I have a problem with my grip...

Several months ago, I saw a teacher who I talked a lot about feel and grip with, and he introduced me to a new style of matched grip where the middle finger acts as the fulcrum, as opposed to the index finger, which I am accustomed to playing (and what I've been taught before). Initially, I liked it a lot; playing with my index finger felt "heavy," which is why I was inquiring about new grips. This new grip felt much lighter, and could have been just what I was looking for. Also, I had seen several good drummers (including an older teacher) with their index fingers a bit higher on the stick than the rest of their hand. I wondered how that worked, because there would be no solid fulcrum, and I figured this was it.

The grip with the middle finger puts the stick between the thumb and fingerprint on the middle finger (so it's held at the very end). The index finger rests on top, sort of acting as a guide. The grip with the index finger puts the stick between the first knuckle of the index finger and the thumb, while the rest of the fingers are loosely wrapped around the stick.

Anyways, the lessons with that teacher fell through, and I experimented with this grip on my practice pad for several weeks. However, I eventually quit playing, because I had no access to a drumset, living in a dorm room in college (I can only last on a pad for so long). When I would play with my index finger after practicing with my middle finger, my playing was much lighter, seemingly solving the problem I was trying to fix in the first place.

Now that I am able to practice regularly again, I unconsciously switch back and forth between grips, and can reach no stability or consistency in my playing.

My question is, which fulcrum is best for different styles of music? I've been playing mostly rock lately, so I've needed more power for those backbeats and crashes. However, I love to sit down and just groove; the funkier the better. I've been taught jazz and have practiced the technique, but I've never played with a band. I would like to have a grip that's suitable for jazz also, in order to keep my options open. If anyone would like me to take or draw pictures to clarify, let me know.

Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

Related topic: http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=11907;start=msg133450#msg133450

Darn, not the reply I was looking for.  

I've been thinking about calling one of the teachers I mentioned for a lesson or two in order to solve this, which I'll do if no one has any input from a similar experience or situation.

Generally speaking I think we are all taught that THIS is the way you hold the sticks.  THIS = whatever your teacher teaches.

I have learned, however, that my grip is constantly changing when I play--depending upon WHAT I am playing at any particular point--index finger grip, middle finger, even the pinky grip if needed!

I think this goes hand in hand (no pun intended)with the "Proper Technique" thread.

Do what you have to do in order to:
Play without pain,
Play fluidly,
Get the best sounds from your instrument.

That's quite interesting, cos when i was performing once on a jazz course, one of the guys there said i would be much better off playing with trad. He said it was just better. I suppose it must vary depending on which audience you're playing to...

From whom do you get criticism?  That's kinda weird.  You should do what's right for you.

I use both grips.  I took my first lesson and learned trad grip in 1965 (you know, in the past  ).  I find the traditional grip more comfortable for light tunes, jazz standards, and small, quiet gigs.  I use matched grip for rock, louder jazz.  I do find myself switching back and forth, sometimes within a song.  It all depends on what feels good to me at the time, but I'm comfortable with both grips.

I don't think there are too many ways to hold a pick and make it work well. However, at least for classical guys, a lot of emphasis is placed on hand form/position on the neck. I agree, grip is often overstressed, but it's important that whatever grip  you do use, you have a healthy motion that will allow you to drum for the rest of your life.

Also, drumballz, I use traditional grip. I switched because of a wrist problem, but I also like it better than matched because of how it feels- I like the asymmetric feel, and the loose flow of the grip.

sounds to me like you're not really favoring
either grip (yet).  

so, for what it's worth, i'd say continue to work
on both.  i wish now that i had spent more time
working on getting more control with my left
hand using matched grip, because i've seen
some very good (jazz) drummers use it.  and
get great results.

as it is for me now, whenever i need more control,
or if i want to do softer (but faster) licks, i have
to go with traditional.  and sometimes i find it
a bit limiting for me.  i think if i was more skilled
at matched it might allow me to do more.

in my opinion, in time you'll find yourself favoring
a particular grip that feels the most comfortable,
but at the same time, if you continue to practice
different grips now, you'll be more versatile.  and
i think that would be a good thing.

i'd say this:  you know when you're sitting around,
tapping out a rhythm on the desk?  now, which
grip would you use to get that same beat going
with sticks?  whichever grip you choose would
probably be the grip that you're beginning to
favor.  (shrug).

just remember that there are many fine drummers
out there using a lot of different techniques.

I don't know if it is a technique issue or what, but i find myself using the trad. grip on softer 'ride' songs, and matched for loud 'crashy' songs. I think its mostly because i can't get my traditional hits as loud as my matched hits.

The weird thing is i find no matter how much more i practice single rolls with matched grip, i can play a lot faster (and cleaner) with traditional, even if it is a little less finger friendly.

You just need to play more man.  The more you play, the more you will figure out what grips work for you.  Don't think, play.  The rest will fall into place.

You had lessons on proper fulcrums, use them and see which ones work.   What you use where is as individual as the drummer.  If you run into road blocks with your playing, take some more lessons and see if there's a problem.  Until then, you have to play play play, practice practice practice.

Interesting, I never thought abuot the floor tom thing before.

I played entirely traditional grip until about a year ago, and then decided to try matched grip, and since ended up playing matched entirely. I have tried to play traditional a few times since then, but compared to matched grip it just doesn't feel very comfortable.

Until yesterday, when I was playing with my cousin (on acoustic guitar) and ended up using brushes to help keep my volume down. With brushes, I felt much more comfortable with traditonal grip, and although I was using a fair bit of arm for the backbeats instead of wrist, that was partly due to my snare being dead flat and not really suited for traditional grip playing.

After this experience I will experiment more with traditional grip, and try and incorporate it more into my playing.