What separates HingeStix from other practice drumsticks? It’s the ease of understanding the rebound and how it can actually change your playing.
These comments below are from a satisfied HingeStix customer.
"Just wanted to give you a quick word of thanks for the video lesson on Joe Morello's method of playing George Lawrence Stone's stick control exercises on the drum set. It really helped me change my thinking and definitely improved my practice routine for Jazz."
The customer continues...
"As far as the HingeStix are concerned, it immediately registered with me and I understood what you were trying to get at as far as simplifying motion, playing two beats really with one motion. Needless to say the results were immediate as far as my ability to solo effortlessly around the drum kit because, in fact, I was using two motions in some cases, where I should have been using one...I'm sure you understand.
If I ever get back to the New York/ Philadelphia area from here in New Orleans where I live now, I’d like to get together for a lesson with you. Thanks again."
So what does the customer mean by "playing one stroke instead of 2 strokes" to improve his playing?
HingeStix actually work to help drummers understand 1 motion playing (the full stroke) vs 2 motion playing (the down stroke and then the up stroke). If you can play by letting the rebound work, the stick will automatically come back up to let you play the next stroke more easily than if you grab the stick when it comes down (1st motion) and then bring it up again to get ready for the next stroke (2nd motion). That’s not allowing the rebound to work. And it requires too much energy to execute these 2 motions.
Check out the video below to see what I mean.
Note that playing in the first part of the videos there’s a STOP at the bottom of my left handed strokes. That’s because I’m playing a DOWN stroke and then an UP stroke, making two strokes. HingeStix allows you to learn how to control and feel the correct rebound response (this time in my right-handed strokes) because the "hinges" allow the stick to freely rotate around the fulcrum, allowing you to feel the FULL stroke which only requires one stroke, one motion. This makes playing more efficient, smoother, easier, and requires less effort and therefore reducing fatigue.
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