Julia
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Everything posted by Julia
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@David Signature sticks are great — not for their properties as they vary, but for the inspiration that they give you. I suppose I’m just a sucker for the marketing, I know full well I’m paying for the name and image — my everyday go-to stick isn’t going to be anyone’s signature stick. I just like that I’m putting myself in that drummer’s shoes, so to speak. That said, signature sticks may be someone’s everyday go-to (aside from the drummer in question — and I am not even sure that’s the case for them). That would be interesting to hear about. I’m curious about the firegrain — does it enhance playing? This discussion is making me want to buy more sticks…
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I have not ventured into the mismatched stick idea, do so at your own risk! If you try this, though, I hope that you will post your experience and outline the benefits and pitfalls for us. ***** Hmm, if you've got wet blankets around you that won't choose sticks, I thought of some options: 1 - Upload an image of your sticks, numbered or color coded, to this thread. Then when you ask "which sticks?" you can go with the first of us that answers you. Maybe we can work out a system here, suggestions? 2 - Text a more cooperative friend with said image so they can pick. 3 - Make your nearest wet blanket choose a pair anyway, it will be like a random choice except you get the amusement and satisfaction of annoying them. Blindfold them and make them choose the first pair they touch. 4 - My husband will choose for you. He doesn't seem to mind. ***** Nah, he's got his uses 😉 He also just learned to make these incredible noodle dishes, I'm married to Iron Chef Noodles now. No way am I giving that up. ***** @David I love Jojo Mayer. I have his signature sticks as well as his instructional DVD which is as fascinating and entertaining as it is instructional. I don't buy a lot of drumming instructional materials, but his is a must-have. @Christine Thank you for being a fellow crasher-together-of-the-sticks person <high-five> I feel seen and validated. And I love that Stevie Nicks album, it was one of the first albums I owned when I became musically aware. @chantale It definitely does make me appreciate the good qualities of my favorite sticks to try this challenge. I hope, though, that I will become more flexible and cling less to my favorites. I have a feeling that I will never want to give up stick taping, though. I mean, I have purple electrical tape for them now...life is good, and I agree with @Juan that pretty things matter 😄 -
If you have too many various different pairs of sticks like I do, here's a way you can mix up your practices and challenge yourself on a number of levels: Get someone else to choose the sticks you're using in your practice session. You could truly randomize the stick choice by assigning each pair a number and using a number randomizer or rolling dice, but why not go for the ultimate challenge of subjecting yourself to people's whims and moods? 😄 My husband drum tech had gotten a number of pairs of sticks that just ended up assimilated into my collection, so I have all of these sticks just lying around, some of them more suited to his hands and tastes than mine...which is a good way to develop awareness of my grip and technique (or lack thereof). This evening, after asking me where my taiko sticks were (smart aleck that he is), my other half chose his Vater Sugar Maple Super Jazz sticks for my practice. My first reaction: Oh crap, they're untaped. Next reaction: too bad, you made up this challenge. To sum up the experience: I had to pay close attention to my grip because of the lack of tape and the Unbearable Lightness of Maple. Maple sticks bounce very nicely off of cymbals, including the bell, great for Basics of Groove #15 which involves the ride bell. Despite the impressive bounce, they sounded a bit odd on the cymbals compared to my usual sticks so I had to ignore that and focus on my playing. Fulcrum and drop/grab were tricky. (Actually, the drop part was super easy -- sticks right down to the floor. 🙄 I really do love my stick tape.) I was forced to pay attention to my dynamics. My tendency was to want to bang harder to make up for the light sticks -- silly idea. Then I started to appreciate the nice sound of maple when I play softly. I could feel how the stick weight affected speed and rebound; subtle differences from my usual sticks had me more alert and focused. Stay tuned for next time to find out what sticks my spouse chooses for me and whether I meet the challenge or throw the sticks out the window 😁
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Life update: my beautiful cat has had a medical crisis and is in emergency care. I am feeling highly stressed. I received updates today that she is stabilizing. She has acute kidney disease which, once controlled at the emergency vet, will continue to be treated at home. I will need to administer subcutaneous fluid, which apparently is a common thing that moms and dads of older animals need to do.
It will affect my drumming practice availability in ways I’m not sure about yet. I’m just trying to get to the other side of this and see what’s what.
