Open handed redux

This but just me looking like an A-hole

This is a long one. This is what happens every time the subject of “open handed” drumming is raised online— a kind of church revival of drumming wrongness forms. 

It's why I have a blog, so I can correct rafts of grossly wrong things said about drumming, without having to fight every single person I see. Remember the “Crazy 88s” fight in Kill Bill? It'd be like that, except the end result is that I just look like kind of an A-hole. 

So here we have a forum question from someone experiencing problems playing open-handed— they're playing left handed on a right handed drum set— greatly edited for length:

Been playing off and on for four years— open-handed, which felt natural. I hit random hard brick walls with my playing and thought it was due to the following:

Left hand = weaker/slower/less endurance. Fingers don't have finesse. 

My body wants to lead with the right and I'd struggle with getting back to the groove unless I lead with my left. [Unclear to me what this means. -tb]

I felt I should be further along, so I got a teacher this year, who let me continue playing open. Then I was struggling with some parts to songs I'm learning, and he suggested trying playing crossed. [That's what open-handed people call playing right handed on a right handed set. -tb] and I have been. 

I suck at it. It feels like I'm starting over. I feel clumsy, sticks are clashing, dropping sticks, etc. My teacher advised me to take it SLOW and basically build myself back up. It has been humbling.

I'm getting bummed out. Feels like I ran 7 miles down the wrong path. Part of me is like, "if you keep strengthening that left hand and working on left hand leads you can do it" and the other part is like "if you just learn to play cross you'll probably blow past those barriers that were originally giving you issues in the first place".

Clearly, he's struggling with some fundamentals— his cymbal hand, which should be his most practiced hand by now, is weak. That his teacher, who wasn't against him playing open-handed, suggested that he switch to playing normal right handed drums, suggests to me that his playing is in such a rough state that making such a big change doesn't matter— he was going to have to rebuild the student's playing from scratch anyway. That was the situation when I made the same recommendation to a couple of students.     

He unknowingly created a difficult situation for himself, playing open handed and trying to copy things played by people who weren't playing that way. He'll have to make up a lot of one-off solutions to play things that were part of a natural flow for the person he's copying. We've replaced a naturalistic approach with a contrived one.  

On the forum where the question was posted, people were quick to give a lot of beliefs framed as definitive answers. Most of them should have been phrased as questions, like is my thinking about this right? Here I'm going to treat them as questions. I have seen all the major points below again and again, suggesting they're sources of confusion for a lot people. 

Let's put all of that below a page break— it really does go on awhile...

1. [posts a video of Simon Phillips talking]

There are half a dozen exceptional players whose names come up in every single conversation on this topic, begging the question: in what way are you similar to Simon Phillips, other than you hit the ride cymbal with your left hand? You would have to work extremely hard over many years to begin having your playing life be remotely relatable to his. I, like Picasso, own a pencil. 

2. Honestly man I think the best way to play the kit is to not think open or closed, right hand/left hand lead at all but just play music and be able to move dynamically between them. Simple rudiments like paradiddles, doubles, single strokes, some flams and accents, and practicing them with all your limbs helps with this. Then you can just sit and make music no matter what’s in front of you.

“Closed” is another thing this subgroup calls playing normally. The answer given here is to simply become extremely technically and creatively proficient leading/riding with either hand, but to not think about leading/riding with either hand during your journey to total, final proficiency. It's a lifetime goal for many people, usually unattained, offered here as a preliminary solution to this very unformed drummer's problem. 

3. I’m [a left handed person who plays conventionally right handed]. I gave the open-handed technique a whirl many years ago but decided I was too dug-in playing the way I always had.

But….there’s no way I’d switch if I were you. Open-handed makes way too much sense, and you gain nothing playing awkwardly with your right hand over your left.

Use exercises to enhance your left hand and you’ll be happy you stayed with it.

