Seems were all on the same page here,but it never fails to amaze me how a simple drum or drum set can be approached from so many angles and with so many variablesMallet Player2

Having been trained in a drum corps snare line in the 70's, our instructors only used traditional grip. Stick control of the left hand comes from the thumb and ring finger. Stick height (dynamics) controlled by the pronation of the fore-arm. A wide dynaimc range can be achieved this way and in no way is stick control diminished by using traditional grip. The finest grace notes can be achieved using left hand traditional. In the 80's some drum corps experimented with matched grip for snare lines but abandoned the practice only using matched grip for certain phrases of music for impact. Marching quad and bass lines used matched grip exclusivley though.

I have to admit I don't use matched grip on set because I don't know how...I have tried but have used traditional for so long, the comfort level for matched is not there for me. I find cymabl crashing with tradional grip a bit of a challenge! There's an instance when matched grip would be better.

I envy you billnvick for being adaptable to both styles... It is better really to know both and be adaptable as possible to any situation.

I think your teacher needs to take a look at traditonal grip, recognizing its value without dissing it so quickly. The greats of the past certainly used it for playing the finer rudiments. It's interesting to note that Neil Peart learned traditional grip for the Rush tour's tribute to Buddy Rich. It took Neil quite a while to learn traditional but he used it to great effect when he mimicked Buddy's style so well.

-kellyj

Please, don't get me wrong, I am in no way suggesting that anyone tell my son how to, or not to use his sticks, other than a teacher. However, his current teacher can't play diddly on drums, and he readily admits it....and I have no intention of telling him how to instruct, but I am concerned about him not being able to teach all styles. My son learns very fast. He earned a black belt in about half the time they subscribed us to for the term of our son's expected limit. He learns everything in less than the term he is supposed to. He learned basic piano in less than 3 months, then recorder, flute and now he is in percussion. I believe it will be theory next...

I just want to make sure he has every opportunity to learn as much as he wants. Engineering is what he wants to do in the future, we just don't know what type.

If you remember, Beethoven was deaf, but used mathematics to write all of his music. And that is how the greatest musicians in the world learn to understand, not by ear or written notes, but mathematically. Beethoven used, among other objects, a billiards table to time and write some of his best concertos.

So, I am not saying I want to give him (the teacher) a hard time, but I just want to give my son every opportunity I can afford, and right now that is only what the school provides.