RESTORATION OF A SLINGERLAND MAHOGANY DRUM SET

I worked at restoring this old set of mahogany Slingerland drums little by little for more than a year. They were worth it to me; we have a history together.

I bought them used in the fall of 1983 in Waterloo, Iowa, at The Music Corner. I stopped dead in my tracks when I first saw them. I thought they were beautiful! At that time, store manager Steve Tillapaugh told me that he sold them new in 1977 and recently took them back in on trade.

Over the next few years, I played many live gigs with them and used them in a couple of recording sessions, and I was never disappointed. One day in 1990, I suffered a lapse in judgment, and I traded them away for a new Pearl drums set. I have nothing against Pearl, but it was a mistake—I missed my Slingerlands.

A few years later, my cousin, Mike (also a drummer), found my former Slingerland set! They were at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop in Cedar Falls, IA. He recognized them as my old kit, and the confirmation detail was the two holes I drilled in the bass drum to install an XLR jack and an internal microphone. He bought them for forty bucks!

Sometime later, I saw him playing them at a gig, and lo and behold. The drums were all painted a bunch of wild colors! (Mike said that when he found them, the bass drum had already been painted red.)

Mike had a mismatched combination of drums: Ludwig, Pearl, Rogers, and Slingerland. With only forty bucks invested, he figured he had nothing to lose by experimenting with paint to assemble one big kit with a coordinated finish. It was actually kind of groovy in a weird and funky, hippie sort of way.

Fast forward to the spring of 2018, Mike had other drums, and the Slingerland was taking up space. I mentioned they would be an excellent candidate for a restoration project and would like to buy them from him. He just said, “Cool idea, you can have them!” As it turns out that it was only about four months before he died of a sudden heart attack. 

I had the paint stripped before he passed away, and he knew what the plan was. I am sorry he never got to see the finished project. I believe he would have approved.

It was frustrating at times, it took many hours, but I’m glad I did it and am pleased with the results. I hope I’ve added another couple of decades to these drums’ lives.

Here is a summary of my process and the materials that I used:

I consumed many YouTube “how-to” videos on wood finishing, and I read a lot of blogs, product information web sites, and product labels. I consulted with experienced woodworkers, and I visited vintage drum FaceBook pages, where I posted photos and asked questions. 

I received excellent advice from my cousin, Elon Flack, a master woodworker, and Mike’s older brother. I wanted to study first because I figured I had only one chance to get it right. Elon kept telling me, “Don’t rush it. Patience is a virtue!” I think that is the best advice that anyone undertaking a project like this could follow. That includes not only the work you’re doing but also the cure time between steps.

One bass drum counter hoop was missing, and I replaced it with an early 1960s Ludwig hoop and some aftermarket Slingerland style claws. I didn’t have the original bass drum hoop inlays, so I used copper metallic paint on the inlay areas after I painted them black. Eventually, I may install a proper inlay material, but I think they look good for now. (The original inlays were metal, with a polished chrome look.) 

The rack tom arm was missing, and I replaced it with a reproduction from Maxwell’s Drums—it fits perfectly and works well. I had two of the three original Niles, IL badges, and I bought the third on eBay. The bearing edges are in excellent shape, the shells are round, they tune quickly, and sound great! I use Evans G1 coated heads on top and G1 clear on the bottoms. I am always happy with the Evans 360 drumheads on vintage drums. I use them on my 1972 Rogers kit also.

I filled the microphone holes in the bass drum shell with hardwood discs, but the finish did not match, so I covered them with a US flag graphic outside and a paper tag on the inside. On the paper tags, I printed —

1977 Slingerland Drum. Made in Niles, IL.

Distributor: The Music Corner, Waterloo, IA.

Restored and refinished by Ed Flack, 2019.

To make the paper tags, I printed them on a resume’ quality cream-colored paper stock. Then I coated over the paper on both sides with the same clear gloss polyurethane that I used on the shells. Once dry, I trimmed them with an X-acto knife and a straight edge, then glued them to the drums using rubber contact cement.

I had six new vent hole badge grommets to start. I practiced three different techniques of crimping them and failed every time. They all split or went crooked or both. Not wanting to destroy my last three chromed grommets, I simply used small rubber O-rings on the inside to hold them—that works great! I’ll see how they hold up over time and subject to vibration. I suppose a dab of contact cement will secure them if needed.

