Breaking sticks

[evill]

Originally Posted by Phil

In my drumming history , all i ever broke was : 1 Cymbal , 1 Tom Head , 1 Stick

I've broke 1 hi-hat, 3 crashes, at least 4 chinas, 1 splash, lots of heads and sticks.

[Phil]

ouuuh that's an amazing list

[dubbe]

I lost count on my broken stick record. I break most of them live though.
I broke 1 Snare Head, 2 Tom Heads and one Bass Drum Head.
Worst thing I broke was a cymbal, but that was because I accidently tripped into my drums and tried to find balance on the stand, haha...well, that sucked.

[Crazy8s]

Sticks break because many drummers continue with the downward energy of their stroke after the stick impacts the drum head or cymbal. As soon as you make contact with the playing surface, the playing surface is making contact with what is hitting it. All the energy that needed to happen was right at the moment of contact, everything after is wasted energy that flows back into the stick then your hand and then your arm and then in your mind in the form of pain...eventually.

Change your upper body practice routine so that you stop the pressure you are applying to the stick right before the stick impacts what your are hitting. Let the stick do the work.

You will break fewer sticks, you will feel less pain, and you will have a TON more energy to apply to your playing which results in more speed, stamina and confidence.

Of course, however, there is a time to bash the shit out of your gear if you feel it serves the music properly. Ultimately, your view of artistic expression should shine through what you do on the drums. There is no wrong or right way to play the drums, just whatever makes you happy while doing it. If you can't achieve the goals you seek using your approach, it might serve you well to consider other ways.

In this respect, I have destroyed several full sets of cymbals, and hundreds of sticks, and dozens of drumheads in the interest of serving my own happiness through relieving stress by sacrificing a cymbal or a piece of a tree.

Until I broke my left ring finger... I cried! Not because it hurt. Because I thought my career in drums was ended. Not fun, and a really bad way to learn a valuable lesson.

Ingest calcium often and learn proper technique for your hands in the interest of having some sort of longevity in your playing. Gear can be bought, but your bones cannot.

[Crazy8s]

(and I switched to traditional grip nearly full time now. The finger is mostly healed up now but I can't risk that again...)

If you are interested in exploring other stick techniques, consider JoJo Mayers video "Secret Weapons...". This video helped me more than any other education material I ever explored. 1000+ bpm singles now!