People's belief in it as dogma is so strong they'll ignore their personal experience with it and make strong recommendations just on theoretical grounds. Playing open-handed makes sense from one perspective— if you look at a drumset with no idea of how to play it— and it makes no sense at all from another perspective— knowing how to play the drums, and (mostly) training one hand to ride with, even if the thing you're riding on at the moment, the hihat, is slightly inconveniently placed. 

4. Stick with your natural body movements. That's where the sound comes from.

Your natural body movements are, you can't play the drums. A lot of students will follow what feels natural into some very bad technique. It can take a lot of work for good technique to follow “natural movements”, and feel natural.  

5. Maybe just put the ride on the right and do both? Seems like you ought to hold on to the open handed skills you have won

Another maximalist answer for a struggling novice: simply do everything.

It's not clear that the questioner here has any skills to lose. And everything you practice has some effect on your abilities as a player, it doesn't go away because you changed something else. Which is not always a good thing— we end up fighting with things we practiced wrongly. 

6. Are you left handed or right handed?

It doesn't matter. 

7. I'm a lefty playing openhanded, so a reversed righthanded setup but with the ride on the right as well.

When I started playing, I tried the usual righthanded setup with hands crossing but after some experimenting, I settled on this. I would never switch to cross handed again, that isn't more economic for me and won't make me play better.

I'm also used to having my hihat pretty low, just above the snare, which isn't particularly handy playing cross handed.

I just had to work a bit harder on playing hihat/ride patterns with my weaker right hand. But you can try different setups / playing styles for a while and choose what you like best.

You could also try some independence / coordination exercises to maybe break from your usual playing style. I did some of those a while ago and they were pretty useful.

This is what people preoccupy themselves with, tinkering with their set up, and compensating for the hindrances it creates. We have no idea how well this drummer actually plays. 

I should point out, again, that “cross-handed” is not an actual drumming orientation, any cross-handedness or stickedness is incidental hitting the hihat when playing right handed, using that hand to do all your riding. 

8. I started mixing in open-handed playing almost 30 years, and I will lead left or right depending on a number of factors. I would only say that nothing is really wasted but you have to put time in and keep some patience and just keep learning.

I think there are some misconceptions of what it brings, and if all you are doing is mirroring, then it's a big waste of time and I don't advise. While it does build finesse + endurance on your opposite sides w/ better surface independence and you can play many of the same things either way, I've found that embracing the differences have had the most benefit, as perfectly even is not possible. For instance, certain groove feels are very different despite technically playing the same thing, that musical option is very beneficial. Also I can put a snare or ride anywhere you want, suddenly even a small kit has greater number of musical options. And in the process of improvising, different ideas can start to come out of the work you put in.

That's all fine, but not things this very unformed player should be thinking about. On the drum set, he's supposed to be learning how to play basic stuff in time. 

9. [A song the questioner mentioned playing] is a moderate tempo song. Reading between the lines a bit, is your main issue coordinating your non-dominant side left hand hi hat/ride playing with your dominant side right foot kick?

Reason I ask is because practicing stick control to evenly and consistently execute playing techniques with your left and right hands is something you need to do no matter whether you play open or cross armed. With practice, you should be able to move all around your kit with either or both hands fluidly. Sometimes your arms will be crossed, sometimes they’ll be open. Sometimes it helps to position elements of your kit to be more ergonomic to the way you play.

In contrast, leading songs with your non-dominant side (left hand/left foot if you’re a right handed person), is what I’d consider a more advanced, optional technique that’s aimed more towards the topic of limb independence. The reason I consider this optional is because if you can already perfectly play a song like that with your dominant side leading, there’s no requirement for you to learn how to play it with your non-dominant side leading too.

I don't disagree with a lot of this, except there is no such thing as “cross armed” drumming. Crossing arms is not a normal state in any playing orientation. And natural limb dominance is irrelevant. Acquired limb dominance— one hand being your main lead/ride hand, acquired through practice— matters a lot, it's a major organizing principle for how you play the drums. 

