Open Handed Drumming - Cool Or Nah? 🤔 (What You Should Know)

Just a few things you should probably know about open handed drumming. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL for more great free drum lessons, tips, advice and cool product reviews

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[GrassRoots-fpty]

I started playing open handed a few years ago. Once my brain figured out what I was trying to do it was great. And I think it just enhanced my playing overall. Kinda like reversing the drum kit, only helps to build chops.

[rmthamidwest]

I just started playing a couple weeks ago, and my teacher gave me bonus “homework” to practice on my set at home. I didn’t even realize I was playing open handed until I saw a couple videos where they were playing cross handed. Then I came across this video. Open handed seems so much more comfortable, and I’m glad I’m learning open handed right out the gate. Excited to see how I progress.

[kentmoore]

Another tool in the tool box. I love it and have spent the past three years learning it, not to replace cross over but to enhance it. The single most difficult thing (for me) was to teach my right hand to be the follow/ghost hand when my left hand naturally did all that work.

[panurge]

I was self-taught as a kid, and at the time I didn't see the point of crossing my hands, so I just started learning drums "open-handed" from the start, with my ride on the left side, above my hi-hat. And now, I am trying to get better at playing the traditional way with my right hand playing the hi-hat - it's been tricky. One thing I've learned over the years is that when I play open-handed, my brain wants to lead with the left hand on fills, and it works great when I do a snare fill or play a fill up the toms from lowest to highest. But down the toms, I have trained my brain to flip the lead hand to my right.

[lindigj]

I like how you explained this... I've been a righty open handed player since I began playing the drums and I always get questioned by other drummers if I'm left handed, and when they find out I'm not, they act like I'm crazy :). Like you said, I just enjoy how everything is open in the middle, and I have always felt comfortable playing the hi hat with my left hand 🤷🏻‍♂️

[turette]

Give sticks to any kid and they start to play open handed instantly. It’s just normal. My daughters music teacher forced her to play hands crossed. As a right handed open player I had to contact the teacher and explain what this thing really is. Weird that people are guided from start to cross their hands and lock half of the kit at the same time.

[NikkiNexo]

Mike Mangini inspired me to try open handed playing some 20 years ago. It took a while to train my brain, But I feel more creative on the kit. I ultimately Ended up adding a remote cable hat on my right side, Leaving the hats on the left side of coarse, as well as a x-hat which is permanently closed. Having 3 different sounding sets of hi-hats on the kit is a lot of fun.

[timothystokes]

69 turning 70 .I started with the lockdown end of April two years ago. Playing open handed (E drums) because being left handed the kit wasn’t completely adjustable for that. I decided the benefit I‘d gain from promoting my right hand would, although sometimes tedious, pay off in the long run . I placed the Ride Cymbal slightly above the Hats (left side) to cope well, I start fills occasionally with the left hand as I can get back to the Hats or ride rhythmically in an easier fashion. Low and behold my right hand, although still 25% behind the quality of my left, has improved enormously, when I think back to the beginnings. The need to reverse stickings is clear but no big deal.
Thanks for all your fantastic input. You are a constant source of inspiration and motivation, even though I realize to reach a level of proficiency I‘m asking a lot, but what the hell I‘m enjoying every minute of the journey.

[jeffluker]

I'm so fortunate that when I began playing at 10 my drum teacher had me play open handed. Being a lefty but with a right dominate foot made everything flow so much better. Occasionally I'll set a ride up on my right just to keep my brain/body guessing and it's worked out really well.Great videos!

[Bearded_Mountain_Biker]

I started learning how to play drums late (when I turned 50). I spent so many years hand drumming (tapping my hands on the steering wheel etc.). I’m primarily a left-handed person, and when I set up my kit originally, I set it up right handed. I took some lessons and the instructor introduced me to open-handed drumming. I’ve not looked back since. It feels natural for me now. And one thing I think it’s helped me with is that I need to use my left hand on my high hat, then when I use the ride, I switch and my left is on the snare. it’s helping me build my skills using both hands and switching back and forth.

