Bemanistyle [dot] com Forums - View Single Post - Help with DM patterns like FSW and Revolution

Arctures · 06-06-2009, 02:44 PM

DO NOT USE YOUR FOREARMS

I cannot stress this enough. If you use your forearms for anything that rapid, not only are you using poor technique, but you're needlessly tiring yourself out. There is a much better way that is far less strenuous on your entire body.

1: Find your grip.
I find that a lot of people who play grip the stick with their entire fist when they play, which is the entirely wrong way to play. Not only does this give you no power behind your hits, but it fucks up your wrist like there's no tomorrow. Instead, your main point of grip should be between your thumb and forefinger. Not like a pincer grip, but more of the flat part of the thumb and side of the second forefinger knuckle. Try to grip the stick at a place and with just enough force where it is allowed to bounce freely.

2: Fingers > Wrist > Forearms
At first glance, you may see the drum sticks as an extension of the arms, but in fact they are extensions of your fingers first and foremost, wrists second. Think about how a tennis player holds and swings his racket. If all of the force were to come straight from his forearms, a lot more energy would be required to produce a less-than-average serve. Instead, he uses his both his forearm and his wrist to provide more force into his swing, as it takes less energy to move the wrist than it does the arm.

The same applies to the drum set, except that this can be broken down to an extra. Drum sticks are light enough to be moved by just your fingers, so this is where most of your force should be coming from. Since your grip is (hopefully) consisting of your thumb and forefinger pinching the stick, the rest of your fingers can essentially be let free and the stick won't fall. These extra fingers (middle, ring, and pinky for those not keeping track) will be where most of your force comes from. The strike from the drum stick should come from bringing these three fingers into your hand, thus forcing the stick towards the drum with minimal effort.

3. Let the stick bounce
Now that your fist is essentially closed again, the stick cannot bounce back up. This is where you have to let momentum do its thing. Upon the stick beginning to bounce back up, release your three non-pincher fingers so as to let the stick come back up, and thus the cycle is complete. With the stick brought back up, the pattern can be repeated with minimal damage to your wrist and forearms.

4. Practice
Self-explanatory.

Also as a note, most drummers don't play open-handed.

06-06-2009, 02:44 PM	#9
Arctures HEY EVERYBODY IT'S LABOR DAY Arctures is offline Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: AT WALMART Arctures's Collection Posts: 3,005 Marketplace Rating: 0	DO NOT USE YOUR FOREARMS I cannot stress this enough. If you use your forearms for anything that rapid, not only are you using poor technique, but you're needlessly tiring yourself out. There is a much better way that is far less strenuous on your entire body. 1: Find your grip. I find that a lot of people who play grip the stick with their entire fist when they play, which is the entirely wrong way to play. Not only does this give you no power behind your hits, but it fucks up your wrist like there's no tomorrow. Instead, your main point of grip should be between your thumb and forefinger. Not like a pincer grip, but more of the flat part of the thumb and side of the second forefinger knuckle. Try to grip the stick at a place and with just enough force where it is allowed to bounce freely. 2: Fingers > Wrist > Forearms At first glance, you may see the drum sticks as an extension of the arms, but in fact they are extensions of your fingers first and foremost, wrists second. Think about how a tennis player holds and swings his racket. If all of the force were to come straight from his forearms, a lot more energy would be required to produce a less-than-average serve. Instead, he uses his both his forearm and his wrist to provide more force into his swing, as it takes less energy to move the wrist than it does the arm. The same applies to the drum set, except that this can be broken down to an extra. Drum sticks are light enough to be moved by just your fingers, so this is where most of your force should be coming from. Since your grip is (hopefully) consisting of your thumb and forefinger pinching the stick, the rest of your fingers can essentially be let free and the stick won't fall. These extra fingers (middle, ring, and pinky for those not keeping track) will be where most of your force comes from. The strike from the drum stick should come from bringing these three fingers into your hand, thus forcing the stick towards the drum with minimal effort. 3. Let the stick bounce Now that your fist is essentially closed again, the stick cannot bounce back up. This is where you have to let momentum do its thing. Upon the stick beginning to bounce back up, release your three non-pincher fingers so as to let the stick come back up, and thus the cycle is complete. With the stick brought back up, the pattern can be repeated with minimal damage to your wrist and forearms. 4. Practice Self-explanatory. Also as a note, most drummers don't play open-handed. __________________ eh Last edited by Arctures : 06-06-2009 at 02:49 PM.