How To Hold The Sticks & Turn Your Wrists

Learn proper technique from legends who have taught many of today’s best drummers. This course is fundamental to everything you will play.

This no bounce course, along with The Bounce Stroke and The Definitive Moeller Method / Outside Release® Motion, are three essential courses you should learn. They are fundamental to everything you play and will help you get the most out of your practice.

These lessons are built from courses in your DC library, where the world’s best educators break down what’s important and provide step-by-step instruction—just as they have for some of today’s greatest drummers.

In Lesson 1, Chad Wackerman provides an overview of proper technique. In Lessons 2-4, Ralph Humphrey teaches these fundamental concepts, just as he did at Musicians Institute and the Los Angeles College of Music.

In Lessons 5-9, Don Lombardi breaks down how Freddy Gruber explained to him the way Buddy Rich holds the sticks and turns his wrists.

What You Will Learn:

How to Hold the Stick
Correct Wrist Turns
Correct Fulcrum Placement
Wrist and Forearm Motion
Wrist, Forearm, and Finger Motion
The Importance of Being Relaxed

Chad Wackerman

Chad Wackerman is a first-call studio drummer and world-renowned educator. He has amassed a remarkable body of work, including a seven-year association with Frank Zappa. He has recorded albums and toured with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Barbara Streisand, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, and Andy Summers. His course, the Murray Spivack Method, will give you the foundation for everything you will play.

Don Lombardi

Don Lombardi founded Drum Workshop in 1972 as a teaching studio, giving 40 to 50 lessons a week. He studied with Nick Ceroli, Colin Bailey, and was one of Freddy Gruber’s first students, documenting Freddy’s teachings on Buddy Rich’s technique. Active in the LA club scene until DW began manufacturing in 1978, Don holds over 30 patents, but education has always been his passion, leading him to launch Drum Channel to share knowledge from the world’s top educators.

Joe Porcaro

Joe Porcaro (April 29, 1930 – July 6, 2020) was a renowned jazz and studio drummer and percussionist known for his prolific studio work and contributions to film scores. He collaborated with artists like Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Sarah Vaughan, and Pink Floyd, and performed on numerous soundtracks with composers such as John Williams and James Newton Howard. A respected educator, Porcaro co-founded the Los Angeles College of Music and was the father of Jeff, Mike, and Steve Porcaro of the band Toto.

Ralph Humphrey

Ralph Humphrey is a legendary drummer and educator whose career spanned over five decades. He served as Drum Department Head and partnered with Joe Porcaro to write the drum set curriculum for both Musicians Institute and Los Angeles College of Music. This is the same curriculum used by their longtime student Mike Packer in The Drum Channel Method, along with Drum Channel lessons taught by Ralph Humphrey. He mentors thousands of students, many of whom have become top touring and recording artists. Ralph also performed and recorded with icons such as Frank Zappa, Don Ellis, Al Jarreau, and Natalie Cole, and contributed to numerous film and television productions like The Simpsons, Animaniacs, and Dancing with the Stars.

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