Push Pull Hand Technique for the Drum Set

[@sebastianozanaica4151]

I just want to say that I'm honoured to watch a very talented musician that shares his tremendous knowledge. thank you very much

[@ndrumsbr]

Ramon Montagner (from Brazil) is one of great drummers in this technique.

[@handidrummed]

He's absolutely inhuman with this technique. It shouldn't be possible but somehow he makes it so.

[@rosarionasca7487]

Anche jony madair fenomenali

[@gballmaier]

I've been working on this technique for just over 1 year, AND I STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

[@Mudge07]

As some have noted, push-pull is next to Mueller on ‘skins’ for cymbal sticking and articulate, efficient and ergonomic playing. Using the leverage combination of the stick and hand in achieving rhythmic changes is a level of excellence that I’ll be working on after your demo. And for those who try to understand what went on in “Whiplash”’s ride cymbal drum-off, then the answer is literally at hand.

[@garydonnelly100]

Thanks Rick. I've been watching some of your stuff recently and am very impressed by how you can relate concepts. I've been grappling with push-pull for a few years and just recently had a minor breakthrough. I think your explanation here just might get me over the top! Going on 66 in May....never stop learning new stuff!

[@rickdior]

Hi Thanks for commenting. I hope the videos help you and I love the fact that you are still going strong at 66.

[@BedPanAlley]

The groove @ 9:43-9:57 was killer.

[@SilentKnight65]

This MoFo knows his shit!!!! Incredible video. I always wondered how they did those fast 1/16 notes with one hand!! Great lesson!

[@radeksikldrumming3970]

Thank you for this video!. Am 45 years old and just started working on it. Vids like this one help a lot really!

[@rickdior]

Glad that the video is helping you. Thanks for watching.

[@ronaldpapa8182]

Jim Gordon’s opening on “Why does love got to be so sad” from Derek and the Dominoes live in concert has that technique on this tune. He loved playing those 16th notes.

[@williamtaps4565]

Thanks, Rick, for showing the practice pad close up view. TB

[@slightlybelowaveragedrummer]

Dear sir, could you please do an instructional video on how to apply the push-pull technique in the traditional grip?

[@bumsibar6163]

how effortless, I love your feel and sound. I remember my first rehearsal space I ever rented happened to be in Kenwood's loft in 1996 and he showed me all kinds of insane, mind blowing concepts. Wild

[@rickdior]

Yes, he is something special.

[@giuseppeviolo8117]

Sei un grande maestro!!Grazie

[@embarakasnerekete2749]

thank you, I've learned something really great,

[@attiliosylvio2799]

Thank you SO MUCH Rick! Love all your lessons!!

[@tomfloor3604]

Kenwood Dennard. Haven’t heard about him in a while. He played on Stings version of Little Wing, twas a favorite back in the day. Fantastic channel btw!

[@Chiroman527]

I truly enjoy your Videos Rick... Clear & Simple delivery of the info and instruction. Man, How do you achieve that sweet Snare Sound.? THX

[@timurizhbulatov2116]

Hey, somehow that's pretty much what I was naturally trying to find when I just started getting familiar with drums. Relaxed hand! Reminds me of Rishad Shafi. It seems that all kind of drumming that came from ancient Osman and Great Mogul Empires have more of that feel as opposed to what stems from German military tradition. Thank you so much Rick!

[@torbjrnengan3689]

Wonderful .Thanks.

[@cephoras]

This is the best explanation of the push-pull technique I've seen - thanks, Rick!

[@StefanFeurich-pl9gz]

So great ...!

[@bradlloyd6261]

Yea Rick!

[@paintingholidayitaly]

Amazing sound

[@chrishanosh927]

Thank you for all you do. For me the reason I struggle with some bass drum placements is when they fall on the finger driven part of the 16th note pattern. I continue to work on this with the Funky Drummer groove wherever the hi hat barks or bass drum fall on these e or u notes. My brain is feeling the 8th notes as the pulse. OK can I get credit for my weak dissertation now😊

[@DrumsBah]

I feel this in my bones friend. For a while i was lazy and played the e and a notes linear to avoid addressing it. It is hard to not want to play the accented high hat hit. The exercise I used to improve this was to practice playing a triplet polyrhythm on the left hand or kick to develop the independence with the push pull on the right hand. Still in progress.

[@robvriens8812]

That meters groove is so nasty! Love it

[@magn8195]

This technique is also useful to play the song Fred by Tony Williams.

[@sethcashman1011]

Hi Rick, love your videos. Funny that you mentioned Woody, because he was the first one I saw using this technique, as well. (I used to go see him play with Jaco in the Village, too.) I can't remember if it was push/pull or the Johnny Rabb-style one-handed roll he copped from Magrus Borges, but he had this technique to which he referred as the Woodstroke. What a fabulous player.

