Dynamic Drumming

Dynamic drumming uses up and down strokes (the Moeller Technique) which allow drummers to combine soft and loud notes in any sequence.  By doing this drummers can avoid having a flat or monotone sound.  Dynamic drumming creates a more varied and interesting musical landscape.

The key concept here is that height equals volume. A note played from a low height is quiet and one played from high is loud. The difficulty is in combining these two different approaches simultaneously.

You may have noticed these movements as you watch a great drummer play.  At times their sticks are very low to the drums resulting in a very quiet sound.  At other times you will see their forearms rise up to produce a louder sound, as well as combinations of the two.  Drummers use gravity and the natural rebound of the drums combined with efficient movement.  This allows for the creation of an exciting and varied sound scape.

In this video I outline the technique whereby we play a quiet note low as we lift the stick high to follow with a loud note.  Initially we will be analyzing our movement very closely to be sure that we are moving correctly.  However, it is not uncommon for this type of movement to develop naturally as a drummer persues a more dynamic approach.  

This technique is also called the Moeller Technique after Sanford Moeller who described the method after observing drummers who had fought in the American Civil War in the 19th century.

As with any new drumming concept be sure to practice it slowly and deliberately so as to avoid bad habits.