Wrist vs Fingers...

[KCJones]

So when I first started drumming I spent a lot of time checking out youtube vids and whatnot, I kept seeing all these "finger speed" vids and what you needed to do to increase speed... they had me at the word "speed"!! Like a moth to a flame I was like, yeah, yeah! I worked forever and now have developed pretty fast finger rolls... which I have never really used.

I have since realized there aren't a lot of drummers that I respect that use this technique as a mainstay (except maybe metal). The good ones IMO... are all wrist with a whisper of finger touch on specific parts.

I had a few lessons about 6 mo ago and teach was really trying to get me to develop cleaner wrist action. It would give me more control of the sitck and
allow for accents to be used anywhere I could think of at speed. So I practiced this like crazy and it has seriously paid off. Especially on doubles, diddles... most rudiments. They are so much more even instead of bouncy. There is no way to accent the second hit of a double with finger tips.

Don't get me wrong, I still use the finger tech. but only to add some dynamic to the wrist. I keep all fingers on the stick and have gotten to the point where my pinky/ring/middle finger are adding the right amount of pressure when needed rather than just flopping around all nimbly bimbly!! (this one has taken some time!!)

So I guess I'm feeling like the guy that bought a car for the paint job instead of the motor. I bought into fast fingers because honestly, it was easy to get fast with the finger tech. It took awhile to get my wrist smooth and fast but I have so much more control.

So as an intermediate this is my recent discovery. Start with developing clean wrists and THEN add finger development to assist... not the other way around.

Guys with skills, please help if Im not seeing something here!

Thanks!

[rickthedrummer]

My personal opinion is that they both come into play at the same time. I play mainly traditional grip and if I'm doing a single stroke roll, there is a lot of wrist in there, but, if I go to a double stroke roll, it becomes literally all fingers.

I don't give a second thought to what is going to control the stick at any given moment as I bounce back and forth between different sticking patterns a lot.

The "trick" for speed is keeping the arms out of it. They are there to move you from drum to drum or to the cymbals, but if you are on a given drum, it's all wrists and fingers.

[almostmatt1]

My right hand is nearly all fingers, and my left is nearly all wrist. It wasn't really a conscious decision, it's just what my hand decided to do when my brain said "Hit that there tub, Matt.", and I've played like that since.

It works. I get speed and control with both. But, I do find speed harder to attain with wrist motion. So, among trying to get the bloody hang of traditional grip, I'm working on my fingers in my left hand. I must be the least patient man in the world, though, and always end back right where I started within a few minutes, just playing wrist, doing what I can already do.

[Pearl MCX Man]

I agree with Rick it is all wrist and finger action. I play mainly matchstick for Rock, I use the traditional when I practice my rudiments that I learned playing while I was an Army cadet as a teenager.

[slinky]

i use matched also and it's pretty much all wrist for me.

[late8]

My drum teacher was a Marimba player for the local university's concert band. He noticed my lack of discipline with my grip especially when it came to playing matched. He taught me to keep all of my fingers slightly curled so they rest on the length of the stick rather than having them off to the side of the stick. This helped improve the fulcrum point between my index finger the the rest of my hand. My double stroke rolls are completely played by the tips of my fingers and the bounce is controlled by my wrists.

[slinky]

does anyone choke up their grip on their sticks while playing? I usually grip at the bottom but when I feel them slipping away I can work my hand back up and it feels pretty good to have a higher grip.

i've noticed some pics of Bonham holding them like that and wondered if he always held them that way.

[pastor_bob]

slinky, if you're talking about "choking up" to the fulcrum point, that is how I was taught. On a Vic Firth stick, my thumb would be about where the American Flag is on the stick. That doesn't mean that on some days I feel more comfortable in a slightly different position, but I still will generally play by gripping at the optimal fulcral position.

[SpatzST]

I wouldn't say its all wrist and a hint of fingers. I just don't think you are realizing how much your fingers are doing (controlling all your rebounds). You can definitely play faster singles by just "blasting" with your fingers... I mean it makes sense because you can twitch your fingers faster than your whole wrist. There are limits and uses for both the wrist and fingers.