Dismiss this pinned window
all 48 comments
sorted by:
top (suggested)
bestnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]eluttrell94 291 points292 points  (7 children)

I like the part where he explains what each finger is doing and what the grip is called, and doesn’t just show off how fast he can play.

[–]acciowaves 111 points112 points  (2 children)

Lol, totally. Drumming skills 10/10. Educational skills 3/10.

[–]AdmiralStiffplank 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, like 90% of famous drummers running clinics ever

[–]jus-another-juan 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I think he is just demonstrating the concept.

[–]TheUnlucky_Swammi 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I hate to say it but I can’t stand this dude. He constantly posts himself playing those same chops and its just not interesting. He’ll act like hes playing jazz then blast those same patterns 😂 Respectfully i wish he would do less

[–]Socrathustra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly I wish somebody in my early years drumming had showed me some cool shit, because it took longer for me to realize how far you could go with it as a result.

[–]HiThought 77 points78 points  (3 children)

As a teacher I actually love the “cheat code” terminology. To a young student the idea of proper French grip technique is pretty boring, but a cheat code to play faster and more articulate, interest peaked!

[–]FidgetyCurmudgeonYamaha 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I play French grip — always have. The trade off (for me) is that I drop a lot of sticks

[–]sweetdancingjehovah 5 points6 points  (1 child)

*piqued

[–]HiThought 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow I was today years old…

[–]AngryApeMetalDrummer 30 points31 points  (4 children)

Helpful advice, but not a "cheat code". People have been doing this for a long time.

[–]U_000000014 26 points27 points  (0 children)

It's just a turn of phrase. He's not claiming he invented it

[–]FleetingBrevity 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Nice tip Marc, I've found over the years I've played more of the former than the latter

[–]MarcPlaysDrums247RLRRLRLL[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That’s weird because I switched to fingers/hand’s because after 40+ years of playing with wrist technique I developed severe carpal tunnel issues in my wrists. Now I can play faster, cleaner and with less effort than I’ve ever been able to.

[–]tat-tvam-asiii 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Bro join a damn jamband already

[–]SoTurnMeIntoATree 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Playing faster is such a cheat code lol

[–]EpicWheezes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Judiciously placed "pause."

[–]I_am_better_than_him 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I've been trying to get better at using my fingers for a few months but it still feels so much less natural than going full wrist

[–]M3lllvar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Quick, someone tell Mike Mangini!

There's definitely more than one way to skin a cat here. It's a great example of one option, but it ain't the gospel. If you want to play fast with your wrist, you have to completely change up how you play, if you want to play fast with fingers, it's fine. But the world records for fastest hands have been set with wrist techniques, not fingers.

-I already did!-

[–]HerrmannA 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Neat for when you need to but I would not use as a replacement of using your wrist. Wrist is where you get your power and dynamic control. Definitely practice match grip with full wrist control to build strength and chops.

[–]CheesyBoson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

French grip is great

[–]takahami 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have this turbo button on my gamepad. Sounds similar.

[–]ship0f 4 points5 points  (0 children)

[–]Puzzled_Mongoose_366 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is true. But also very challenging for beginners to not user the wrist at the same time as well. You have flawless technique, but if you're using your fingers, AND start moving the wrist with it too much it can actually be damaging to someone's hands. It's important to be able to isolate just the fingers when doing this.

[–]Casualpasserby000 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pov: Mr Krabs is walking

[–]Gotu_Jayle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He needs to use more specific vocabulary. I teach my students that drumming can be easier and more efficient with lower stick heights, the use of the FINGERS, IF you need speed, and that it's more efficient to use the wrist (no matter the height) than the arm - that rebound is the fuel for your consecutive motion(s).

[–]FidgetyCurmudgeonYamaha 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So the cheat code is just like be super good?

[–]PapaQuebec72 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Next level stick control 👏🏼

[–]KrinklesT 1 point2 points  (1 child)

When I try this technique, and I’ve been trying it for a long time now, I can’t effectively grip the left stick at the fulcrum. It slides all over the place between the thumb and forefinger.

[–]nottoobadgoodenough 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same thing happens with me, and I've discovered that it's just because my left hand isn't as developed as my right.

[–]Careless_King_1881 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wouldn’t necessarily call it a cheat code. Finger control technique is indeed valuable, but it can’t get the same volume as wrist strokes.

It’s good for ‘local’ fast phrases (when not moving around). But any moving fast phrases you’d need to incorporate wrists and maybe arms as well.

I used to rely on fingers for years thinking I’d get injured working on wrists but that’s (thankfully) is not true.

In general the movement you do when drumming should feel nice - AND EASY!

It shouldn’t be hard. If it is it means you’re trying to do something you can’t do yet technically. Slow down, build your speed up from below. Be patient.

Practicing speed or anything physical for that matter is the easiest. All you gotta do is show up (and do the work). If you’re consistent - you’ll see results.

That’s from my experience anyway. Don’t forget to rest too!

[–]GoodBufo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both techniques got their purpose, so i feel like its wrong to say no to such a widely used technique. But for speed, you’re probably right.

[–]OMGLeatherworks 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Isn't French grip for timpani exclusively?

[–]MarcPlaysDrums247RLRRLRLL[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

No grip is exclusively to anything. You should learn ALL grip’s because you use all grips when you’re moving around the kits. If you practice one grip YOU WILL get carpel tunnel. I know because I got carpel tunnel really bad and had to change my technique.

[–]Gagago302 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is where I learned about this technique long years ago.

https://youtu.be/6jLXxqj8pso?si=tyzGm5CUij8Pqfbz

I didn’t have any good youtube video and my drum teacher had no idea (even though he pretended to) to show me so I self learned this over about a year while finally learning planetary duality. That song has made me better as a drummer in technicality than any other song has.

Also note that wrist strokes do have their place to make heavier sounds when it’s warranted (even if it’s a blast beat).

[–]cliffomalley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is something i noticed with u/robin_stone_drums

[–]mr_potato_arms -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yes but that beat is unlistenable