I have a couple Grady drums, my favorite by far is my 20"x4" Grady tuneable drum with a single metal slide bar attached with grip & strap. The slide has a strap attached so when holding it the back of your hand is against the slide & the bar while the strap is in the palm of your hand which thus has the heel of your palm against the inside of the drum skin, that also gives me what I refere to as a "back slap". While the heel of my palm is against the skin my 4 fingers can slap the skin so I can do a consent 4,4 or whatever beat with the 4 fingers of the left hand accenting any accompanyment or beat I'm getting out of my tipper in my right hand. It took a lttle getting used to & a bit of practice but after a while it's like driving a Caddy.

I sometimes still play & sing while standing but my balance is not nearly what it was before I broke my left ankle & smashed my right heel but when I do stand I'll let the weight of the drum cause it to almost free fall which is the same action as sliding my hand from the bottom of the drum to the top, stooping where ever I please & in reverse I lift my leg, balancing on one foot, push the drum upward. This action is the same as sliding my palm down the inside of the skin. I parcticed martial arts for yrs & I'd recommend studying Tae Kwon Do/JKD or any of the Philipino martial arts for balancing, it's also helps bodhran players to keep the assholes at bay.

Here's Mance play at the Berkley Percussion Festival

Here's another sound clip of Mance's playing.

Barry