Drumsticks: length and rebound do the work

Sticks are the cheapest decision in drumming and one of the few that changes how you play the same day you make it. Most beginners buy whatever pair is nearest the till, and most beginners then spend a year fighting the stick instead of using it.

Brian's preference is specific and it is about physics, not taste.

Brian says: "I like a real long stick that has a lot of rebound. The stick does a lot of work for you when it's longer and has a lot of rebound."

That sentence is the whole guide, but it is worth unpacking, because "the stick does the work" is not a figure of speech.

Rebound, and why you should let it happen

Drop a stick on a tuned drumhead and it bounces. That bounce is free energy. A drummer who fights it - gripping hard, pushing the stick down, stopping it dead after every stroke - is doing by hand what the head was going to do anyway, and paying for it in tension, speed and stamina.

Learning to play is largely learning to stop interfering. Hold the stick firmly enough that it cannot fly away and loosely enough that it can come back up. The classic test is easy to do at home: hold one stick, drop it on a drum from a few inches, and let it bounce freely until it stops. If it dies after two bounces, your hand is squeezing.

A livelier stick makes that lesson easier to learn, which is the practical argument for Brian's preference.

Length: reach and leverage

A longer stick gives you two things.

Reach. You can sit further back, set the kit wider, and get to a ride or a far crash without leaning. On a big setup this alone is worth it.

Leverage. More stick past your hand means more speed at the tip for the same movement at the wrist, and a bounce that comes back higher.

The trade is control. A long stick is heavier at the far end, so small quiet strokes take more attention, and it can feel unwieldy on a tight kit or in a small room. It is a preference, not a rule, and Brian is stating his rather than prescribing yours.

The numbers on the side, briefly

Sticks carry a code like 7A, 5A, 5B or 2B. The convention is old and slightly illogical: the number is about thickness, where a lower number is generally a thicker stick, and the letter is the original intended setting - A for dance bands, B for concert bands, S for street and marching. Nobody uses them that way now.

What you need from it in practice:

• 7A - thin and light. Easy on the hands, quiet, and it dents fast.
• 5A - the default. If you own one pair, own this one.
• 5B - noticeably thicker. More weight, more volume, more effort.
• 2B - thick and heavy. Popular for practice and for loud rooms.

The far more useful measurement is the one printed nowhere: pick up two pairs and feel where the balance point sits.

Tip material and shape, last on the list

Wood tips sound warmer on a ride; nylon tips are brighter and last longer on cymbals. Round tips give a more focused cymbal sound, barrel tips a broader one. These are real differences and they are the smallest ones on this page. Nobody has ever failed to learn a beat because of a tip shape.

What to buy first

Buy two or three pairs of the same model, not one pair each of three models. You want a stick that feels identical when you break one, and you will break one.

Two things to check on the rack before you pay: roll each stick along a flat counter and reject any that wobble, and tap both sticks and reject a pair that ring at obviously different pitches. Warped and mismatched sticks are common even in good shops.

Then leave it alone for a few months. Changing sticks every week is a way of avoiding practice that feels like research.

When to change

Change when a stick has a real dent where it meets the rim, when the shaft has gone furry, or when your hands hurt in a way that stops when you switch. Change models when something specific is wrong - too loud, too tiring, cannot reach - and not because a video told you what a professional uses.

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Get the next guide by email. One short email when the next guide is written, and the three ways to make a kit quieter to start you off: send me the tips.

Want the hour that makes it click? Brian teaches beginners in Austin, outdoors, and the first lesson is 45 minutes for $29 - sticks included: book a first lesson.