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This grip is called ''traditional'' because it descends from the early days when the snare drum was carried over the shoulder on a sling. Since the drum is tilted, using an overhand grip on the high side of the drum forces the elbow in a very awkward position. An underhand grip is much more comfortable. Even when the drum is on a stand, many drummers will tilt their drum when using traditional grip, although tilting is not required. Many drummers use traditional grip on drums that are perfectly horizontal, especially in Marching Percussion . The overhand grip most commonly used is the same as described in American Grip . The underhand grip employs rotation of the wrist (a motion like turning a door knob) as the fundamental motion. The stick rests in the space between the thumb and index finger, with the thumb atop the index at the first knuckle. The middle finger slightly touches the top of the stick, and the other fingers support from below. CRITICISM Some percussionists reject traditional grip, especially for orchestral use, as it can take years and years to perfect the left hand grip, and each hand will almost always produce a slightly different sound. Also, you cannot transfer traditional grip to Mallet Percussion or Timpani , unlike American Matched Grip . Despite these criticisms, traditional grip is or has been used by such world-renowned players such as Steve Gadd , Stewart Copeland , Vinnie Colaiuta , and Buddy Rich . EXTERNAL LINKS
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