As posted before, I was taught traditional snare and prefer it. I can play matched grip but I prefer trad but also, as posted before, it may simply be the way I was taught. Also (and probably more importantly) I usually don't have a specific demand for matched grip on snare.
The funny thing is that when I started, I regarded snare rolls as THE most important thing to crack and the most difficult.
Forty years on I would say good rolls on the timpani are harder to play because you are not just considering actual technique: you are considering actual technique in relation to the SIZE of the drum.
A good snare roll is based (dependent upon the choice of the player) on open, triple or multiple bounce.
Very Old Timpanists don't have those options. I actually regard timpani as far harder to play than snare (in my world, not as a general statement).........and if you have not learned the rudiments you won't play either.
But if you HAVE learned the rudiments, timpani is (also in my opinion) tougher than snare. It is a completely different techinque because we have substantial resonance and snare drums do not. That affects, for example, how you strike the head.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
When you asked if anyone knew of a tympanist who used traditional grip on tympany, I thought you were implying that if a traditional grip was better, why not use it on tympany.
That's why I asked what grip you used on snare, already knowing the answer.
Ratamatatt