I may be checking SDS more often, because the forums bring me cheer, or less often if I am preoccupied and adjusting. But as you know, in the long run I’m always around.
So cheer me up! Drop me a message. Check in. Tell me how you are doing with your practice, what songs you are playing, what makes your drummer brain and limbs go, “Heck yeah!” Even tell me what you do when you’re not banging on surfaces with sticks.
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Hi Julia! I'm sorry for your stress and the suffering of you pet, and happy to see that you could go back to the drums, which I'm sure that provided some relief.
I'm on the last phase to record SLY so stay tuned because If everything goes well I plan it for next weekend. A friend of mine has a great software called RX 9 Advanced that does a great job removing drums from songs, and also has many tools to polish and remove noise and other artifacts left in the process. I used it to get a drumless backing track of the song and will use this week to practice on it. Makes me be more disciplined with my counting; still an area I need to work on.
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Hi Juan,
Thank you so much for stopping by on my page and leaving a message. I practiced again today, this time at “Mom Sound Studio” 😉 on the loud kit. I save my time there to work on full songs whereas at home on the muted kit I do my lesson exercises and practice just the grooves to songs I am learning to build speed and automaticity.
I’m envious of all your technical setup, and looking forward to hearing the final product. It sounds like you have the equipment to do remote collabs with people. Wouldn’t that be fun to have an SDS collab with all of us? I enjoyed seeing so many bands’ pandemic collabs.
My counting is getting better — is your work on counting contagious and I’m catching it? 🙂 I am at least catching your inspiration to work on it. I have also been doing better with it because of the time I spend with “drumming meditation” just counting off each measure of a straight groove and paying attention to my breathing and posture. I am usually too restless to sit for proper silent mediation, especially when stressed, but I can sit down for this practice for a surprisingly long time. So that’s my mediation.
Keep up your incredible work, I am so inspired by your drumming and your presence here.
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Wow, those Metal sticks are beasts 👹 My husband has some pairs of sticks when he was practicing (mostly just playing around on my kit) that are bigger and heavier than mine. I like a heavier stick sometimes, but not on the muted kit. I brought my heaviest ones to “Mom’s Sound Studios” 😆 to play on the loud kit. Promark makes a line called Forward Balance that is a bit heavier towards the shoulder relative to the butt. It makes you have to throw harder. They’re hilarious on my mesh Silentstrokes because the mesh gives such big rebound. You might like the feel of them. The opposites are their Rebound sticks, lighter towards the butt for an extreme rebound. If I used those on my Silentstrokes I think they would crash out the window behind me…
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I have a few pairs of long sticks, including VF Questlove signature sticks (17”) and VF 8D Extreme which is 16.5”. I find I don’t use them as much now with my smaller kit, but my old kit is larger and they’re great on that. Questlove described in his promo bit for them that they hit a sweet spot on his cymbals. I’ve gotten so used to my Zildjian 7A — probably 15.5 / 16” that the longer sticks would take some getting used to. I hit my sticks together too much so I imagine I’d have to watch out for that even more with the long ones. I should pick up the Questloves again, though, because they are a slimmer stick and have a grip on them, which I like.
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Free sticks are a good thing (see what I did there) since you get to try something you wouldn’t normally have. They can be hit or miss, though. I got a free pair of carbon fiber drumsticks with a practice pad a while back. Had some fun, but they weren’t for me in the end and I got rid of them. I play on Silentstrokes mostly anyway — the carbon fiber on those would certainly give meaning to the concept of “shredding” 😄 How do you like the Goodwoods so far, @Charles?
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Ok I am officially a drummer now if I wasn’t before…I have a sore muscle in my forearm. Time to put the sticks down for a while!
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Hey, I forgot we got our very own pages in the community, so why not post something…
I had a bit of a breakthrough regarding my speed development. I have been frustrated about how slow I am to develop speed. At first it was a technique issue, but I resolved that and am still slow to advance. Now I realized it’s a combination of two things: 1) my mind not keeping up with the rhythm, slowing down my hands, and 2) needing more hand conditioning.