[Edwordless]

I started teaching all my students to play open handed about 15 years ago, mainly because of the left hand lag! I had bought a book called “The Weaker Side, ” and also had broken my right elbow and had to relearn tunes for my band with left lead. I decided it made more sense to just start from the beginning with students so that their left hand was getting as much work as their right. Later if they want to cross over, that’s fine. It’s pretty awesome to see them at 8 or 9 fluidly moving from left lead to right, something that still isn’t totally second nature for me!

[CCMDrummer]

I am a right handed player who taught himself how to ride the HH with his left and I have been playing OH for over 25 years now and this was one of the best drumming decisions that I have made. I can do double ride combinations with my RC and HH at the same time, and I can do one handed fills with my right when holding down the groove with my left on the HH.

[dcuss]

Being a multi-intrumentalist, I've always played traps cross arm . Then I started playing west African drums, keeping time with the kenkeni and bell on my left.
Now I always play traps open handed.
It just seems like a more natural and relaxed way to play

[houseal]

This approach has always intrigued me, and it's funny to see Rob apparently struggling with the same thing I do. Eyes closed, the giveaway at 7:08 is the snare ghost notes. Playing traditionally, they were in there. Open handed, nope. Over time that left hand on the snare just gets accustomed to laying them down without a thought, but swapping hands means you have to focus on putting them in there. It's awkward, at least for me.

[drumpoet]

I love how you so clearly demonstrate exactly what you're talking about. Great job, Rob!

[zeichner]

Thank you for this excellent overview. You hit all of the most important points. If people are looking for examples of open-handed drumming, here are a few names of drummers who use (more-or-less) standard setups (e.g. they don't reverse the whole kit):
Billy Cobham
Paco Sery
AJ Hall
Dom Famularo
Carter Beauford
Simon Philips
Claus Hessler
Luke Holland
Will Kennedy
Roberto "Tito" Gevert
Desi Jones
Wes Starr
Louis Cole
Robert "Sput" Searight
Mark Shulman
John Blackwell
Lenny White

It took me a couple years to feel equally comfortable with either right- or left-hand ride. Developing the ability of the right hand to "dance" is no small part of that. For the majority of those years, I only played left-hand ride. Only after I had become completely comfortable with that, did I start alternating with right-hand ride again. The book that helped me the most (although it isn't specifically for open-handed drumming) is "Future Sounds, " by David Garibaldi.

Now, my biggest challenges are perfecting my right-hand cross stick & finding a cowbell placement that works for either hand.

[paulfruia]

I've been playing open handed for many years, but I'm a right-handed drummer. The main reason I started playing open handed is because I'm also a singer. I found that playing open handed allowed me to sit in a better position to keep my core straight up and down make my singing better and easier. However, after playing this way for several years, I actually set up my kit with floor toms and an additional ride cymbal on the left. This allows for some cool voicing options, kind of like you showed about 8:10.

[Doug]

My 5 year old grandson got his 1st kid drum set yesterday… he is right handed and already playing match grip. Was blow away!

[Ds_Drums]

I been playing for 45 years i left handed on right hand kit. I started open hand then after 5 years switched to crossover. Then after 7 or 8 years i saw Simon Phillips and got inspired to try open hand again. The result is since then i do both. I have a ride on each side of me on all my kits and use each ride for certain things. I play open and crossover on the hats usually just when i want but the different rides really work great. Usually i use a much more dry, dark ride on my left. I really expanded my possibilities and vocabulary.

[christophersmay]

I am a left handed drummer that plays open handed on a right handed setup. The only issue I have is with my independence in that my main ride cymbal is over near my hats, between it and my high mounted tom. It works just fine. I am in awe of you as a righty trying to play open handed and completely switching it up. That's real skill, being able to do everything with both hands.