Topic: Smaller hands, thiner sticks

[Falcao]

I'm kind of tired of practicing only with heavier sticks. I think my finger control isn't at its full potencial because I have small hands so my grip on a 2B is a little stiff. What do you gyus think?

[Gretschn]

I have had the same problem you have in the past. 2b's are nice if you need some power. But if you go down one size to a 5B you can still get a good amount of power and depending on your chops a good deal of speed as well. I would definitely reccomend downsizing. If you are doing the correct drumming excercises you can build strength in your wrists and fingers. Also keep in mind if you downsize to much you might find the bounce you get in larger sticks is less prevalent. I would go down just one size and see how you like it.

[William Leslie]

I have small hands and the only reason I work out with bigger sticks is the after effect. When I go back to my normal sticks, it seems as to go easier for me and gives me the lite touch I want, plus with a little effort I can go harder without over riding the other guys. Hope that made sense to you. It sounded ok when I wrote it.

[Mark Schlipper]

I have big hands and cant imagine playing with anything larger than a 5A.

Honestly I believe you should play with the sticks most comfortable to you.   And you should practice with what you play with.    Sure bigger sticks can help with some things, but if they arent your norm, they are just a temporary tool and ultimately a disposable option.

[Paul L]

Size 2B is appropriate for snare drum in marching band, but they seem a bit large for drumset playing.  For my small hands, I like 5A or 5B.

[bilkay]

I have big hands and cant imagine playing with anything larger than a 5A.

Honestly I believe you should play with the sticks most comfortable to you.   And you should practice with what you play with.    Sure bigger sticks can help with some things, but if they arent your norm, they are just a temporary tool and ultimately a disposable option.

Yeah, what he said!

Everything about your kit (including the sticks) should be as comfortable as possible.  Confidence and conviction will improve as a result.

[Falcao]

Yeah, thanks guys.

[snorkman]

They are all right. Ihave large hands and play with 5a's.
 Different sizes of sticks produce a totaly different sound on the same set. On light/brighter songs,I use light jazz sticks. Experiment.

[russelljd]

i have small hands but like to play with 5b's and anything that is pretty long. if a stick is long i have to put less effort in for a more powerful sound. 5a's are a nice size but i find i break them easily and i tend to let go of them if i use the ride cymbal alot. i don't know why though.

[Jon E]

When I started in elementary school 2B's were the norm.

They didn't feel too big or too small.  It was just what you used.

[BVSCfanatic]

i have small hands but like to play with 5b's and anything that is pretty long. if a stick is long i have to put less effort in for a more powerful sound.

Yes, this reflects my experience too.  I have small hands.  I'm 5'2" and weigh about 120#.  Small for a guy, right?  And when I began drumming, which isn't that long ago, I only was comfortable with a thinner and lighter and shorter stick (7A or Vater Pro-Rock for example).  But I began experimenting and soon found that I was quite comfortable with sticks like Vater Power 5B's and even larger.  These sticks help me get more bang with less work.  I like them.  I practice on a pad with a 2B.  

 

[mfran]

the 5B I went for mid-gig once as the band's volume got out of control.  Though it felt more powerful, I had no control with the 5B and felt "ham-fisted" as they say.  5A is the largest I'll go now.

for practice or a low-volume gig, promark 7A's are super light and feel great.   When I need just bit more power, the same 7A but in a vic firth stick is a little meatier.  

When I am trying to light my gong on fire before we do Stonehenge, I use a medium mallet.  

[thealmightytaco]

I'm not sure how my hands compare but they don't seem any bigger than anyone else I know, and here's my rather different story.

I used to use 5A's but would get terrible cramp in my hands from trying to hold them, generally just before the hour long mark. After years of trying to loosen my grip I stepped up to 2B's and magically the problem disappeared, due purely to the larger contact area from the larger diameter. So I didn't have to grip it, it just sat there.

Promark's were the perfect weighting and everything but they wore out too quickly so now I use Vic Firth Metals. These were considerably harder to move but I began "modifying" them, cutting the bottom inch and a quarter off and now they're perfect. So much for computer matching of pairs though.

[nudrum]

Thicker sticks would require less of a pinch of the fingers (less strength and muscle tension) to hold them, like the thicker writing pens that are coming out. These pens were first designed for people with arthritis, but are used by more and more of us aging babyboomers. They are easier to hold, the pens and 2B sticks.
My problem would be that they (the 2B sticks ) would kill on a drumset, especially the cymbals.
That gives me an idea for lightweight grips for thinner sticks.....hmmmmmmm

[JayB]

I am also a short guy, with small hands.  I am 5'2" 115# and I always HAD to play the HUGE ralph hardimons on marching snare in HS, so I am acclimated to large sticks.  However, I love my Zildjian 6as for EVERYTHING, including hard rock.  MY technique is a lot better with smaller sticks.  My advice is to try every stick you can until you find something that you like.  As far as stick breakage with my 6a's, I play metal sometimes, and have yet to break one.  I play hard too.  Bigger sticks take longer for us to get used to, but I doubt you have smaller hands than I do, and I am doing well...good luck