10. I would say, you can do both. But, I would lean towards not crossing over. If you sit a child of 3 at a drum set, which I have done many times, they will pick up the sticks matched grip and play their hands uncrossed.

Playing crossed is something I grew up with from the late 60's only because that's what I saw people do and that was how I was taught. That came about because the hi hat, which as you know, originally was a lowboy sock cymbal part of the Con-TRAP-tion os percussion, was raised up higher to snare drum level to be used to swing on. Since rock drumming came about from mostly jazz players, they raised the hi hats even more and integrated the cross playing into the rock beats.

The key to open playing is to get the left side to occur as naturally as the right side. Your issue may be that your left hand is not as adept as your right hand, join the club on that if you are right handed. Ian Pace [Paice], a left handed drummer has the same issue, though with his right hand. The best you can strive for is independence in every limb.

Marco Minuteman [Minneman] has a fantastic method where he plays rudiments between left/right foot against right hand/left foot is one way that helps. Gary Chester's Method, which I went through with Gary, is another. There are certainly others. Maybe try practicing getting both hands to push/pull together in quarters, eight notes, triplets, sixteenths and thirty second notes could help you in both the feel and technique departments. I use it to establish that rocking motion that gives your grooves the lilt for feel in your playing. Rick Dior has some great U-Tube vids up on this. Look into it.

I don't understand why some people don't take actual drum lessons from a 3 year old child. Walk your talk. I'm going to go find a guy who doesn't know how to operate a chain saw and get some insight on the best way to do that.  

But the solution offered, again, to someone struggling with the fundamentals of playing the instrument, is to get into a lot of really advanced independence materials. That is a terrible suggestion. It's not supposed to be that hard. It should not be made to be that hard for beginners/novices. 

11. I have a hard time understanding how your left could be weaker, slower and have less endurance if you've been playing open handed for so long. Your left should at least be equal to everyone else's right. You are already miles ahead of all of us that play "crossed over" wishing we could play a little more open handed. There are definitely more advantages playing open than crossing.

The weird thing is the usual ride placement (for right handed players) is technically Open handed already. A few players that use the Auxiliary/Remote Hats on the right are also playing open handed. The only limit is that pedal for the hi-hat. Right foot is usually taken up by the Bass Drum and that just leaves the left foot to operate the Hi-Hat.

I do understand how his left hand could be weaker: his playing is in a very rough state. 

Another person struggling with the concept of the difference between “open” and “non-open”, as if there's some meaningful playing change involved in using the same hand to ride on something on the right vs. something on the left. 

12. I find it interesting that you started to question your technique when trying to cover a song. You wanted to produce a certain sound.

You can play anything either way, but the sound will be slightly different. If I were to cover a Simon Phillips song, I would play open-handed. If I were to cover a Papa Jo Jones song, I would play the traditional way.

I like to use the example of Roy Haynes, who often plays "open-handed" unisons on hi-hat and snare/toms when soloing, but always rides with his right hand. It's a sound.

Same discussion basically with traditional grip vs. matched grip: you get different sounds more easily with a certain technique. 

Nuances of sound are, and should be, the furthest thing possible from what the questioner should be thinking about— which is elementary coordination, rhythm, and vocabulary. 

Duplicating other players' performances on particular songs, right down to hand orientation, is not playing. Usually the goal is to learn to play the instrument and make your own performance.  

The Roy Haynes example is not open handed in any sense other than hand position. Usually it suggests a time keeping thing involving some independence, not simply briefly hitting a unison rhythm while soloing.   

13. I envy your ability to play open handed. At one point I [tried it and gave it up].

If I were in your shoes I would consider trying to evolve and possibly combine both, even within the same song if it flows for your playing style, personality and comfort. I would also recommend getting a remote hi-hat which can be mounted on the right near your ride cymbal. I got rid of my double pedal to do that and never looked back...partly because I could never get a double pedal down.

