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Match Grip

Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2003 9:02 pm
by Waterhead
Im just curious to see what you guys think of it. I mostly use it just because traditional feels akwerd on me. Is it looked down upon at your schools or what? give me your thoughts :)

Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2003 9:15 pm
by MinCook
The reason tradish is so hard to some people is because they're not used to it. If they play tradish longer it will be come more natural. Most snare drummers i know find tradish more natural then matched grip. At my school our snare line drums with tradish like since forever.

trad vs. match

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2003 12:26 am
by drummerfromtroy
i think that everyone should know the match grip style because it is so widely used throughout the percussion section. for those of us that play marching snare, i think that fluency in both match and traditional is really important. for marching snare in my opinion, tradish looks and feels way better. its so...well traditional : ) hehe

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2003 3:39 pm
by Waterhead
well I've tried using traditional but it just doesnt feel right to me, maybe its because I havent been playing tradish for very long like one of you said but its not like I'm required to play one way or the other, Im a bass. But most of my friends drum tradish so Im jus goin to keep practicin it anyways. :)

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2003 4:50 pm
by PercussionAndAllThatJazz
Don't worry. When I first started marching, I had never attempted traditional, and it took me nearly a month just to get it right, and then getting used to it...oh man. So I worked with some friends that I knew were reliable sources for good technique, and they helped me along until I was ready to go on my own. So keep working. It's good that you're trying to learn it.

The thing with traditional is that it looks pretty cool when it's done correctly. The origin and namesake of traditional grip is the traditional drum and fife corps that were a part of the army way back in the day when field drums were slung over the shoulder, creating a tilt to the drum head. Matched grip wouldn't work very well for this, since one arm would have to be higher than the other, so traditional grip was formed. Over time, it's been improved and modernized and such, giving us our traditional grip and it's many different versions, from the east coast pinky curl to the straight middle finger.

Matched grip, though, is more common for concert percussion for it's versatility, since it's easier to get around with (hence it's use for tenors). Also, it's easier to get an even sound with matched grip, or so it seems.

:wink:

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2003 9:29 pm
by TMR Quint Kid
If you don't like traditional you can always go to tenors, that's what bill bachman did. 8-)

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2003 9:59 pm
by MinCook
lol i saw that on his vic firth bio too.

Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 1:10 pm
by LosAlSnareSquish
i think trad is pointless now that our drums are on full harnesses that make the drums parallel to the ground, but it looks so much cooler.

Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 5:48 pm
by Waterhead
I totally agree but I've been practicing and now I prefer trad over matched. So I guess once you get used to playing with trad it doesnt seem so akwerd. :)

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:08 pm
by lildrummergirl
tradtional is pretty much pointless, but it looks better than matched