Learning how to hold drumsticks might seem like the most basic part of learning to play the drums. And it is.
But basic doesn’t mean unimportant.
Your grip affects almost everything you do behind the drum set: your control, speed, power, endurance and ability to get a good rebound (and pleasant sound) from the drums.
And your grip can evolve over time. I changed an important part of my own grip—the fulcrum—after I’d already been playing for about 14 years.
So even if you’ve been playing for a while, it’s worth taking a few minutes to make sure you’re holding the sticks in a way that works with your hands rather than against them.
For beginning drummers, I recommend starting with matched grip, specifically an American-grip hand position. It’s natural, versatile and relatively easy to learn.
First question? Where on the actual stick itself should you grip/hold it?
You want to hold the drumstick at or near its balance point—the place that allows you to get the most rebound from the stick with the least amount of effort.
Generally, that’s about one-third of the way up from the butt end of the stick.
There’s an easy way to test this.
Hold the stick very loosely between two fingers at approximately that one-third point. Then throw the tip of the stick down toward a drum or practice pad and let it rebound.
If you’re holding it near the balance point, the stick should bounce back freely and easily.
In the video above, when I demonstrate this, the stick actually rebounds so hard that it flies back and hits me in the chest. I didn’t plan that—it just happens to be a pretty good demonstration of the physics we’re trying to take advantage of.
Move your fingers farther forward or backward on the stick and try the same experiment. You’ll feel the difference.
We’re not trying to overpower the drumstick. We’re trying to find the place where the stick naturally wants to work for us.
Once you’ve found that spot, that’s approximately where we’re going to create our fulcrum.
The fulcrum is the main pivot point between the drumstick and your hand.
Traditionally, many drummers have been taught to create the fulcrum between the index finger and thumb. That’s actually how I originally learned to hold drumsticks.
Today, however, I prefer—and teach—a middle-finger-and-thumb fulcrum.
Place the stick against the middle section of your middle finger, approximately at the balance point you just found. Then gently place your thumb against the opposite side of the stick.
And I mean gently.
You don’t want to pinch the stick between your thumb and middle finger.
One way to visualize the mechanics is to imagine that a small nail or screw passes through your thumb, through the drumstick and into your middle finger.
Obviously, don’t actually do that!
But think about the imaginary nail creating an axle. The stick should be able to pivot freely around it.
Try moving the stick back and forth within that fulcrum. You should be able to pivot—or even spin—the stick while your thumb and middle finger maintain their position.
You can see me demonstrate this in the video.
That’s the feeling we’re looking for: a stable pivot point without squeezing the stick.
Moving the fulcrum from the index finger to the middle finger does something very useful: it moves the stick farther into the middle of your hand and frees your index finger.
Your index finger can now wrap naturally over the stick from above, giving you another point of control and leverage.
Once my thumb and middle finger establish the fulcrum, I simply allow my index finger and the rest of my fingers to wrap naturally around the stick.
With the thumb, middle finger and index finger in place, I have a tremendous amount of control over the stick without needing to squeeze it.
There is some serious teaching history behind this approach.
I first became interested in the middle-finger fulcrum through Dave Weckl, who changed his technique after studying with the legendary drum teacher Freddie Gruber. Gruber advocated the middle-finger-and-thumb fulcrum.
There’s also a connection to the teachings of Murray Spivack, whose approach is often described in terms of the thumb, middle finger and index finger working together; forming a kind of “three-finger fulcrum.” Drummer Chad Wackerman, who studied with Spivack, has demonstrated and discussed that approach.
I think of what I do as incorporating ideas from both.
But you don’t need to worry about the history to use the technique. Try it and see how it feels.
I’ve shown the middle-finger fulcrum to many students who previously used the index finger and thumb, and those who have commented on the change have generally found the middle-finger approach significantly more comfortable and effective.
Once you’ve established the middle-finger-and-thumb fulcrum, don’t overcomplicate what comes next.
Simply allow your other fingers to wrap naturally around the stick.
Your index finger comes over the stick. Your remaining fingers rest underneath it.
Don’t force your fingers into strange positions.
In fact, natural is one of the most important words in this entire discussion.
Years ago, when my daughter was about three years old, I handed her a drumstick. I noticed something interesting: without knowing anything about drum technique, she grabbed it in a position surprisingly close to what I’m describing here.
You can try a similar experiment yourself.
Pick up a stick without thinking too hard about it. Or imagine somebody handing you a baton in a relay race.
Look at the position your hand naturally assumes.
Chances are, it’s relatively close to the position we’re trying to create.
Good drum technique shouldn’t require you to twist your hands, wrists and arms into unnatural positions.
This may be the most important part of the entire technique.
Don’t squeeze the drumsticks with any kind of significant force.
Beginning drummers often assume that playing drums requires a lot of muscular force. As a result, they hold the sticks tightly and try to muscle their way through their strokes.
Good drumming doesn’t work that way.
Playing drums is much more about looseness, finesse, rebound and control than brute strength.
One of my favorite analogies comes from the great drummer and educator Jim Chapin.
Imagine that you’re holding an injured baby bird in your hand.
You need to hold it securely enough that it can’t escape or fall to the ground. But you certainly wouldn’t squeeze it. You’d hold it gently, and as the bird breathed and moved, your fingers would move with it.
Think about your drumstick the same way.
Your fingers maintain contact with the stick and guide it, but they don’t clamp down on it.
A useful test is to hold your stick in playing position and have someone pull it out of your hand. They shouldn’t have to fight you for it.
Your goal is to use the least amount of pressure necessary to maintain control of the stick.