I started applying myself more deliberately to doing a six-stroke roll exercise (it’s actually a fill from one of the lessons — doing double-duty with this exercise). It’s sixteenth notes. First, I assessed my comfortable speed and noted that it’s faster than when I used to try this type of exercise — around 50 bpm now as opposed to 35-40 back then. Progress already just by resolving the technique issue.
I am increasing 1-2 bpm per day, and putting in the time trying to smooth it out and allow my mind to track what my hands are doing. This is important.
I’m up to 54 bpm now, and I just realized that if it were eight notes, that’s 108 bpm. I think the fact that it’s a six-stroke beat also helps me push a bit both mentally and physically. When I go down to eighth notes, and 4/4, it will seem easier because of the pushing this exercise helps me to do.
Now…I just need to be consistent.
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I'm finding that not all drummers think sticks are an interesting topic, but it satisfies the nerd in me 😄 There's something to be said about sticks being fun just because of their name -- the placebo effect? Have we fallen for marketing schemes? Probably, but my VF Jojo Mayer signature sticks are a blast to play with. They are a bit harsh on my current setup with Silentstroke mesh heads, though. I bought a couple of other pairs of sticks because, yes, I just thought they looked cool. That's ok in my book. As you point out, I've found that muting materials definitely affect the feel of different sticks as well as the sound. If I play on a proper, standard kit with no volume-reducing equipment, I suspect my stick choice might be affected. My current preferences are based on the setup combined with what feels comfortable to me at this point in my journey. I anticipate it will stay this way for a while. Thanks for adding your thoughts!
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@Juan Though I would love to hear input from more experienced drummers than me, I don't think it's a mistake at all. I think it's good to stay versatile. In older posts in this club, I talked a lot about the different sticks I used as I was looking for different ways to work through challenges (thinner/thicker affecting my grip, less/more bounce affecting my technique, etc.). Here is an example: I have small hands. I used to love very thin sticks. When I practiced traditional grip (which I use most often), I found that a thicker stick was easier to control, kind of like a child learning to write with a big thick pencil. Later, though, I realized that a thinner stick would help me with Moeller 3, 4, and 5 bounce strokes, so I switched back. I'm sure with time it won't matter what size the stick is, but the sizes made/make a difference at these formative times. Maybe that made me less versatile and more dependent on a certain type of stick for a while, but that never lasted long. I was also just curious and playing around, and it was fun. I love that you play on the kitchen counter while cooking, that is a genius idea (and probably entertaining to your household)! My husband does leg exercises while he's cooking. I'm more of a clean-up-while-I cook person. I love drumming in my car (parked of course) on the steering wheel when it's not too hot out, but it's 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 C) in Arizona right now, cars are ovens 😉
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Time and experience has changed my tastes, and shown me what works best for me when I play. All the experimenting I've done with different pairs of drumsticks has been as much nerdy entertainment as serious learning, but I wouldn't consider any of that wasted time or money. I think that my skill development was enhanced to some degree through noticing how different sticks work in my hands, both on the practice pad and on the drums. I've been using the Zildjian maple green dip 5A sticks for quite a while now, and really like the feel of the grip on them. They're comfortable, and I don't drop sticks nearly as much anymore. The grip material is also lasting longer than I expected -- I was skeptical about their durability when I first got them. I wanted to go back to a thinner stick though, so I went and got another pair from Zildjian's dip series -- the 7A black dip. They are perfect. They're like butter. They're like home. Angels sing when I play with them. (No Zildjian sponsorship here...though hey, if they want to contact me for one, I'm open to it 😄 ) In some ways, it might not be good to be attached to some feature like grip material; I should probably just be able to contentedly play with whatever pair. I'm no pro drummer, after all. On the other hand, I like what I like. In the future, I think it would be interesting to challenge myself to play with different types of sticks -- mostly pairs I own, but maybe others as well. However, the time for that is not now as I work to finish the Warrior Way. I'm more than halfway there, and I've got good momentum going. For me, using sticks that feel comfortable and familiar is as important to my focus as the elements of good practice that Stephen teaches us. What are your thoughts about favorite sticks? How would you feel if someone stole all your sticks and left you with one random pair of a size and style you never use -- would it throw you off a little, a lot, or not at all in your practice and/or performances?
