Q&A for How to Hold a Drumstick

Grips don't always stay the same throughout a song. I change my grip as it needs to depending on where my hands feel comfortable at the moment and how they'll react to the drum strike and the sound the sticks are creating. Do I want a rimshot? A side stick? I change it up all the time, and when you practice a lot, you'll find yourself unknowingly adjusting your grip, too!

Well the easiest would probably be the matched grip, but you can choose whatever grip you like best. If you practice enough, you can master drumming with any grip.

Technique is supposed to make what you want to play easiest and the most efficient. If you can justify what you're doing somehow, great! Personally, I think resting the stick on my 2nd joint (the middle joint) gives you the most control and keeps the stick from sliding around in my hand too much.

Yes, this is correct. If you have the thumb firmly on the top of the stick, not only are you not using proper match grip, you can also get into bad habits and injure your thumb.

You should use German, but between American and French, you should use American.

German/American grip builds a better foundation for a beginner drummer than French. German/American often allows faster playing and easier flexibility.

It doesn't need to strictly be wrapped around and under the stick, but I would recommend having the index finger support the bottom of the stick somehow. Having it off to the side seems like it would forfeit all control from that finger. It all depends where you want your fulcrum! If you want it further up, you definitely need to use your index finger. If you want if farther back (a lot of drum corps teach this) then your index finger is less important.

Yes, using traditional grip to perform in marches, since is easier to perform on tilted drums.