The Fulcrum - What, Why, Where, When.

There is nothing secret or modern in what
I am writing about, do not think you need an
expensive video to learn what a fulcrum is or
how to use it in your playing.
You simply have to feel it.
You have hands with fingers and nerves to give
your mind all the feedback it needs for
you to be a virtuoso.

All over the internet are videos of drummers
demonstrating the fulcrum as they understand it.
They show you where they have it in their hand,
call it the pivot point and then proceed to let
go of it as they demonstrate what they call a rebound.
If you let go of the stick, then you no longer
have a fulcrum.
For a beginner watching one of these videos
it will be impossible to understand the importance
of a fulcrum or how it functions in drumming as he has
just been told one thing and then had something else
demonstrated
WHAT
So what the heck is a fulcrum?
Most dictionaries have a definition that reads like this.
"The point of support over which a lever changes direction."
WHY
Why do you need one?
Drummers have traditionally used the fulcrum to get the stick to bounce, or rebound on the snare drum to facilitate playing open or closed rolls.
WHERE
Now we arrive at the most confusing part for a beginner
to figure out, because on the drumset you will see drummers
play in a variety of grips and positions, which will all
employ one of three basic fulcrums. So which one is correct,
which one is best?
Everyone says to do it their way, so who's right?
WHEN
When playing the drumset, they all are. The drumset is a collection of percussion instruments that can all employ different playing techniques, so use what is appropriate for playing the instrument you are striking at the moment.

The beginner should first learn a fulcrum which will enable him to play open and closed rolls on the snare drum. The goal of the drummer in playing rolls is to produce a smooth sustained sound,
or what could be called a long tone.
In the video that declares to teach you Secret Techniques, the author Mr. Mayer says the fulcrum is between his thumb and index finger and he then demonstrates open rolls. His concept is to throw the stick down at the drum and then as it flies back up
he pulls it back down with his back fingers for the second strike, declaring that he was using the thumb and index as a fulcrum. This is one of the worst, misleading demonstrations I've ever seen. Mr. Mayer doesn't understand what a fulcrum is, at all, and he doesn't know how to use one to play rebounds on the snare drum.
Time to read that definition of a fulcrum again, "a point of support". If you hold the stick on it's sides with the thumb and index as Mr. Mayer demonstrates then you are not SUPPORTING it you are grasping it. For the fulcrum to function as a fulcrum
you must be underneath the stick, SUPPORTING it on a POINT.
The stick is supposed to rock over the fulcrum point to create the second note. Mr. Mayer's ignorance of what a fulcrum is, force's him to use his fingers to play the second note, instead of letting gravity do it for him, he wastes time and muscular energy to do what gravity can do quicker and more easily. That is the whole idea behind fulcrums, to move things efficiently in the pull of gravity.
If you let the sticks weight lie on the middle finger which is under the stick when your thumb and index are holding the stick, the middle finger is SUPPORTING the stick and the stick can pivot over it and it then functions as a classic fulcrum as defined by Archimedes centuries ago. With the stick resting on a fulcrum all it takes is a turn of the wrist up and down to get the stick moving over the fulcrum. With the stick resting on the fulcrum it is easy to get the secondary attack, and changing the pressure of your middle finger against the stick will alter the speed of the rebound and give you multiple rebounds which are suitable for playing closed rolls.
All it takes is one turn of the wrist up then down, then let gravity move the stick over the fulcrum for the secondary attack. If you are relaxed with the fingers and provide the stick a stable POINT OF SUPPORT the stick will rebound evenly up to four notes for one motion of the wrist. You do not need to pull with your fingers to make the secondary attacks equal to the first. Mr. Mayers rebound is unequal to the first attack because he slams the first note down from a high position.
If he used gravity in a more natural manner instead of fighting it, he wouldn't need to compensate by pulling with his fingers for the secondary attack.

Learning to roll and developing a fulcrum, will enable you use rebounds in your playing and control of rebounds is necessary for mastery of the rudiments.

There is nothing secret about fulcrums or how they work,
but understanding what they are and how you can use them
to manipulate a drum stick when you play will take a little more thought and understanding than apparently Mr. Mayer has given it.

When you bounce the drum stick like a ball and let go of it ,
you have no POINT OF SUPPORT, and when you have no point of
support, you have no fulcrum at all.