Beyond that though, the opportunity to reach toms with my left hand during a groove, to be able to play more open with my left on the snare and to have my right hand in a more natural position were all great benefits. Plus I have two very different sounding sets of hats, which provides another voice option.

You seem to have a lot of focus for the instrument and a desire to not rest on your laurels. I respect that tremendously. If I were in your position, I wouldn't want to limit my toolkit. I'd want to expand it by developing both. And if you create your own style in the process...so much the better.

Last thing...and this I can say with absolute assuredness...teachers don't have all the answers - especially one you pay. Students usually have the best answers inside them, waiting to be nudged and encouraged. I say this as a teacher, not a drum teacher, but an ELA teacher. I try to treat my classroom like an art room as much as possible. In order to create, to be an artist (in this case a writer) nothing should be off the table The more outside the box you go, the more special your creation has the potential to become.

Take your risks and build what you love. If you break the mold, which it sounds like you have the potential to do by continuing to build both, I think you'll be more satisfied with your playing and new possibilities will continue to present themselves.

This is fantasy football, setting the stage for an imaginary playing situation and (most likely) never working it out in practice.

It's very strange to suggest that teachers you pay are particularly compromised in re: giving you good information. I don't know what he thinks teachers do that makes them so untrustworthy when you pay them to pay attention to your learning needs. 

And of course, the problem is, the questioner has no toolkit, no laurels to rest on.
 

14. If the left hand mirrors the right hand placement and movements that's the goal. I've had to make many adjustments along the way. And the more you inspect both hands you just know when things aren't "mirroring." It's just a slow process imo...that takes time. Not so much drilling hours and hours at once....but probably 5-15 min sessions several times a day would be better imo.

It's both repetition and time. If I "drill" too much I can get some wrist and forearm soreness....and back down. Best to not to go there. Less and more often is better imo than a LOT all at once. Your hands "remember" more of what they did just a few hours ago. But after 24 hrs, or days, they don't remember so well. Become an expert on what the right hand does well....and make the left do the same thing....

even if it never will get there.....because the right hand continues to improve and stays ahead of the left. And you become your own "expert" on what each hand is doing and how that feels. Each session should have you questioning what each hand did. Questions lead to knowledge and expertise. When I started my matched grip quest the stick would slowly slide down my hand no matter what.

It took me a couple years of fixing minor grip issues to better match my right. It doesn't happen anymore as my hands are close to mirror images now. But.....my left fingers aren't as active and precise on the stick....which is the current battle.

In short, the solution is to become very invested in battling technical issues, and have that be most of your experience with this instrument. 

15. When I retired several years ago I started to play drums again. As I felt like I was starting anew I decided to play open-handed, having been influenced by Simon Phillips in an earlier stage of life.

I lowered the HH's and positioned them as close as possible to the snare, but I did leave the ride on the right side (this is due more to making it easier for me to get behind the kit than anything else - if my room were just a bit wider, the ride would be on the left side).

Material wise I initially focused on Benny Greb's "The Language of Drumming" to work through coordination/independence/interdependence exercises. I found this alphabet based 'grid' system to be easy to understand and saw the potential results from applying the system. The last four years I've solely worked from Joel Rothmans "Compleat Rock Drummer" book. I play the bulk of the material with L on HH's and a small percentage with R on ride. If a fill is on the snare (or pad work) it is primarly with L lead and a small percentage with R lead. I love adding toms into the fills because I have to think of different solutions to get around the kit for a given rhythm for L and R hand leads. I typically take a rhythm and play variants on snare (as written, unaccented), snare w/accents, snare/toms, snare/bass (as single and double bass substitutions for hands, with permutations). I'm having a blast working through all these rhythms and look forward to practicing every day.

