming teacher would endlessly harangue me about my grip.
The right hand is more or less palm down, with the butt end of the
stick crossing the palm and the stick held at the middle by the
thumb and index finger. If you turn the right hand palm up, with a
"natural" curl to the fingers, and lay the stick across your palm,
your hand will close quite naturally around the stick. Hold the stick
so it's comfortable; otherwise your hands will cramp. (They may
anyway; mine do in a long set or if I'm tired.)
The matched grip is just what it sounds like - both hands hold the
stick the same way, mirror imaged. I occasionally switch to matched
grip when I need more power on the snare drum, but I find it harder to
play fast stuff around the drums or to double stick (i.e., let the
stick bounce) with this grip. Maybe it's largely just a question of
experience.
Anyway, the arguments against the traditional grip are - you can play
harder with matched grip, and the traditional grip is an artifact of
the position a marching drum is held in. The arguments against the
matched grip are sensitivity and speed of the left hand. Both sides
are right, which is why I change grip as I need to.
You will get more done with a drum machine than with minimal
executant skills on an electronic set (pads). The pads of most sets,
even the newest ones, are much harder than a real drumhead; but this
(like so much else) cuts both ways. Stick response is even (and
faster) compared to a real drumhead (e.g., my snare head is quite
highly tensioned, so it's very responsive; my lowest tomtom has a
bigger, looser head, so there's much less rebound). However, the
drumhead absorbs a lot of the impact that a pad is going return to your
hand and elbow; after a night of playing on my Simmons (at least until
I learned to use the volume control rather than lean into them harder)
my left hand from thumb to index finger was one solid bruise.
Some people advocate playing on a pillow to develop strength; I
think it's a ridiculous idea. Play on drums. Guitarists don't
practice on bridge suspension cables; pianists don't practice on
see-saws, etc..
The main advantage of a drum machine is you can learn an enormous
amount about rhythm without having to be able to do more than tap
one thing at a time. This can eliminate a lot of frustration.
It also can lead you to a world of complexity that no human drummer can
handle. This too cuts both ways. Drum machines are like any new toy;
until you master them they tend to be overused.
I know of no good instructional books about drumming that I would
unhesitatingly recommend to a beginner. Most of them are just catalogs
of exercises for developing coordination, independence, speed,
endurance, etc.. They also require that you be able to read drum
notation, which is useful skill (I write out nearly everything I
"discover" while improvising, and keep a pad of music paper near my kit
for just that purpose), but most beginners seems predisposed against
learning to read. I am working on a drum book that's designed to get
you playing as soon as possible and that uses real drumming from
records as its examples, but this is a very low priority project.
If you are at all serious about drumming, read Modern Drummer,
available at most music stores worthy of the name.
Regarding on/after/before the beat - I recall reading someplace that
rock drummers tend to be a little "behind" the beat, especially on the
backbeat (that snare slam on 2 and 4). I'd say I play "on" the beat,
at least that's what it feels like to me, but I've never tried to find
out one way or the other. The general consensus is that leading the
beat lends a sense of urgency to the music, while being behind the beat
gives the music more of a "laid back" feel. Obviously, we are talking
abut very small differences, as leading or lagging the beat too far
will cause the rest of the band to speed up or slow down, and drummers
who can't keep steady time drive the rest of band nuts. I
play/practice with a click track or records, and it has made a big
difference; nearly everybody I've played with has commented on my
steady time. I'm not trying to brag, it's just that this worked for me
and I have objective confirmation of it.
I hope this helps.
len.
|
| One more thing just occurred to me - DON'T try to play a drum machine
with sticks. The switches aren't meant for that kind of load. There
are a few combination drum machine/pad sets, but serious drum machines
are typically meant to be "played" with one's fingertips. I don't
think that's what you had in mind when you bought the sticks, but just
in case...
As to why drumming is "hard", I'd say it's not that it's hard, but that
most people seem to expect it to be trivial. It is certainly no harder
than playing the piano. I think I could reasonably argue that drums are
ultimately easier to play than a lot of instruments. I know it cam easier to
(that's "came easier to me") than guitar or keyboard, and I don't claim to
be a natural. Playing on a kit is different because you have to use your
feet, and drumming requires more endurance (there are almost never any\
full bar rests in a drum part) but in terms of absolute skill it doesn't
seem to me to be an inherently difficult instrument. I stand in awe
of the skill of a first rate concert pianist (I've heard Rubinstein,
Horowitz, de Larrocha, Berman, Serkin (both Rudolf and Peter), Brendel,
Watts, Perahia etc., and they, at least in my humble estimation, blow
away anything I've ever heard a drummer, even in the Buddy Rich or Louis
Bellson class, play.).
len.
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