Whether you are new to drumming or just want to improve your technique, it’s important to learn to hold the drumsticks properly.

There are two main ways how to hold drumsticks: traditional and matched grip, along with matched grip variations such as french, german, and american grip.

In this article, we will explain how to use each grip and the advantages or disadvantages of different grips.

You can try out and see which grip suits you the best or combine them regarding your needs.

Let’s dig into the most common grips drummers use and the proper way to do it.

In the traditional grip, each hand holds the stick differently. 

Let’s see how to play a traditional grip step by step.

Position your left (or weaker) hand with your palm facing inward, as you would shake somebody’s hand. 

Place the drumstick between your thumb and index finger, and then bend your ring and pinky fingers down, placing the stick between your middle and ring finger.

This kind of grip is called “underhand grip.”

Put your right (or leading) hand with the palm facing inward, and take the drumstick.

The thumb of the leading hand will go on top of the drumstick, while the rest of the fingers will support the stick from the bottom.

This grip is also known as “overhand grip.”

Try to get the stick’s rebound to find the best balance position where it bounces the most.

Practice full strokes in this position by rotating your forearm like you are spinning a doorknob.

When you find the balance point, you will be able to bounce the stick with control over a rebound without the stick sliding up or down.

Once you get your stick moving, bounce it with your thumb without moving the forearm.

Try bouncing the stick, playing quarter notes along with a metronome, slowly speeding up the tempo.

Here is how you can play matched grip:

Place your hands in front of you with palms facing down.

Put the sticks in the middle of your hands, placing them between the ring finger, thumb, and middle finger.

Both hands take the overhead position, with thumbs on top of the drumstick and the rest of the fingers supporting the stick from the bottom.

One of the variations of the matched grip is the french grip, and here is how you can do it: 

French grip allows drummers to reach speeds that would be harder to reach with any other type of grip.

You will be mastering finger control and taking full advantage of it.

If you wonder how to play german grip, here are the first steps:

The german grip is the best grip for slow tempos because you wil have great wrist control.

Compared to other variations of matched grips, it is the most powerful grip.

To play american grip, start with these steps:

In the american grip, the power goes from the whole arm instead of a wrist, so you have a lot more energy available.

This grip utilizes the fingers, wrist, and arm in equal measure.

Drummers use two main grips: traditional and matched grip, or some of the variations of the matched grip such as french, german, or american.

You can choose the way how to hold your drumsticks and combine different grips according to their purposes.

And remember, the good grip is the foundation of your drumming.

As famous drummer Thomas Lang jokingly says in this article: get a grip!