[@robertmcgowan6894]

The push pull technique is a great thing to work on, and I really enjoyed your explanation. Also, what drums are you playing in that video? They sound wonderful! Thank you.

[@rickdior]

Thanks Those are Doc Sweeney African Olivewood Stave shells.

[@loucontino4804]

Rick, I think there is a push/pull method for the trad left hand as well. It's a drop squeeze, I believe. ? Just wondering if you could show that. Also for matched grip I assume the same method you show here on the right can be applied to the left.

[@darnelhillery4107]

Thank you, thank you Thank you!!!!

[@schoovaertssimon7904]

I used to pay 50 bucks an hour for this kind of teaching, and it wasn't quite as good. Thank you so much

[@HermesTrismegistes369]

Great video

[@SightNSoundBand]

Great lesson...very well explained...very clear...

[@SalMichael]

Excellent

[@bluephoenix1911]

Thank you for the very informative presentation. I'd like to ask how much do you use your thumb on the push-pull technique? Looks like it's about 45 degrees but I've seen other drummers, notably Mr. Ramon Montagner, use it in the extent of the French grip. i.e. it's actually doing most of the work.

[@rickdior]

Its about 50% with me. If you watch it in slow motion, you can see what's happening.

[@OfficialPablitoDrum]

Thanks for sharing this info! Hugs Rick, thanks for inspiring us with your playing!

[@davidiand7]

Great video!

[@drumlanguage4114]

Thanks for posting this - you’re a great drummer, man!

[@AmandaDalDrums]

This is great, thank you so much. You're a great drummer!

[@rickdior]

Thank you Amanda

[@eddietimbal48]

profe gracias por compartir sus enseñanzas

[@jeffreyalexander7504]

Nice lesson. You are using american grip. Can this be done with French grip?

[@JoeNocella]

Great stuff. I've never worked on this technique. I'm wondering how long it would take to develop it. How long do you think it would take an old dog to learn a new trick?

[@kevsdrumshed9078]

Excellent !

[@dr.rhythm1502]

Thank you.

[@BigTwig858]

great technique Rick............what drums are those in this video

[@rickdior]

Hi Tony That's a Doc Sweeney African Olivewood stave set. Great drums.

[@mrnickderaiche]

Thanks for posting this video, Mr. Dior. When you pull up the stick, does it touch any part of your palm? Also, for three-note groupings, say an up-tempo jazz-ride, is the middle note played on the way up or down?

[@briangettman1289]

I started playing drums long before KZbin and all of this free education. I actually miss going to the gig to learn techniques and expanding. Gave me the feeling of earning the knowledge in a way. It’s kinda ridiculous now. Seems like people especially the younger crowd has no appreciation for learning things on your own 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@powellrandolph]

Mostly the middle and ring finger doing the work? At fast tempos how high does your stick rebound? I’m having a hard time relaxing enough to break that mid to fast tempo barrier.

[@rickdior]

Hi The key is to let the stick bounce and then support it with your fingers, all of them basically. The wrist moves gently up and down. You then have to learn how to coordinate this with your left-hand comping which is different than doing that at slower tempos without this technique.

[@larrytate1657]

Wow great technique. I’ve been doing a shaft, tip technique on the hi hats for a while now but I’m not sure if that’s this or not. Maybe I need to focus on the fingers more on the up beat strokes?

[@larrytate1657]

Or is shaft tip a different technique altogether. When I watched my Todd Sucherman DVD Todd is great at shaft tip and he said to use an outward Wrist motion almost like fencing to get the second hit. I haven’t reach my goal yet with this shaft tip, should I try more fingers and make it a hybrid with this technique in your opinion? Thank you

[@rickdior]

Hi Larry This is a drop/bounce technique that uses mostly fingers. The shaft tip technique uses mostly wrist.

[@larrytate1657]

thanks for the feed back, I guess I’ll work on both techniques.

[@bluesky6449]

Rick- is your right hand thumb positioned higher up when doing push pull, compared to the normal grip? It looks like you've moved the thumb clockwise so the thumb's almost on top of the stick. Also, where in the right hand's index finger is the stick held on push pull- is the index finger's fulcrum in the 1st or 2nd bend in that finger itself? It moves up towards the 2nd bend when I'm holding the stick relaxed. And if the thumb rotates higher up, definitely in the 2nd bend.

[@rickdior]

No, but my arm is a bit higher so I can get all tip on the hi hat. My grip does not change but the space may look bigger because of the movement of the stick. Its always between the first and 2nd bend (joint) in my first finger and between the tip and bend of my thumb.

