At the beginning of the last century, the majority of instrumentalists came from bands and, for this reason, used the same grip, that served for playing while marching, even for the drum set and the snare drum in the orchestra.
As you can see in this photograph from the period (taken from “The Gardner Modern Method” dated 1919) even the right stick was gripped in such a way as to be able to make the necessary rotation movement to strike the snare drum suspended from the bandoleer.

Moreover, the influence of it's marching band origins did not stop at just emphasizing the characteristic rotating motion of both hands but also influenced the style. In fact, for many years both the Drummers' accompaniments and "solos" were nothing more than transpositions to the Drum set of the technical phrasing used in military marches in European snare drum schools.
This consideration should not be considered reductive from the point of view of musical content because military band technique also fed the great classics. It is sufficient to mention, among those who wrote marches, Giambattista Lulli, a French composer of Italian origin who, in 1600, wrote many military marches for permanent French military bands, followed by so many other famous composers, including Mozart and Beethoven, who also took on the challenge of writing marches “alla turca” (an exotic style that made heavy use of percussions).
In America, under the irresistible influence of Black musicians, technical progress was rapid and consistent. Nevertheless, to finally achieve a more musical use of the available instruments, Drummers had to wait for the abandonment of the band grip, which is to say around the Forties.
The jazz critics will certainly not agree. However, in our opinion, one should not confuse the use of the Drum set for "sound effects" (such as striking the rim or between the skin and the rim of various drums or striking the sticks together) with the melodic and harmonic use of the instrument ensemble that we call the Drum-set.

In various European countries, but especially in France, negritude (which is to say the suite of historic and authentic values from the Black spiritual and musical tradition and, thus, jazz) was deeply felt, while in Italy, because of the well known ideological climate of the Fascist period, musical taste was oriented towards the classical period.
Fortunately, during that period our school earned glory and prestige through the many émigré performers and those who hurried to make up for lost time in the immediate post-war period.
During the late Thirties, early Forties, the position of the right stick, and consequently the percussive motions of both hands, were clearly unchanged (as demonstrated by these details of photographs taken from Gene Krupa's method from 1938 and B. Podemski's from 1940).

Only several decades later do we find the right stick arranged, as it still is, in the central cavity of the palm of the hand.

This important transition, in addition to allowing the right hand to abandon the rotational motion, also preceded the gradual abandonment of the asymmetric position in favor of the timpani position.
In the band position, the left hand held the stick between the thumb and ring finger, with the index and middle finger raised so as not to obstruct the rebound upward.
This grip's lack of stability forced the player into a constant state of muscular tension inasmuch as the performer was forced to apply excessive pressure with the thumb to avoid glaring breaks during the upward rotation.

Some players began to rest their index and middle fingers on the stick precisely in an attempt to provide greater stability to this grip. This notwithstanding, it was necessary to wait a little longer before the ineffectiveness of putting the index and middle finger on the stick was understood, if these fingers, rather than contributing to the technical gesture, were shifted during the upward rotation.
To counterbalance this unnatural motion of the left hand, starting in the Fifties, we created a series of finger exercises designed to increase and strengthen the articulation of the thumb (fig. 1) and index finger (fig. 2), in order to achieve a percussive motion to which all the fingers contributed in a determining way
(fig. 3).

In Italy in 1965, the first complete percussion method saw the light in three volumes and the timpani position, already in use for years, also received official approval for use with the snare drum and drum set.

This latter position allowed both hands to give up side rotation in favor of a direct articulation that, in addition to working well for playing many other instruments without excessive variations, also facilitated synchronizing hands and feet for the drum set.

By this last reference we are also attempting to formulate one of our own theories apropos the causes that have prevented pedal technique from evolving with the same surprising rapidity as hand technique. This theory takes into account both the difference between the rotating movement of the hands with respect to the always in-line movement of the feet as well as the lack of practical exercises (that, on the other hand, were the daily bread of drummers in military bands). So, in our opinion, seeking coordination and speed by using two completely different motions isn't the same as performing the same motion with both upper and lower limbs.

At any rate, with the technical evolution of the lower limbs (achieved also thanks to the adoption of the double bass), this void has been filled. For this reason, today the modern acoustic drum set is designed like any other multi-toned, melodic-harmonic instrument, to be used the same as any other polyphonic instrument.

In the classical orchestra (the historical needs of the lyric opera apart) the traditional grip serves when, for particular technical needs, it is useful to adopt the rotary motion of the left hand; something that can also happen for contemporary musical pieces when, for example, you have to roll on a bass or a tam-tam in a vertical position.
On the other hand, the traditional grip is used in light music and in jazz, where it is possible to play “collections.” In practice: with period drum sets and when there is no need to take into account the distances imposed by today's very highly accessorized drum sets, for which, needless to say, the timpani grip is certainly better.

There are two versions of this last grip that are used: the first (which we have already seen in the preceding photograph) with the palm turned towards the floor, and the second with the palm vertical (fig. 4)

With the palm flat, you have superior articulation of the fingers and wrist and, consequently, greater power. With the vertical position (also called the “hand clasp”) you have greater sensitivity of percussion but lesser articulation of the wrist.
Some drummers also use a three-finger grip (thumb, index and middle finger) with many limitations and some advantages that, however, do not serve for the music they play. Among the advantages of the palm flat position, we should also mention the so-called “bank” rebound. It's a sort of “Ping-Pong” the sticks do (rebounding between the fingers and the lower part of the palm of the hand) that in fast sequences of 32nd notes and in single-stroke rolls, allows obtaining the maximum speed in a state of great relaxation. In practice, it has to do with holding the fingers open and firm a few centimeters from the stick (fig. 5A), while striking with a slight articulation of the wrist.
With this technique, which is also valid for timpani, you will have more homogeneous strokes and a better sound quality with respect to the same movement achieved by squeezing the sticks (fig. 5B).

To favor the acquisition of a proper grip, it is best to divide the beginning phase into various movements, beginning from the position of the stick in the natural cavity of the palm of the hand and proceeding with suitable articulation exercises.
These exercises, which we have put in various publications, separately exercise all the articulations involved in this technical movement. In this way, we avoid playing using a single articulation that, in addition to having negative consequences for performance, also involves a significant waste of energy.

We show the correct grip of a very young ten-year-old student and the instinctive grip of an 18-month-old baby. You can come to the first one gradually, by studying the various phases illustrated in the various methods, including: “Nati per la batteria” (Milan - 2001) and “Il suono della percussione” (Milan 1982); to the second (as adults) if you have that something extra that distinguishes the artist from the… “normals.”


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