One of my first goals was to get that left hand equal and on par to the right. However, I realized that isn't going to happen in a Captain Obvious flash of brilliance, because the limbs themselves ARE different (splitting hairs for a moment, consider different size & shape, bone/muscle densities, strength/endurance, initial wiring to the mind, wear & tear, etc...). To a casual observer, my L & R hand abilities may appear quite similiar now, but they do 'feel' different and perform slightly different, even with all the work I've put in on the pad and kit. My right lead can crank up a few BPM faster, can be a bit cleaner, and at the end of a session feel a bit less fatigued. Were not machines so there is going to be some disparity. I'm OK with that, and now view myself on a continuum working at closing the gap. So the bottom line is that I'm glad I made the swtich to open-handed playing. My left is much better than it would have been otherwise. I'm now playing things I would have never played other wise and my thought process is likewise improved as well (in conjuction with using material from JR CRD book mentioned earlier).

So, I'd say don't give up on it. If you feel you're at a plateau, set a goal and aim for a new peak.

As far as stuff to work on, I always recommend the JR CRD book as it's a great reference to have in the library... I consider it the best bang for the buck going. I also recommend Benny Greb's 'LoD' concept to work on. I recall seeing much of the instruction video on YT as well, if you're interested in checking out the concept. The material came with a poster/learning aid that is really the heart of the system and is a great reference to have available/displayed as well. Rather than repost info on 'LoD' I'll just link what I've shared before (includes my simplified image of the 'alphabet' too. I thought the orignal version was a bit noisy visually, newer versions of the official poster have be simplified visually, but [ugh] have a black backgound).

I think a good portion of the online drumming community consists of older enthusiasts, who may not have accomplished much with their playing, but have consumed a lot of online literature, and want to teach, without actually being qualified to do so. 

We're online here, of course, but I hope everyone reading is involved in really improving their playing, at whatever level they are able, and not this kind of endless musing.  

16. I wish I could play open handed. I think that's one of the best technique kinds of things to learn on the drums. 

Again, how would this person know? 

17. If you are right handed, I strongly suggest you play right-handed.

A long time ago I spent about two years playing left-hand ride on the Hats. (I'm right handed) I finally figured out it was holding me back. Went back to normal and immediately saw improvement.

Play to your strengths, not your weaknesses. Nobody cares how you get the sound, they just want it to sound and feel good.

If one hand is stronger, faster and has more nuance, that's the hand you should ride with.

I would phrase that differently: build on what you have achieved. Get better at the things you're best at. Based on what you have practiced, not on what was easiest when you couldn't play anything. 

18. Gary Chester played with 3 (!) hihats ? i like to add a closed aux hh on the right.. ofcourse that was for double pedal playing, but with other grooves it's very handy too.. and you can still play 'open' hihat barks left hand, and open handed right.. some players have really good 'lead' hand ability in both hands (Simon Phillips, Aaron Thier) and i'm not talking about just playing moeller 8th notes on the hihat, that's easy but that is a choice (where do you put time into) many gospel drummers still play 'crossed' they do the hihat 'flick' with their left hand in grooves, and they're not switching it up.. their ghost note ability and lead hand finesse isn't just easily 'turned around' in hands, but a 'weak' hand is much weaker than some may think, do the metronome bpm test (l-r) your non dominant hand might be 10-20 bpm slower than your lead hand, ofcourse this is just 'speed' alone, but your rolls will only be as good as your weaker hand. to 'correct' this, you need to spend time practicing with that hand alone (on a pad) that hand could be years behind in muscle developement, will take some time

This is where I get annoyed— I think there are some people who practice just enough to feed this kind of fascination with minutia. This is not real playing or practice advice, we're just bouncing around a lot of non-ideas. 

This is such a strange topic. I don't know why people form this religious attachment to this way of playing. Thinking this way requires a certain kind of personality, at a certain stage of development, with a certain limited exposure to and involvement with people actually playing music. Through working with The New Breed I have been more open to it, with a particular practice goal, for basically mature players who are practicing a lot. Rank and file “open-handed” players seem to be building their playing approach around a lot of misunderstandings.