I had a junk drum shell that I used to practice with various stripping materials, sandpapers, finishes, and techniques. I highly recommend you practice on a junk drum shell or some old boards first. A thing to be aware of is that drum shells are round, and the wet materials can run, usually at a place not noticed until you’ve waited for it to dry!

PRODUCTS USED: 

Dust Mask: try not to breathe in sawdust while sanding; not good for the lungs.

Jasco Stripper: a powerful chemical stripper that works well, but you need to be in a well-ventilated workspace. I also had good results experimenting with a more natural stripper called Citristrip. Citristrip is less toxic, but you might have to go over the same areas a second time. It helps to let it sit and work longer.

Mineral Spirits: for cleanup; and to thin certain kinds of finish if needed. I used mineral spirits to “wash” the shells after stripping.

Masking Tape: when working on the inside with oils, stains, and cover coats, be sure to tape all holes outside, so stuff does not run to the outside and cause problems. When working on the exteriors, tape the inside of all holes.

3M Sandblaster Sandpaper: Don’t waste time and money on cheap sandpaper. For my first rounds of sanding to prepare the wood, I worked with dry sandpaper. I started with an aggressive 80 grit for some of the worst primer/paint areas on the insides. On the outside mahogany, I never went coarser than 150 and worked my way down to 220 and 320 grit.

Tack Cloth: to wipe sanding dust off. However, tack cloth can leave wax behind, so go lightly with it to not smear wax in. I used my ShopVac with a soft bristle brush to vacuum away as much dust as possible. Then I hit it lightly with some tack cloth. You can wash the sawdust off using mineral spirits, but it will need time to dry.

Watco Danish Oil: Once cleaned and satisfied with my final smooth sanding, I decided to use an oil-based finish and not a color stain. I chose Danish Oil from Watco, a “natural” finish with no coloring additives. You just wipe it on with a clean cloth. I let it dry a few days, then I applied another coat of the Danish Oil. However, this time, I wet sanded it in and let it cure for a couple weeks.

Minwax Wipe-On Polyurethane: Next, I started coating them with a clear gloss wipe-on polyurethane. Wipe-on is easy to use, but it is thin. You will need to do several coats — at least 6 coats; I used 8. It’s a drag because you must sand between every layer using a fine grit 220 to 320. Don’t scrub too hard on that sanding. Just lightly haze it up all over. Polyurethane needs a mechanical grip surface. That’s why you must sand. Some finishes “melt” into previous layers but not poly. 

Restore-A-Shine:  I let the last coat of poly cure for 30 days (so hard to wait.) Then I polished the shells with Restore-A-Shine “polishing compound” (not Restore-A-Finish.) Great stuff, use a soft cloth and a hearty helping of elbow grease!

Meguiar’s Carnuba Paste Wax: Finally, I waxed the shells inside and out with a good quality paste wax. I individually cleaned every chrome hardware piece with Never-Dull wadding, buffed with a terry cloth towel, and waxed them with Meguiar’s. This step was probably unnecessary.

Tip: I learned from my cousin Elon — if you want a satin finish, use gloss on every layer up to the final coat, then put your satin coat on last. Several coats of satin can end up looking milky. 

I waited for 24 to 48 hours between each coat of poly. You probably don’t have to wait that long, but you do not want it to be the least bit soft or sticky. My final bit of advice is that when reassembling, be careful not to crank too hard on the screws with wrenches, or you may strip the threads.

REPLACING SLINGERLAND TDR 100 SNARE GUT WITH WEED-EATER LINE

By Ed Flack, 2019

I read that you can use a weedeater line or tennis racket line to replace TDR snare gut, but nobody explained how to crimp the ends. I first searched fishing tackle and found nothing that worked. Then I thought of wire crimping and discovered that crimp terminators work great!

Weedeater lines are available in various diameters. I found that .065 inch diameter fits just right. There are round lines and hex-shaped lines (with edges for cutting.) Use the rounded lines.

You’ll need a crimping tool, and the wire crimp sizes are designated in AWG, which stands for “American Wire Gauge.” A crimp size of AWG 14 is .064 inches, but I had no trouble sliding the .065 line through. 

There is a plastic insulator on the terminator that slides off; you don’t need it. Once you crimp the end of your line with the crimping tool, you can easily snip off the head with a wire cutter. The connector ends can be different types, like oval or circular rings or open “U” shapes. It doesn’t matter for this use. IMPORTANT: Use a wire crimping tool, not pliers!

