On drums...

I could be wrong but I think originally the reason traditional grip really developed was because it was a natural feel for the guys who were marching with the big snare drums slung over their shoulders and you need to have it slung over one hip and have it tilted away from you as well. Just "coming home", as Greg said.

But having played matched grip for 30 years (jazz still feels somewhat uncomfortable this way but I have no snap or chops anymore with trad. grip), I never really considered the line my shoulder, arm and hand formed as it was striking the drum as one line. And if you are a rimshot/backbeat hitter exclusively, this can really cloud your thinking as you usually just place the drum where you can get the fattest amount of stick on the head/rim at once with whatever setup/technique you have.

Kelly - Jojo's music is an acquired taste. I think his band Nerve is really cool (electronica & Drum 'n' Bass mixed with improvisation, etc.) but it's definitely not something I would listen to all that often. His playing is very unique though, and I love to watch him play because the "Drum n Bass" style is very new to me and what he plays is kind of like a live version of what a good drum machine programmer in that style would try to program. It's not a chops fest at all, but he can play very complicated stuff and make it look so smooth and fun! When I go back to my kit and try to duplicate just what he does between his hi-hat and snare drum.... I'm like WHOA -- that is crazy hard!

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

I've tried traditional, and somehow the stick in my left hand feels "unnatural"... :S
The right hand however doesn't have that problem... Which is of no use...


So, I stick to the matched grip for now... Although I know the traditional grip has a lot of advantages, especially for jazz and ghost notes...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

I learned traditional then switched over to matched in high school because I was playing quads in marching band and mallets in concert band. Switching between the two didn't make much sense so I stayed with trad. grip. Once in a while I switch over if one of my stick twirls doesn't make it all the way
I'm kidding
I swear

Kelly you should definitely check out the DVD, its got amazing stuff that will change the way you play. Also try applying all this stuff to a 4 piece kit with a couple cymbals, it makes more sense and you end up with much more creative phrases.

Ha ditto Goki. First time I have ever heard someone else say it. My right hand does traditional naturally, my left hand will not. Often wondered if I denied my natural style when I was younger, doing what everyone else was doing. Kinda weird because Simon Philips was one of my heros growing up and he plays a right handed set up (only his ride is reversed) but plays lefty. And my left hand can ride pretty good.

Anyone here have JoJo's dvd and can burn one?




LMAO

Though I've never heard the theory, I came to the same conclusion about the development of traditional grip since there is no evidence of it in any of the rest of the percussion family, as far as I know. Were there any inherent superiority to it, we'd all be using the counter intuitive grip with both hands.

Like Cliff, I have made brief and aborted forays into the world of matched grip either to ease of transition to cross sticking, or because of some awkward experience that left me in the matched position and unable to extricate myself quickly enough. My left hand would require intense reprogramming. Annoying, because the right hand is capable of quicker and more sustained strokes... but the left is coming along, and every now and then I can almost, almost feel it begin to free up into a genuine one handed roll.

Speaking of which, something happened to my right foot. I can now play very quick triplets and quadruplets with one foot. Don't know how it happened because I wasn't trying. It is sort of like when you dream you can fly and it's so easy, only I'm not waking up.

The double bass pedal is now useless to me. Anyone got a single GS they don't use?

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Gregory

I think this guy does a pretty nice job in this series of videos demonstrating the use of flams (and the strokes that can precede or follow them) in a jazz context. This is something we've all heard in jazz drumming forever, but I never really thought about it in a rudimental way before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pIN1I63oTw&feature=related

Cheers,

- D.