There’s one small piece of equipment that has become essential to my own grip: drumstick wax.
I didn’t always use it.
I started using stick wax while studying with John Riley. We were working on my jazz ride-cymbal playing, where looseness is particularly important, and John noticed that I wasn’t using anything on my sticks to improve my grip.
He introduced me to Zildjian drumstick wax.
For me, it was revelatory.
The wax adds just enough tackiness that the stick doesn’t slide around in my hand. That means I don’t have to compensate by squeezing harder.
I can maintain an extremely loose fulcrum—the stick can move and pivot freely—while still feeling like I have control over it.
There are different stick-wax products available, and you don’t necessarily have to use wax in order to hold drumsticks correctly.
But I use it on my own sticks all the time. For me, it’s an essential part of maintaining the loose grip I’m describing here.
There are several different hand positions that fall under the general category of matched grip, most commonly called American, German and French grip.
The position I’m teaching here is American grip.
Why?
Because I think it’s the most natural and useful all-around position for most players.
Let your arms hang loosely at your sides. Notice how your hands naturally sit. Your palms aren’t facing completely downward, and your thumbs aren’t pointing straight upward.
Now bend your elbows to approximately 90 degrees while maintaining that relaxed position.
That’s roughly where we want to be.
Put the sticks into your hands using the grip we’ve already established, and notice the relationship between your forearms, wrists, hands and sticks. In the video, pay particular attention to the angle of the stick relative to my arm.
Nothing should look twisted or forced
French grip rotates the forearms outward so that the thumbs are more on top of the sticks. Your hands are closer to what you might think of as a “karate chop” position.
French grip is extremely useful. I use it, and I think drummers should understand it. It can be particularly useful for ride-cymbal playing and for techniques involving substantial finger motion, including fast single strokes.
But it’s a specialized subject that deserves its own discussion.
German grip moves in the opposite direction. The forearms rotate inward so that the hands become much flatter and the backs of the hands are closer to parallel with the floor.
Personally, I don’t generally play that way. It feels less natural to me than allowing the hands to settle into the relaxed American position.
For now, particularly if you’re a beginner, American grip is an excellent place to start.
There’s another major grip you may have seen drummers use: traditional grip.
With traditional grip, the two hands hold the sticks differently.
The grip developed for historical reasons associated with marching drums, which were traditionally carried at an angle. It’s still widely used today, particularly by jazz drummers and marching drummers, and it’s a completely legitimate way to play.
But I generally don’t recommend starting there.
Traditional grip requires you to learn two different gripping techniques—one for each hand—and one of those positions can feel pretty strange when you’re first learning it.
Matched grip is much simpler.
Learn how to hold the stick correctly in one hand and then mirror that position with the other hand.
Now both hands are learning essentially the same thing.
For a beginning drummer who already has plenty of new physical skills to learn, I see no reason to make the process more complicated than necessary.
Once the sticks are in your hands correctly, you’re ready to make a stroke.
For the basic stroke we’re discussing here, the primary movement comes from the wrist.
Your arms should remain relaxed. Your elbows are bent approximately 90 degrees. Your hands are in their natural American-grip position.
Now move the wrist downward and allow the stick to strike the drum or practice pad.
Then let the stick rebound.
Remember what happened when we tested the balance point at the beginning?
We’re using that same physics.
You don’t need to lift the stick entirely through muscular effort after every stroke. The stick wants to bounce back. Allow that rebound to help return your hand and stick upward.
Your fingers can participate too. Because your fingers remain underneath and around the stick, they can help control and move it as your technique develops.
But don’t lose sight of the fundamental principle:
Don’t fight the stick. Let it move.
Once you’ve put everything together, check your grip:
If all of those things are happening, you’re probably in pretty good shape.
Start at approximately one-third of the way up from the butt end of the stick.
As loosely as possible while still maintaining control. You shouldn’t need to squeeze the sticks. Think about Jim Chapin’s baby-bird analogy: secure enough that the bird doesn’t escape, but gentle enough that you don’t hurt it.
I prefer a primary fulcrum between the thumb and middle finger, with the index finger wrapping naturally over the stick and the remaining fingers underneath it. The other fingers remain involved in controlling and moving the stick.
Matched grip means that both hands hold the drumsticks in essentially the same way, with one hand mirroring the other. American, German and French grips are different hand positions within the broader matched-grip family.
I think so. Because both hands use essentially the same grip, a beginner only needs to learn one basic technique and mirror it with the opposite hand. Traditional grip requires the hands to hold the sticks differently.
American grip is a matched-grip position in which the hands rest at a natural angle between the palms-down German position and thumbs-up French position. I recommend it as the basic starting position for beginning drum-set players because it’s comfortable, natural and versatile.
Both approaches are taught, but I strongly prefer using the middle finger and thumb as the primary fulcrum. I originally learned the index-finger-and-thumb approach myself before eventually changing. Moving the fulcrum to the middle finger brings the stick farther into the hand and frees the index finger to wrap over the stick and help with control.
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember these three things:
Find the balance point. Create a loose, stable fulcrum. Don’t squeeze.
Good drum technique isn’t about overpowering the sticks. It’s about controlling them while allowing them to move, rebound and do much of the work for you.
Start with matched grip and a natural American hand position. Put your fulcrum near the balance point of the stick. Let your fingers wrap naturally around it. Keep everything loose.
Then get on a practice pad and experiment.
You should begin to feel that instead of fighting the drumstick, you’re working with it.
Looking for more structured instruction? Explore our online drum lessons for beginners.
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