[@bluesky6449]

@@rickdior thanks- I wish I could get this down but have issues repeating each motion rapidly. It's like I can get 1 single with that catch down no problem and several at a slower speed but that's it before the motion loses it's momentum. I've watched several other explanations of this and can't grok it from an actual feel basis. I feel it would take an in-depth, slo-mo explanation first hand to get it properly imparted. It seems so close, but so far-- as my bounce-rebound and fingers techniques are solid enough, but they don't generate enough speed to use for the really fast Brazilian grooves/music you so perfectly executed here. Any other suggestions, short of a private lesson? :)

[@rickdior]

A lesson would help so I could see what you are doing. Just remember that the motion is bounced. If you are doing more than just dripping the stick and picking it up with your fingers you are doing it incorrectly.

[@bobmcentyre3607]

Thank you!!!

[@ryancox5097]

Rick, do you live in the Puget Sound area? I'm in Portland, but I lived in Tacoma for awhile. It would be cool to take a lesson from you some time.

[@rickdior]

Hi Ryan I am in Charlotte North Carolina. I do teach Skype lessons.

[@michaelorr3405]

Great Great Great

[@powellrandolph]

How involved is the bending of the thumb in this technique?

[@rickdior]

The thumb is very involved as is the index finger.

[@battenretraite]

Excellent... thank you french..

[@arensonl]

Thank you, Rick. Is this also what you’re doing for your double stroke rolls?

[@rickdior]

Hi Les I bounce my doubles with a little reinforcement from my fingers. There is no push pull involved in that.

[@josephg.bradetich3064]

Great

[@hommerecorder7003]

You have rhe right push pull feeling. Latin.

[@SuperDrumsforever]

So when playing matched grip does the push-pull technique work primarily for french and american grip? Could it be used in the german grip?

[@rickdior]

Hi You can try it with a french grip or any other grip but I have had much more success teaching it palm down.

[@magn8195]

Did Peter Erskine use this technique for The Chicken?

[@rickdior]

No, both Peter and Kenwood Dennard use either a push pull motion (you can look for my video on this) or a shaft tip wrist motion on the hi-hat to play fast one handed R&B patterns.

[@magn8195]

@@rickdior Oh, thanks!

[@daniel_alan_music6583]

This technique is very useful for causing massive amounts of alcohol consumption once you reach a level of frustration you've never experienced before 🙋

[@jaakkot9661]

Hi Rick. In my right hand I've noticed that when using the push/pull method my index finger sort of straightens (or gives in) which gives the stick a very unstable and non-linear path, and I also find it extremely hard to get a loud second stroke with my fingers. In my left hand, which is wrist dominant (instead of right hand, which has naturally progressed to the point that I play mainly with my thumb and index finger), the stick moves in a straight line and I'm able to get a much louder second stroke and consistent doubles. Is this a problem you've encountered in your students' playing? Excuse for this long message which might be a bit badly written, since English is not my first language. Greetings from Finland!

[@rickdior]

Hi That's hard to understand without watching you play. You can send a short video to [e-mail] and I will take a look.

[@WalterdaLima]

What ride is? Beautiful sound.

[@rickdior]

Hi That is a Sabian Jack Dejohnette Ride Cymbal prototype with rivets. It's a very dry cymbal.

[@WalterdaLima]

@@rickdior beautiful sound's ride. Another things i want to know is how much time(day, month, year) take to develop this ability. I ask because i study right now this technique using the gordy knudtson book, but i can't go fast. is already 6 month i study, but results on't coming. So is normally? because i have the sensation looking yours and all the video on KZbin that this technique is like immediately way to develop velocity trought a natural movement of the articulation of the body. So Where is the truth?

[@vitorboldrin1986]

how to do push pull using traditional grip?

[@rickdior]

I will have to do a video on that at some point or you can take a lesson with me. Its a bit more complicated.

[@vitorboldrin1986]

@@rickdior ok how much is the lessons?

[@rickdior]

Email me at rickdior@cgmail .com and we can talk about it

[@vitorboldrin1986]

@@rickdior alright

[@jodyguilbeaux8225]

that drumstick looks like a sequoia tree from the national forest. just kidding fantastic drumming and a good video. thanks

[@robpearson108]

Being a drummer for 30 years I tried to incorporate this technique into my playing, nope can't get it

[@davidbrown9395]

your "okay?" and "all right", especially after playing something very fast, difficult, and precise, sound just like Joe Morello.

[@toto321456]

It's look so easy... But just it look

[@DogbadTV]

The book URL gave a 404 Not Found

[@rickdior]

www.acousticbarn.com/rickspercussionsite/books.html

[@jarredgraffiti]

Gohead