I suppose you could hit the crimped weed line end with a lighter to fuse/melt them together, but I don’t think it is necessary. I recently replaced some missing gut with a weedeater line on an old TDR, and it sounds great! (TDR’s have a clean, sweet, and punchy tone.) 

There are drum parts and service shops that will sell you new snare gut to replace the originals. You may still have to find a way to crimp the ends. Using a weedeater line is an inexpensive short term fix.

Final note NEVER put Kevlar heads on a TDR!!! You’ll bust the lugs.

See the images below for an AWG wire gauge chart, examples of wire ends, and photos of a TDR with weedeater line used as a replacement snare guts.

THE THREE CAMPS REVEILLE

Also known as “The Mother and Three Camps” and as “Points of War,” “The Three Camps” is one of the oldest and most famously known of all snare drum compositions. It was played as a morning wake up reveille in all U.S. military branches from 1779 until 1875 when a bugle call replaced it.¹ During the 20th century, it received wide U.S. distribution as an educational resource. Its value as an exercise to improve technique and stamina and as a performance etude has never been disputed.

The earliest known written notation of the “Three Camps” is found in The Young Drummers Assistant, published by Longman and Broderip in 1780.² It is much older, but the precise date and place of origin are unknown. It has been a standard within editions of U.S. military Camp Duty since 1812 when Charles Ashworth included it in A New, Useful, and Complete System of Drum Beating.³

The Camp Duty was a collection of military directives that specified the musical repertoire and performance standards, or “duty” of fifers, drummers, and buglers.

The way “Three Camps” is written and interpreted has evolved. During the 1800s, the 11-stroke roll, now standard, was frequently noted as a 7-stroke roll or a 9-stroke roll. The oldest notations, including Ashworth’s, indicate no time signature. We assume Ashworth intended a time signature of 2/4 because he wrote the companion fife melody in 2/4 time.

In 1862, George B. Bruce wrote it in 2/4 time.⁴ In 1869, Gardiner A. Strube transcribed it to 4/4 time.⁵ During the 20th century, 4/4 time versions were the most common.

The “Three Camps” may be written in 2/4 or 4/4, but the rolls should be interpreted with a triple pulse division and feel. Because of the triple pulse nature, notations written in 6/8 or 12/8 have become common.

As a reveille, the timing of each roll compliments the fife melody’s phrasing. The rolls commence with an unaccented double stroke and resolve on a single accent.

It is acceptable to play “Three Camps” as a continuous roll exercise with accents. For that purpose, the rolls can be thought of as inverted. That is to say, commencing with a single accent and resolving with double strokes. A goal, when used as an exercise, is to play it as fast as possible.

Regarding the name, “Three Camps.” During a lecture he delivered in 1988, William F. Ludwig Jr. claimed that the name derives from the practice of dividing a company of troops into multiple camps, “For reasons of security.” According to Ludwig, three separate camps were each assigned one drummer. “The drummer in each camp would play a passage and wait for the neighboring camp drummer to repeat it or embellish it as a sign that all was well.”⁶

That is a good story, but, like so many examples of drum legend and lore, the source of Ludwig’s information is unknown, and its accuracy cannot be verified. No evidence of this practice exists in historical editions of British or American military Camp Duty. “Three Camps” has long been identified as a reveille call and not a signal between camps. Its title remains as mysterious as its origin.

NOTES

1. U.S. Marine Corps, Prologue, Manual For Drummers And Buglers (Washington D.C.: Department Of The Navy, Dec., 1971), viii.

2. Longman, James & Broderip, Francis. The Young Drummers Assistant (London: Longman and Broderip, 1780), 4-5.

3. Ashworth, Charles S., and George P. Carroll. A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating (Williamsburg, VA: Geo. P. Carroll, 1966), 12-13.

4. Bruce, Geo B., and Dan D. Emmett. The Drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide (New York: Wm. A. Pond & Co., 1862), 28.

5. Strube, Gardiner A. Strube’s Drum and Fife Instructor (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1869), 29.

6. From a lecture by William F. Ludwig, Jr. on Revolutionary War Drumming given on January 24, 1988 at the Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion (Maryland/Delaware) held at Towson University, Baltimore, Maryland.