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Not long ago, I was going to see if one of my pairs of drumsticks would be accepted at Bookman's, a used book, game, and instrument store in my area. It's actually where I bought my first kit. I put the sticks in a box with some other things my husband and I were looking to sell there. As I might have guessed, they rejected the sticks, and only accepted a couple of things from the box. No problem, I thought, and put them back in the box, which went back into the trunk of my car...where we forgot it for the next two days. Important detail: I live in Arizona, and it's the middle of the hottest summer on record. Side note: I have a friend nearby who actually bakes cookies on a cookie sheet placed on the dashboard of her car, and they are safe to eat. When I rediscovered the box and took the sticks out, they seemed fine. I was wondering though whether leaving sticks in extreme heat could warp them, affect the sound, make them more breakable, or otherwise damage them in any way. Has anyone experienced this?
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I’m not buying sticks lately, and I’ve been sticking (heh) with the same few pairs for practice. I have a ganglion cyst in my right wrist, and have kinesio tape on hand (ouch, the puns here) to give my wrist some support now and then. Tried the tape on my Promark 7As, and found that it worked well for grip. I expected issues, but so far it hasn’t been peeling off, and I don’t play frenetically enough to experience friction from the tape weave. (I will update you on the friction issue if and when death metal moves up on my drumming priority list.) You might think since this tape has a cotton-fabric-like texture that slippage would be a problem, but it isn’t so far. In fact, unadorned sticks are more likely to slip out of my hands. So my current stick favorites are: Zildjian maple 7A with green dip Zildjian 7A hickory with electrical tape Promark 7A hickory with the kinesio tape. Not to say I don’t like playing with other sticks, but I’m settling into preferences as I find what works. Also note that this isn’t just about grip and feel, but also what sounds right with my apartment gear and situation. My Vic Firth Jojo Mayer sticks, for example, are fabu but sound like I want to pick some fights with the neighbors 😉
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@Grant 😂 It’s a tacky coating, so you might be fine, but if you’re used to natural sticks I can see how these might trip you up and hit a few unsuspecting bystanders! If you mean painted ones like many VF signature sticks, they do feel kind of slick, I have a pair (Jojo Mayer) but they can slip if my hands are dry. Ok, it’s not because of dry hands, it’s because I’m a clumsy noob 😉
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The news I have about sticks is that...nothing is new. I used to switch pairs and see what that did for my playing -- it's fun, and helped me understand some things. Now, though, I've been sticking with (oh stop, Julia) the same pair since I got them: Zildjian 5A green dip maple sticks. After noticing that fact in practice today, I spent some time playing with a few other pairs, but didn't like any of them and switched back. Some observations: The maple is quieter on my cymbals, which are muted but can still make a lot of noise. I dropped the sticks more using the other pairs 🤪 I just like the feel of the grips and maple. I've created a mental association with the grip color -- the bright green seems to say 'practice time' to me. I'm sure I could get used to other pairs if I spent the time, but why bother? Maybe all the time I spent playing with different kinds of sticks was just because I hadn't found the "perfect pair", and these are it. Who knows? For now...it ain't broke, so I ain't fixin' it.
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Graphite sticks - things that make me go “uh...”
Julia replied to Julia's topic in Sticklers's Topics
@James well, then the pair will last you twice as long 😉 -
Graphite sticks - things that make me go “uh...”
Julia replied to Julia's topic in Sticklers's Topics
@James thanks for posting those! Let us know how they work for you as you get used to them and play different things with them. I’m also interested in Bossa Nova — I’m working on the Warrior Way first, and I’ve got quite a while to go on that, but I’m thinking to get into Bossa Nova after I finish. -
Back in my pre-kit days, I ordered an Aquarian practice pad online and received a free pair of their graphite sticks (size 5A) along with it. They’re...interesting. Link: https://www.aquariandrumheads.com/product/graphite-sticks/ They’re heavy, which might be good if you’re looking to test your hand strength. They’d probably be good for doing the grip exercises from the Hand Technique lesson track (but ouch, don’t hit your arms too hard with them, they sting! 😂). They are uncomfortably buzzy on the practice pad, and they seem so tough that I’m afraid they would chew up the Superpad on my snare or eat right through my Silentstrokes as if they were spider webs. They are curiosities, oddities that I’ve stuck in among my collection just because that’s where they would logically go. I prefer the feel of wood sticks. The only real advantage I can think of for the graphites is that they resist breakage, if you are a heavy hitter. If you’ve used these before or use them now, I’d like to hear what their appeal is for you. If you are curious about them, I’d be willing to mail them to you; they are collecting dust and taking up space here in the heavy glass tiled jar that I use as a “drumstick vase”.
