496 – [Daniel Glass Show]: In Defense of the Traditional Grip
In this podcast, Daniel takes a closer look at the much misunderstood and oft-maligned grip known as “traditional.” You’ll learn how it rose to prominence, why it was replaced by the matched grip, and why it’s absolutely still worth learning today
What’s covered in this session:
- A discussion of how military drummers developed the “traditional” grip several hundred years ago in order to more effectively march with their drums.
- The key elements of traditional grip: the “grip” component, and the rotational motion.
- Why traditional was the logical grip of choice when drum sets came into the picture after the American Civil War.
- Why traditional remained the default grip for all drummers through the 1950s.
- How hardware improvements and the increased volume of rock’n’roll laid the groundwork for a big change when it came to grip.
- How Ringo’s appearance with the Beatles on Ed Sullivan show in 1964 caused the matched grip to take over almost overnight.
- Why generations of drummers have become disconnected from the Traditional grip (and many other classic techniques) as a result of rock’s rise.
- Addressing the question: is the traditional grip relevant in today’s world, and should we even bother learning it?
- Daniel’s passionate case for why that answer is a resounding YES.
Resources/Links/People Mentioned:
- Classic painting “The Spirit of ’76,” which depicts military drummers using the traditional grip.
- Photograph showing military traditional grip up close.
- An example of “Double Drumming“.
- Buddy Rich in the 1930s. Note the strong slant of the snare drum due to the hi hat stand not being adjustable.
- As they became a worldwide phenomenon, the Beatles struggled to keep up with the larger venues and extremely loud crowds. This is one possible reason that Ringo chose to play matched grip, as opposed to traditional.
- Stewart Copeland’s incredible hard hitting style with the Police, belies the common myth that “it’s impossible to generate power” using the traditional grip.
- Daniel Glass using the traditional grip in a blistering solo.