ROLL ABBREVIATIONS

Roll abbreviations can often be ambiguous. Rudimental rolls are assigned a specific number of strokes ending with an accented single stroke. Untied rolls do not end with an accent, and like tied rolls, they can release from either hand. An untied roll intends to complement the phrasing of other voices or instruments in a composition. There are no arbitrary restrictions on the duration of a musical idea or when and how it must end. Composers and performers make those interpretations.

It may be useful to think of untied rolls as having a “timed-release” rather than an “ending.” An untied roll characteristic is an audible gap between the roll’s release and the next note’s beginning.

The default solution is to release the untied roll on the last upbeat before the next downbeat—a safe call most times but not every time.

The release count of an untied roll depends on the tempo, meter, and pulse count. Does the roll require an even-duple pulse feel or a swinging, triple pulse feel?

Another important consideration is if the roll will be “pressed” or “open.” Moreover, if open, how close or wide is the interval between open double strokes? Consider all contributing factors within context to musical phrasing—the roll releases when the phrase completes, not before and not after.

An obvious way to side-step all questions about the duration and release of a roll in written music is to not use roll abbreviations at all. Composers could write every roll beat-by-beat. If that is what you are waiting for, then dream-on. Roll abbreviations are here to stay. Practice the possible ways that rolls can resolve, but most of all, LISTEN. Ultimately musicians must rely on their ears to make the proper interpretation. 

Play the music, not just the drum. The drum is an instrument for rhythmic musical expression. Think of the sound needed to compliment the music FIRST, then consider which techniques will achieve that.

The following examples of abbreviated whole note rolls illustrate the literal “gray area” that could end an untied roll.

In these examples, there is no difference in the way the untied rolls are abbreviated. Nevertheless, depending on musical context, an untied roll can be interpreted to release at different counts. A musical phrase takes as long as it takes, and the roll must reflect that.

There is no musical symbol to distinguish an abbreviated duple pulse roll from an abbreviated triple pulse roll. The time signature is the first clue, but it is not always the final answer.

Determining which roll type to play when the notation is abbreviated is the Drummer’s responsibility to interpret.

Tempo, dynamics, and listening are the ultimate judge of which roll FEEL is correct.

An important detail to look for in abbreviated roll notation is the number of cuts (slash marks) above or below the note head: three cuts (counting beams) means that the roll is 32nd notes and two cuts represent 16th notes.

Some composers notate all roll abbreviations with three cuts. The number of counts the roll sustains is correctly specified, but the cut marks indicate only that “some kind of a roll.” is to be played. It is left to the Drummer to interpret the pulse, roll rapidity, and playing technique.

An abbreviated roll may represent press strokes, double strokes, or single strokes. For example, tympani and snare drum roll abbreviations are the same, but tympani rolls are always single strokes.

UNIVERSAL DRUM EXERCISES

There has always been a need for widely-known exercises that drummers can practice individually or together. Drum warm-up and workout exercises that everyone knows about but nobody seems to know where they came from are called “universals.” Some of the most popular include Eight On A Hand, Sanford Doubles, Sanford Triples, Irish Spring, and Dugga Dees. Old-school check pattern exercises abound, consisting of standard rudiments played in repetition, usually alternating between paradiddles to allow lead hand changes.

Universal arrangements create an opportunity for drummers who may not have previously played together to organize and get to work quickly on establishing an ensemble, such as a drumline. Universal arrangements provide the individual drummer with a study plan and a way to develop techniques.

There are many universally known warm-ups and workout exercise patterns. The most successful are long enough to be fun and engaging to play but short enough to be memorable. 

Most exercise patterns are written in even number sets of 4, 8, or 16 measures. There are no creative restrictions, but they should not be too long and complicated to have practical use. Successful exercises include ways to apply all fundamental strokes: singles, doubles, flams, drags, diddles, and rolls.

RELEASE THE SWARM

I’ve written two warm-up routines using combinations of universal exercises: one in 12/8 for a swinging triple pulse practice; another in 4/4 time for an even duple feel. It seems easier to remember two extended compositions than it is to remember ten individual short workouts. 

I have posted a video on my YouTube Channel where you can see and hear my interpretations played. The sheet music is here for you to download as jpeg files. Thank you for following my blog and my video channel.

Link to YouTube Video: 

CIVIL WAR DRUMMERS AND THE MEDAL OF HONOR

Ed Flack ©2020 

The youngest soldiers ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor were drummers. Here are a few of them and their stories.

HILLIKER, BENJAMIN F.

