{"id":29286,"date":"2021-07-21T08:10:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T15:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/?p=29286"},"modified":"2022-08-22T09:37:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T16:37:20","slug":"traditional-grip-vs-matched-grip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/traditional-grip-vs-matched-grip\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Traditional Grip Dead?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Traditional grip or matched grip: is one better than the other? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While matched grip is the standard for most drummers these days, traditional grip does have some benefits. But unless you’re playing jazz or marching snare, the benefits of trad just don’t outweigh the benefits of matched for most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you learned to drum many years ago or love watching videos of classic drummers, you might be wondering if anyone still uses that legendary underhand grip. What happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a trip down memory lane for a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n

It\u2019s Sunday evening on February 9th, 1964. You\u2019re winding down with your family before another week of school and work. And then\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAM!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four British kids appear<\/a> on your dimly lit RCA color television and create a musical Big Bang that alters the course of history. And of the four mop top Beatles, it\u2019s the one in the back where the real drama is unfolding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because as he busts into \u201cShe Loves You\u201d holding his drumsticks the same way with both hands, Ringo influenced a whole generation of drummers to put an evolutionary bullet in over 100 years of drumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was Ringo the first one in modern history to play matched grip? Not by a long shot. But when Beatlemania swept the world, drummers saw this guy in the spotlight doing things differently. And they wanted to hold their sticks like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a young Dom Famularo was learning to drum with a teacher who wanted him to play traditional (underhand) grip. But when Dom saw Ringo play, he begged that teacher to let him play matched!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, matched grip really was the natural next step in the evolution of drum set playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trad grip used to be the only way to play the drum set<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The drum set evolved from the marching drum, which the drummer had to carry on a sling over one shoulder. Since the drum tilted down, the most effective way to play it was to hold one stick \u2018upside down\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When drummers started sitting behind the kit, they\u2019d tilt the snare drum forward so they could still play it properly using the underhand grip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But drums existed long before they were used in the military. Drummers around the world had probably been using matched grip for eons. When you think about it, calling it \u2018traditional grip\u2019 when it\u2019s actually a relatively new technique seems a bit funny, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional vs. matched: Which is better?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you learned to play trad grip years ago, you might wonder why matched grip has become such a popular choice for modern drummers. Here are some of the benefits and downsides of each:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While each grip has its pros and cons, matched has taken over as the dominant technique. Think of it like throwing a baseball: if you know you\u2019ll get more power pitching overhand than underhand, you\u2019re more likely to avoid the underhand pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the drum set has matured as an instrument, players and teachers have refined techniques and found better ergonomic setups. Over time, matched grip has emerged as a better one-size-fits-all approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But has traditional grip gone the way of the dodo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be less common these days, but it\u2019s still alive and kicking. There are many drummers today who use trad grip – either 24\/7 or when it suits the part – including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n