Hey!
Today I got a shorter post, but it is a specific post.
You see it in the title. It's all about LEARNING HOW TO HOLD A STICK.
Every time I get a new student that hasn't played percussion before, we spend a fair amount of time in lessons dealing with holding sticks. It seems like it would be a simple concept to explain, but I've found that it can often take a while for students to truly understand the idea of a fulcrum and keeping the other fingers on the stick.
I know what your thinking, who is using a word like Fulcrum with a middle school or elementary school student?
Well... Honestly, I am.
Always in passing, but I use it to not hinder their furthur education.
Back in.
Percussion is an extremely accesible instrument. For one, you don't even need an implement. Just go out and play any object and you've suddenly became a percussionist. But in order to progress, we need to use sticks, and to use sticks we need to know how to hold them.
to avoid confusion from all the professional percussionists who will wonder "what about all the nuances of stick grip?" or "What about moving the fulcrum around in the hand?!" we will be focusing on a rudimentary understanding of holding a stick. Similar to when a math teacher tells you one thing, and the next year when you are in the next grade level, they tell you something completely different!
Anyways, how can we approach teaching a rudimental understanding of holding sticks?
I was gearing up for a new student with Down Syndrome who had never played percussion, and was thinking about how I could help them learn how to hold sticks. The reason I was concerned about teaching him holding sticks is because nothing exists to concretely explain the concept. it is all relatively abstract.
Eventually, I started looking at how string teachers teach beginning students finger positions. I noticed that the string teachers would sometimes put colored tape on the fretless finger board to help students learn finger placement! (Shout out to my wife who is not only a piano teacher but a viola and violin teacher! Without her insight, I wouldn't have thought of this.)
We have two concepts now.
1. Holding sticks
2. Colored tape to learn finger positions on string instruments.
I think it has become pretty clear what's next, but let me lay it out.
Plus, I GOT PICTURES!
Let's do this in steps!
STEP 1: Get a pair of sticks.
STEP 2: Find the best Fulcrum point on the stick and pick a colored tape to wrap around the stick.
(Side note, I love using Vic Firth sticks because their flag is a great fulcrum!)
STEP 3: Help the student learn to "Pinch" the purpler tape.
STEP 4: Look at the size of your students hands, and from that gauge where to place one more piece of tape. This piece of tape will be for the pinky, and NEEDS to be another color.
STEP 5: Have the students take the sticks again, and pinch the purple, and their pinky needs to touch the yellow tape!
STEP 6: Make certain to tell the student to wrap their other fingers around the stick!
STEP 7: Now you know how to hold sticks!!! WOOOOO!
I never thought that this would be something that I would take so much time to work on, but I realized that little exists for a students concrete understanding of holding sticks.
By using colored tape, what was once abstract becomes concrete. this opens up further teaching. like focusing on using or WRISTS for playing!
I'll say a couple short things about this approach.
This works. it really works. my new student learned how to hold sticks in one lesson! ONE! Now, I am able to ask them how to hold sticks and they immediately hold the ticks up and show me how to hold them with a big smile.
I mentioned it before, but again I'll say we need to be thinking of alternative means of music education. in here is a glimpse of an alternative means of percussion education. Something that makes it more accessible. More inclusive.
Let me know if you try this out and how you feel about this idea!
Noel Streacker
Today I got a shorter post, but it is a specific post.
You see it in the title. It's all about LEARNING HOW TO HOLD A STICK.
Every time I get a new student that hasn't played percussion before, we spend a fair amount of time in lessons dealing with holding sticks. It seems like it would be a simple concept to explain, but I've found that it can often take a while for students to truly understand the idea of a fulcrum and keeping the other fingers on the stick.
I know what your thinking, who is using a word like Fulcrum with a middle school or elementary school student?
Well... Honestly, I am.
Always in passing, but I use it to not hinder their furthur education.
Back in.
Percussion is an extremely accesible instrument. For one, you don't even need an implement. Just go out and play any object and you've suddenly became a percussionist. But in order to progress, we need to use sticks, and to use sticks we need to know how to hold them.
to avoid confusion from all the professional percussionists who will wonder "what about all the nuances of stick grip?" or "What about moving the fulcrum around in the hand?!" we will be focusing on a rudimentary understanding of holding a stick. Similar to when a math teacher tells you one thing, and the next year when you are in the next grade level, they tell you something completely different!
Anyways, how can we approach teaching a rudimental understanding of holding sticks?
I was gearing up for a new student with Down Syndrome who had never played percussion, and was thinking about how I could help them learn how to hold sticks. The reason I was concerned about teaching him holding sticks is because nothing exists to concretely explain the concept. it is all relatively abstract.
Eventually, I started looking at how string teachers teach beginning students finger positions. I noticed that the string teachers would sometimes put colored tape on the fretless finger board to help students learn finger placement! (Shout out to my wife who is not only a piano teacher but a viola and violin teacher! Without her insight, I wouldn't have thought of this.)
We have two concepts now.
1. Holding sticks
2. Colored tape to learn finger positions on string instruments.
I think it has become pretty clear what's next, but let me lay it out.
Plus, I GOT PICTURES!
Let's do this in steps!
STEP 1: Get a pair of sticks.
STEP 2: Find the best Fulcrum point on the stick and pick a colored tape to wrap around the stick.
STEP 3: Help the student learn to "Pinch" the purpler tape.
STEP 4: Look at the size of your students hands, and from that gauge where to place one more piece of tape. This piece of tape will be for the pinky, and NEEDS to be another color.
STEP 5: Have the students take the sticks again, and pinch the purple, and their pinky needs to touch the yellow tape!
STEP 6: Make certain to tell the student to wrap their other fingers around the stick!
STEP 7: Now you know how to hold sticks!!! WOOOOO!
I never thought that this would be something that I would take so much time to work on, but I realized that little exists for a students concrete understanding of holding sticks.
By using colored tape, what was once abstract becomes concrete. this opens up further teaching. like focusing on using or WRISTS for playing!
I'll say a couple short things about this approach.
This works. it really works. my new student learned how to hold sticks in one lesson! ONE! Now, I am able to ask them how to hold sticks and they immediately hold the ticks up and show me how to hold them with a big smile.
I mentioned it before, but again I'll say we need to be thinking of alternative means of music education. in here is a glimpse of an alternative means of percussion education. Something that makes it more accessible. More inclusive.
Let me know if you try this out and how you feel about this idea!
Noel Streacker
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