Rank and organization: Musician, Company A, 8th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Mechanicsburg, Miss., June 4, 1863. Entered service at Waupaca Township, Wis, born: May 23, 1843, Golden, Erie County, NY. Date of issue: December 17, 1897. 

Citation: When men were needed to oppose a superior Confederate force, he laid down his drum for a rifle and proceeded to the front of the skirmish line, which was about 120 feet from the enemy. While on this volunteer mission and firing at the enemy, he was hit in the head with a mini ball that passed through him. An order was given to “lay him in the shade; he won’t last long.” He recovered from this wound, being left with an ugly scar.

HORSFALL, WILLIAM H.

Rank and organization. Drummer, Company G, 1st Kentucky Infantry. Place and date: At Corinth, Miss., May 21, 1862. Entered service at ------. Birth: Campbell County, KY. Date of issue: August 17, 1895. 

Citation: Saved the life of a wounded officer lying between the lines.

HOWE, ORION P.

Rank and organization: Musician, Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Vicksburg, Miss., May 19, 1863. Entered service at Woken, Ill. Birth: Portage County, OH. Date of issue: April 23, 1896. 

Citation: A drummer boy, 14 years of age, and severely wounded and exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to Gen. W. T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under the command of Colonel Malmborg.

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM H. “WILLIE”

 Rank and organization: Musician, Company D, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date: Unknown. Entered service at St. Johnsbury, Vt. Birth: Morristown, NY. Date of issue: September 16, 1863. Citation: Date and place of the act not on record in the War Department. Johnston’s story is found at https://historycollection.com/kids-battle-10-american-child-soldiers-civil-war/7/.

Citation: The youngest soldier ever to receive the Medal of Honor was a drummer boy, William H. “Willie” Johnston. During his service, he participated in several events, including the Seven Days Retreat in the Peninsula Campaign. He served in an “exemplary” fashion. During this event, Johnston was the only drummer in his division to come away with his drum during a general rout. 

His superiors considered this a commendable feat when many soldiers had discarded their weapons to lighten their load. Through his division commander’s recommendation, Johnston earned the Medal of Honor, becoming the youngest recipient of the highest military decoration at 13 years of age. Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, presented the Medal of Honor to Johnston on September 16, 1863.

LANGBEIN, J. C. JULIUS

Rank and organization: Musician, Company B, 9th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Camden, N.C., April 19, 1862. Entered service at New York, N.Y, born: September 29, 1846, Germany. Date of issue: January 7, 1895.

Citation: A drummer boy, 15 years of age, he voluntarily and under a heavy fire went to the aid of a wounded officer, procured medical assistance for him, and aided in carrying him to a place of safety.

MAGEE, WILLIAM

Rank and organization: Drummer, Company C, 33d New Jersey Infantry. Place and date: At Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 5, 1864. Entered service at ------. Birth: Newark, NJ. Date of issue: February 7, 1866. 

Citation: In a charge, was among the first to reach a battery of the enemy and, with one or two others, mounted the artillery horses and took two guns into the Union lines.

SCOTT, JULIAN A.

Rank and organization: Drummer, Company E, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date. At Lees Mills, Va., April 16, 1862. Entered service at Johnson, Vt. Birth: Johnson, VT. Date of issue: February 1865. 

Citation: Crossed the creek under a terrific fire of musketry several times to assist in bringing off the wounded.

NOTES

“ARMY.MIL Features.” Recipients of the Medal of Honor for the United States Army. Accessed March 17, 2020. https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/recipients.html.

TRADITIONAL SNARE DRUM GRIP, YOUR LEFT HAND AND YOUR RIGHT MIND

Ed Flack ©2020 

There is no shortage of epitaphs written in remembrance of the traditional grip method. Against the crushing odds of millions of words uttered to pronounce its inevitable doom, the popularity of conventional grip perseveres, literally in the hands of some of the world’s most accomplished drummers.

Why has this awkward-looking, ancient technique remained so appealing to modern drummers? Here are some reasons cited by drummers who use traditional grip:

• To preserve a tradition.

• To partway from the rest of the herd by being different or unique. 

• A sense of accomplishment. The pride of mastering a technique others consider too difficult to learn.

• Aesthetics. “It looks cool.”

• To change the “feel” of things played by adopting a counter-balanced, asymmetrical feel.

• To alter thinking. To seek inspiration and new ideas gained by using asymmetric techniques.

• Personal preference. Many drummers are more comfortable using traditional grip.

