The French Grip is another technique that was a big mystery for a long time. It’s simply a different way of holding the drum sticks than what people are used to. The grip that most drummers are familiar with is the matched, or German Grip, which is performed with both hands flat, and the thumbs on the side of the stick. In contrast, the French Grip is performed with the thumbs on top of the stick.

My college instructor first showed me this grip, and explained that this was a better grip for playing jazz on the ride cymbal than the matched grip. He said that you get a different sound out of the cymbal this way. Whether or not you actually do get a different sound playing this way, I’ll leave for you to decide for yourself.

Personally, I have found the French Grip especially useful in playing extremely fast jazz patterns on the ride cymbal. I used to listen to a Miles Davis record called, “Four And More.” It featured the great Tony Williams playing with Miles. Some of the ride cymbal playing was faster than I’d ever heard in my life. I used to wonder how he could play so fast. I eventually discovered that the French Grip was one of the keys to his speed.

The German, or matched grip is great for endurance, and sustained patterns. The French Grip is perfect for short, 3 note bursts. There seems to be less to get in the way.

I’ve found that just like the matched grip, it’s best to hold the stick between the thumb and the first joint of the first finger. The stroke is almost entirely executed with the index finger. The middle finger helps out just a little bit, and the ring and pinky fingers are either off the stick completely, or just kind of along for the ride.

Practice with your dominant hand first. Then use that as a model for teaching your other hand to do the exact same thing.

Here Are 5 Steps For Mastering the French Grip

1. Practice in the air. Thumb and index finger only. Practice upside down to create a counterweight. Learn to move the stick using your index finger only.

2. Practice 3 note bursts on a practice pad or snare drum using this same grip-thumb and index finger only. You’ll get a better bounce practicing on a practice pad or snare drum than you will by practicing on a ride cymbal. This makes it easier to learn. Use the following pattern.



3. Practice again in the air, in the same manner as step one. This time add the rest of your fingers to the stick.

4. Practice again on the practice pad or snare. Play the following pattern.



For the first measure, the 8th notes, use all the fingers to move the stick. Note that the index finger still does most of the work. The middle finger aids in the movement. The ring finger also helps out, but to a lesser degree. The pinky is just along for the ride. It’s okay to leave the pinky completely off the stick. For the second measure, the three 16th notes are again played with just the index finger and thumb. My other fingers actually leave the stick when playing these fast bursts of notes.

5. Practice both exercises on the ride cymbal. This is more difficult as you don’t get as much bounce off the ride cymbal, but after practicing on a practice pad or snare drum, you should be ready for this step.

Here’s a video demonstrating the 5 steps.



Practice the technique daily until it’s mastered. If you really understand the concepts presented here, this is a fairly easy technique to master.