Mathced Grip

[Hard Bop Cutter]

What do you think when you walk into a club and there is a jazz band on stage.....but when you look at the drummer he is playing in matched grip.

I have the ability to play in matched grip and traditional grip.....but I would much rather play just matched (for the most part) but I am worried about pre-concieved notions when someone sees a jazz drummer playing matched grip.

-Nate

P.S.
Traditional grip is when a drummers left hand is facing up IE. Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones (just about any jazz drummer)
Matched Grip is when both hands are facing down......just about any rock drummer now adays plays with matched grip.

[Mark Kleinhaut]

I don't think these stereotypes matter much, and I doubt anyone but drummers would even pay much attention to this detail. Do you SOUND like a jazz drummer or a rock drummer?

That may be more important, yet even that distinction can be irrelevant depending on what kind of music is being played (the slippery slope of trying to define jazz again). If you're playing in a stylized subgenre of jazz, ie. bebop, your kit should have a certain sound just as any other member of the group should sound/play a certain way. Can you get the snare figures appropriate to bebop to sound right using a matched grip? If so, end of story. If not, then the traditional grip may be integral to getting the kind of snap out of the snare the be authentic in that style. The needs and demands of the music should dictate what technique is appropriate. This also extends to how you set up your instrument with tuning, heads, materials on and on and on. There are some real stereotypes about rock kits and jazz kits, as I'm sure you know.

Since you have the ability to play both ways, keep those skills available to you and use them both as the situations call for them. My guess is that you will sound different or at least play slightly differently depending on which technique you use. They're all good, just know when each may be called for. It's like being a painter.... you always want an assortment of brushes (techniques) available at your disposal to serve whatever your artistic choices are.

[graypencil]

Most drummers like myself who started out in the bebop/big band era
and then eventually had to play some rock and funk gigs later on in their career
learned to use both grips ..depending on the musical situation.

The original reason for switching grips was the increased power
the matched grip allowed , as well as the increased ease of executing
the ubiquitous tom tom spills that pervaded 70s rock .. ( the same set of performance
requirements started the practice of tiltting the snare drum TOWARDS the
player as opposed to the classic flat or slightly oblique tilts more
designed for the tradional grip ..)

Also for those who had any conservatory training in tympani, finger control
was much easier to achieve with the matched grip common to tymps ..

Seems like the position of the snare would determine whether you used matched or "traditional" grip. From what I gather the purpose of the traditional grip stems from the tilt of the drum when marching. The left-hand-up position supposedly eliminated awkwardness of playing the drum when at a tilt. If you position the snare level, whatever is comfy. Whichever position allows for the best technique seems would be prudent.

[Jordan]

It doesn't matter. I learned traditional because, yeah, it looks cool, but it also feels better when playing jazz. I think this is because all the vocabulary you're playing was played by drummers using traditional grip, so it's just easier to get the right sound.

It does seem like all the good jazz drummers who play matched used french grip (thumbs up) though, like Bill Stewart. There are exceptions of course...Ari Hoenig uses standard matched grip, and he's one of the best drummers I've ever seen. So yeah, don't worry about it as long as you're getting the sound you want.

[Hard Bop Cutter]

yea......I use traditional just 'casue it feels better for the most part. But if a horn player blows a fast line, sometimes I have trouble keeping up with traditional grip, and by the time I realize the line and flip the stick he's done.......should be just a matter of practice though.

-Nate