What other reasons might there be to play traditional grip? What if the left hand is neurologically inclined to respond positively to a grip that is the complementary inversion of the right hand? What if we had not only two hands but also two brains?

BRAIN LATERALIZATION

The human brain has two separate cerebral hemispheres (left and right), with each half exhibiting observable dominances in various functions. 

Modern science has debunked the popular idea of attributing personality traits to “brained-ness.” The old presumption was that creative, artistic people were “right-brained” and that analytical, logically minded people were “left-brained.” Granted, we cannot attribute personality to brained-ness; however, our divided brain biology may explain other fascinating phenomena.

Individuals who suffer a stroke or other traumatic injury to the brain’s left side can become paralyzed on the body’s right side. Other symptoms of a brain injury affect speech, sensory perceptions, and a wide range of cognitive performances, depending upon which part of each hemisphere is damaged.

Our two brain hemispheres communicate across a connective network called the corpus callosum. Without it, the left hand can literally not know what the right hand is doing.

The study of separate left and right brain hemisphere task dominance is known as the “lateralization of brain function theory.”

During the 1960s at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Roger W. Sperry and his colleagues conducted extensive studies on epileptic patients treated for their condition by having the two brain hemispheres surgically separated at the corpus callosum. 

Sperry observed, “Both the left and the right hemisphere may be conscious simultaneously in different, even in mutually conflicting, mental experiences that run along in parallel.”¹ For this brain lateralization research and findings, Dr. Sperry, received a Nobel Prize.²

An art educator, Dr. Betty Edwards, developed visual perception and drawing techniques based upon Sperry’s research. In 1979 she published her theories in a drawing method book titled Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

The Edwards drawing method operates on the premise that the left brain is the source of logical and sequential thinking where abstract ideas translate into symbols, numbers, letters, and words. By contrast, the right brain recognizes patterns and relationships to form a holistic interpretation of what is perceived. Edwards believes the right brain does not express ideas as symbols or words. The right hemisphere is the source of intuitive understanding, things we readily understand without the words to express them.

The drawing method that Dr. Edwards developed involves using exercises to “shift the mode of thinking” from the left brain (L-mode), which sees an object and wants to represent it with a symbol, to the right brain (R-mode), which sees what it sees and draws what it sees.³

According to Edwards: “In order to gain access to the subdominant visual, perceptual R-mode of the brain, it is necessary to present the brain with a job that the verbal, analytic L-mode will turn down.”⁴

BRAIN LATERALIZATION AND TRADITIONAL GRIP 

Within the context of brain lateralization, traditional grip reveals itself as a natural, balanced, and complementary approach to drumming.

When right-handed drummers use a matched grip, the left brain takes the lead using the right hand. The right brain must then mimic whatever the left brain and the right-hand do. Relegating the right brain to the mundane “monkey see, monkey do” task of imitating whatever the left brain does will not fully exploit the right brain’s natural potential. 

To ignite the right brain and get the left hand more engaged in the creative kinesthetic process, it responds best when it receives a different way of doing things. 

When the right brain hemisphere is allowed to complement in an asymmetric capacity, what the opposite side does, a significant shift in the thinking process occurs — once released from the assignment of imitation, right-brain activity shifts to the endeavor of creative problem-solving.

By inverting the left hand from an overhand grasp to an underhand position, the brain’s attention changes from visually matching the hands to seeking the best way to play and control the strokes.

The balance point of the drum stick does not change with an underhand grip. The types of drum strokes required to play a specific pattern do not change, and the laws of physics and gravity do not mysteriously reset. The only change is that the left-hand is moved under the stick where the forefingers can push down ahead of the fulcrum while the right hand is above the stick where the fingers pull up behind the fulcrum.

That simple change is all it takes to tranquilize the left brain’s demanding insistence to be copied and gives the right brain the sense of independence on which it thrives. 

Once the right brain has discovered for itself what the strokes are and how to control them while using the underhand grip, it can then successfully transfer that understanding to a left overhand grip when desired.

NOTES

1. Sperry, R. “Some Effects of Disconnecting the Cerebral Hemispheres.” Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science, September 24, 1982. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/217/4566/1223.

2. “The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1981.” NobelPrize.org. Accessed March 19, 2020. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1981/sperry-article.html.

3. Edwards, Betty. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Los Angeles: Penguin Putnam, 1999), 38.

4. ibid., preface xiii.