Drumsticks Stick

How To Master The Moeller Method

If you've been around drums and the drum community long enough you will hear all about the moeller method. It's almost as famed and revered as the drummers who have used it. Players like Dave Weckl, Jim Chapin, Dom Famularo, and Ralph Humphrey have applied this technique to develop incredible speed, power, fluidity and most important of all clarity of sound.

The Moeller Method is the brainchild of Sanford A. Moeller, who described the technique after observing the way Civil War drummers struck the drum in the late 1800s. He outlined the system in his book The Art of Snare Drumming, also called The Moeller Book. He later taught the system to Jim Chapin who worked to popularize this method until his death in 2009.

The Moeller method is a technique that makes use of the rebound that the drum produces and allows you to play with greater ease, feel and relaxation. When mastered it will maximize the control and speed of your drumsticks; ultimately improving your overall drumming. The Moeller method is a technique used by many professional drummers, so it's definitely worth learning and finding out for yourself what it can do for you.

Here's some of the benefits of the Moeller method.

Stick Control
Practicing the moeller technique will help to develop your awareness and feel for your drumsticks. You learn how to grip your drum sticks properly, how to strike the drum properly and how to let the stick rebound properly. This unique approach will enable you to get maximum bounce and control from your strokes. For a video lesson on how to do the technique type jim chapin moeller method into youtube and also dave weckl moeller method for a proper demonstration.

Power Once you have discovered the proper way to hold your drumsticks and strike the drum, you will notice something - you are far more powerful. You can hit the drum with the same amount of effort but produce a much bigger sound, volume and resonance. With this technique, you will be able to get the most power out of your drumsticks with very little work at all. Learning the Moeller method will also help to increase your overall dynamics on the drum set.

Speed Probably one of the biggest benefits you will see from the Moeller method is the increased speed of your drumsticks. The Moeller method teaches you how to use the rebound of your stick to control the amount of strokes you get from each hit. When you have the Moeller method mastered, you will be able to get anywhere from 2 to 6 (or more) strokes for each hit of the drum. You can only imagine how much faster you could drum with the ability to get 4 times the amount of strokes from your basic drum roll.

Sound By letting the stick bounce freely, as you do with the moeller technique, instead of mashing it into the drum you will find that you produce a much larger and brighter sound from the drums. They are able to resonate fully and fill the room the way they are supposed to.

Whether or not you decide to fully integrate the Moeller Method into your everyday playing is up to you but at least work with it in the practice room for a while. The increased control, power and endurance are definitely worth the investment in time.

About the Author

Titch Davidson is editor in chief at TheDrumNinja.com. He co-founded the site in 2010 to help drummers of all levels improve their playing through video lessons, drumming articles and interviews with famous drummers.

 

Online Drum Lessons | Drummer Interviews | TheDrumNinja.com

Drumsticks Stick

Comments are closed.