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To hit or not to hit, that’s the REST!

Ed Soph, a great drummer and teacher, says that “Even time-keeping is produced by strokes and silence in time.”.

Sabain cymbal, Sonor drums, Evans drum head, shire sm57

To hit or not to hit, that’s the REST

Playing drum to keep time is drummer’s job. Not to play drums to keep time is drummer’s job as well.

When we practice rudiments, grooves and cool fills, we practice not only what to hit, where to hit and when to hit, but also be aware of what NOT to hit, where NOT to hit and when NOT to hit.

Practice ‘Not to hit’

Practicing ‘Not to hit’ means you have to build up the internal time, so that we are able to count 1, 2, 3, 4 … evenly and consistently.

There’s a way I use often and it’s easy to practice everywhere:

To count loudly along with metronome for a while, and then turning down the volume of your metronome slowly until you hear nothing, and turning the volume back in serval beats. Check if you’re still on the track and match the beat of the metronome. You can also use a song or play-along track instead. Remember NOT to chase the beep sound of the metronome. Try to imagine the beep sound is produced from you.

The REST is a part of music.

Beginners hates REST. Waiting and doing nothing is so boring! REST is a part of music, and we play music, so we MUST ‘play’ REST.

No matter what kind of instrument you play. You are a musician, you play music, you gotta love REST!😊

I love sports. When I was a student, I tried golf, baseball, tennis and badminton. Baseball is the game of using a bat to hit a ball. Similar to Tennis and badminton, which are using racket to hit a ball. Not to mention golf, there’re different ‘clubs’ that you can choose before you hit a ball. Based-on the experiences I found there’s a big common to the kinds of sports.

That is the GRIP.

Sonor Martin Kit — *Sonor Martini Kit* & Sabain Cymbal

The sport players all need to hold something to play the game. So, the way of holding things (bat, racket ..etc.) are so important that are able to affect the performance of a player. That’s why a coach or a teacher spends time teaching beginners how to make a correct grip, and even keeping adjusting the grip all the time.

Once I started playing drum, I found the way of holding drumstick is much similar to holding a racket and golf club. Furthermore I found the little finger plays a key role of the control and stability of the grips.

The Little Finger

When you make a stroke, the wrist is like a starter of the whole motion. The littler finger is a controller in charge of restraining the stroke. Here’s a way I use to teach my student (for match grip) to feel the control of the little finger.

Holding you drumstick with 3 fingers ONLY

Relax your shoulders, arms and wrists first. then holding you drumstick ONLY with :

Little finger
Ring finger
Middle finger

At the time your hand just shows a ‘7’ by the index finger and thumb.

Starting to play single stroke on you practice pad, and keeping adjust the strength the 3 fingers to just right NOT to dropping drumsticks.

Then closing your index finger and thumb SLOWLY.
Be aware of how tie your LITTLE finger holds the sticks.

Remember your index finger and thumb are simply in charge of keeping the sticks NOT ‘free running’, so NOT to convey too much strength on drumsticks to make you grip looks tie.

Repeat the process over and over again. You’ll find the way you feel comfortable.