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This is well put. I have stopped changing sticks so much as I find what works for me as go-to sticks...but that will still change over time depending on how my kit evolves and how I progress with my skills. I’m glad I tried so many kinds of sticks on the practice pad before getting my first kit, but I see it as a natural product of not having the kit to focus on — naturally the focus would go to the sticks. The plug for VF sticks is justified 😉 Although my current favorites happen to be Zildjian, bear in mind that everything is muted and sound doesn’t matter in the way it normally would, so I’m going strictly by feel and the desire to just have the go-tos so I can focus on what I’m doing. I have a sentimental attachment to my VF 8Ds, my first pair ever, but they are very buzzy on my practice pads. Makes me wonder how my stick preferences will change when I play on a “real” (i.e. unmuted) kit.
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They look like broomsticks compared to the 7A in the photo, but they’re not as gigantic as I thought. I looked up the dimensions - .58” diameter and almost 17” long. Are you finding that they help you with your rehab? I used to avoid larger sticks because I have tiny hands. Later, I noticed a couple of things — first, larger diameter sticks helped me get used to traditional grip a little better. Second, switching between different types of sticks helps me refine my grip and techniques. I discover something new with each pair, and learn more about my likes and dislikes. Thanks for posting these!
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@Bruce Marvelous collection! Now I don't feel so bad 😉 It seems like you lean towards Promark, and have a few pairs that look quite well-loved. What are your favorites? The sticks in my house are about 2/3 mine and 1/3 my husband's. I haven't even played with all of the pairs yet — more Sticklers material for later. I'm glad I have at least settled on some sticks that I like for the moment, but I imagine I'll be perpetually buying more with the excuse of looking for that perfect pair. I mean, there are worse vices...right? 🤷🏼♀️
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I have to start out by clarifying that these were bought as a Halloween costume accessory. My hands are small, but not small enough to necessitate 13” sticks 😂 But what the heck, they're sticks, so I had to post them here. Vic Firth's Kidsticks are .520” in diameter, with a long taper and teardrop tip — they're basically a shorter 7a. They're made for kids around ages 3 - 8. They come in ballet pink or bright blue (see Gigibunny below rocking out with the blue ones on my floor tom). On the kit, I was a bit challenged trying to find and work with the fulcrum. I decided heck with it, and held them at the very ends like some people hold sticks when they want to play really hard. They kind of worked that way. I vastly prefer adult-sized sticks (albeit on the smaller side), but hey, these looked great sticking out of my hair on Halloween, and I even managed not to poke anyone's eye out. If you have a tiny drum player who doesn't feel ready for grownup sticks, these are the quality you would expect from VF, with good balance, and the paint is helpful for grip. I wish they had a better choice of colors, though — the pink and blue are kind of stereotypical. Imagine glittery purple ones! Future SDS video suggestion: A challenge! I would like to see @Stephen playing with these.
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The first pair of drumsticks I owned were Vic Firth 8d. They are the same diameter as the VF 7a, but longer, with a longer taper. Aesthetically, I like the longer length and taper, but of course, aesthetics aren't as important as performance. I got the sticks before I had a kit, so they did a lot of practice pad duty...and WOW, do they buzz on the pad. At the time, I didn't know much about drumsticks, so I thought all sticks did that. Later, I got other sticks, and realized that wasn't the case. These sticks could go head-to-head with a swarm of yellow jackets. It didn't bother me too much, but it was a notable thing. Since my kit is all muted, the sticks buzz there as well. I've put them aside because I currently prefer to play with shorter sticks, but will come back around to them later when I can play on proper drumheads. Have you had experiences with buzzy sticks, whether they're VF 8d or others? Does it bother you, or otherwise affect your playing? What causes a stick to buzz? Post your experiences here.
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@Tim B. I wonder if this is how Stewart Copeland found that he liked his drums tightly tuned. That really makes a distinctive sound, especially recognizable in Ghost in the Machine. Looser drum heads wouldn't capture the same mood.
