All drum performances will benefit from incorporating drumstick tricks. It’s just a matter of hand-eye combination and muscle memory to perform these tricks.
Furthermore, executing drumstick tricks when playing gives the impression of being a skillful and competent drummer. Are you a beginner at this art?
This post will recommend simple tips that give spice to your performance. Most techniques require a lot of practice before you can master them.
Let’s read on to discover!
The Fake Twirl
One of the most popular and traditional stick techniques is the fake twirl. It’s something you’ll see drummers performing all the time on stages.
It’s a cool trick because it looks like you are twirling the drumstick across your fingers. Yet, it remains in one position, making it much simpler to drag off.
In other words, this trick doesn’t require your fingers to move much. However, it provides the impression that you’re twisting the drumsticks among them.
This technique is straightforward. It is a skill that any drummer, and even some who aren’t, still knows how to perform this trick.
The following is how you go about doing it:
- Begin by curling the fingers all around the stick, which should be between your index and thumb.
- Move the index finger across the top of the drumstick and towards the thumb.
- Your index and middle fingers should be in contact with the drumstick.
- Spin it following the clockwise movement while opening your hand. Make sure your palm will face you.
- By swaying the drumstick across your index and middle fingers, you can smooth out the movements.
- In its simplest term, spin the stick in the air to make the number 8 in a horizontal direction.
The Loop
This trick is a little more complicated than the first one – the fake twirl. You’ll need to spin the stick across your fingers to perform this technique.
Fortunately, as the trick’s name suggests, you only need to loop the stick over one finger. Below is how you go about doing it:
- Grasp the stick over your index and thumb with your fingers curved into your palm.
- Pull the stick upwards with the middle finger and allow it to whirl across the index one.
- Once it falls on the palm, grab it with both hands.
- You may even play around with this easy trick. For instance, you might use the thumb instead of using the index finger.
- Simply place it over the index and thumb and twirl it such that it loops across the thumb with the middle finger.
- Push it higher and prepare to grab it when it has completed its loop over the thumb.
The Palm Spin
Do you attend percussion lessons or perform in a quartet? Do you frequently observe other players spinning the drumsticks interestingly?
You can perform this trick! Follow these steps to make your performance cooler!
- Open and stretch your hand first. The thumb should point away from you, and the rest of the fingers should be parallel to the shoulders.
- Place the stick flat on the palm. Ensure the butt faces towards you while the tip points away from you, parallel to the thumb.
- Place the thumb over the top of the drumstick and grasp it. The order of the fingers near you is pinky, ring, middle, index, and thumb, respectively.
- Thrust the drumstick with a moderate push towards your right side, but not excessively strong.
- Loosen the thumb from the grip and spread the other fingers. The stick lies under the fingertips while it continues to spin. It will only take around 1 second to complete the spin.
Quickly remove the drumstick from the fingers. The order of the fingers, in turn, to let go of it is the pinky, ring, and middle finger. - Your hand now resembles its state before you grabbed the stick.
- It will be parallel to the direction before you grab your drumstick or around 100 to 150 degrees towards the right side of the starting position. While performing these steps, make sure the stick is still moving.
- Once you’ve achieved the desired spin, grasp the drumstick in a similar finger placement where you begin with.
- The order of touching the drumsticks is the pinky, thumb, ring, middle, and index finger. If you don’t catch it tightly, it will fall off your fingers.
The Flip
This technique requires some practice to ensure that the stick falls on the right end. Fortunately, you can do a few things to improve your chances of placing your stick on the palm correctly.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Make sure you’re holding the stick close to the tip.
- Toss the drumstick with sufficient force to twirl once while tilting it forward with your palm.
- Allow the drumstick to fall to the ground and grasp onto its butt.
- After you’ve gotten accustomed to the new first flip, you may start tossing your stick with more flips!
The Twirl
Instead of imitating the twirl, you’ll know how to perform the real trick properly.
It may take some effort and time to master this technique and even additional practice to integrate it into your performance.
On the other hand, it will look awe-inspiring if you perform this technique on stage!
Here is how to do the twirl trick:
- Put the stick across your middle and index fingers, starting with a conventional drumstick grip.
- During this process, it’s critical to keep the drumstick in a relaxed, comfortable grip. You can use your right or left hand to try it out!
- With the middle finger, use gentle pressure on the drumstick. It will drop backward as a result of this action.
- Hold the torque flowing by supporting the spin with the ring finger first and afterward the pinky one.
- Steer the twirl with the middle finger upwards as soon as the drumstick reaches the pinky one.
- Using the middle and ring fingers, spin the stick around.
- Instead of utilizing the palms of the hands like an anchor, turn with the backs of the fingers at this time.
- Twirl your drum stick around the index and middle finger when it swings in the air.
- Let the drumstick revolve around the index finger at the end. Revert to your regular gripping position once it falls on the palm.
If it’s hard to imagine, you can refer to this video for a visual tutorial:
Related Drum Sticks:
The Bottom Line
That’s all about five interesting drumstick tricks to master before your upcoming show to wow your fans. It’s worth noting that these techniques will not improve your playing expertise in no way.
They are just for bringing a touch of flair to your performance and captivating your audience’s attention via overwhelming stage presence.
It is your responsibility as a drummer to engage and delight your audience, and learning some tricks is among the ways to do so.
Hopefully, these tips on performing incredible drumstick stunts are helpful for your playing. Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post!
