I am trying to figure out what it is I am doing wrong but I am stumped.

I end up having pain in my right thumb after practicing for a while.

See, I have been trying to get back into the swing of things after being away from drums for waaaaaaaaaayyy too long. This time, I am trying to do things the right way and along the way I feel like I am starting all over again at square one.

I am not holding the sticks too tight. I have the stick somewhere between the first and second joint of my index finger. I am keeping my thumb (or trying to keep my thumb) parallel to the stick and I still end up with a sore thumb.

Can anyone offer any tips or suggestions?

Hell, I am willing to try to take a picture of my hand holding the stick to see if you all could see what I am doing wrong.

Thanks.








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Pics would help.

Also, watch that hand while you play. Often times it'll doing something wonky which you won't notice.

And be careful, pain isn't good. Don't want to end up with carpal tunnel.








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Ludwig / Paiste / Saluda

Mitchell? wrote:

Pics would help.

Also, watch that hand while you play. Often times it'll doing something wonky which you won't notice.

And be careful, pain isn't good. Don't want to end up with carpal tunnel.

That is the problem.

I have been away from drumming for so long I don't want to mess up my hand. I try to play a little and after a while, I start experiencing some pain and that throws up a red flag to stop.

I will try to take some pics and/or a video.








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A small forum I created, stop on by and check it out

My first thought is that you're squeezing too tightly. You only need to hold the sticks tight enough to not drop them, which is a lot less pressure than you think. Put your forearm across a table so your wrist is just past the edge and let your hand dangle completely relaxed. Then put a stick in your hand so you're holding it with mostly the pinky and ring fingers and only tightly enough that you don't drop it. If don't drop the stick at least a few times when you do this you aren't relaxing enough. You have to go too far before you find where the limit really is.

Here's a fairly cheese-ball video I made last week.









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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

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nice vid, only thing Id add is make sure the part between the thumb and forefinger is positioned up so that when your stick comes up it has no resistance on the side of your hand. I personally like to use the tips of my fingers for the rebounds so I place them on teh stick , I don't think that is correct , but I have better control with my stick that way








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Mapex drums
instanbul
Roland V-drums
Hand percussionist

also, something tells me you're EXCLUSIVELY gripping the stick between your thumb and forefinger. back off on the pressure there and get your other fingers involved.








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www.myspace.com/alanselectronicmuse

i would highly recommend Jojo Mayer's latest dvd if your looking to get the real scoop on hand technique, he breaks down several different popular techniques in a way that is easy to understand.