Open Handed Drumming with Ride On Left |
One of the first drummers that I noticed playing open handed
was Kenny Aronoff, but it’s been said that he only does it from time to
time. I noticed that he played open
handed when John Mellencamp played live on Second City TV. Since that time, I have only seen him play
cross over style. Dom Famularo plays open handed, but with a twist. He switches up his rack toms. Traditional tom set ups are from smallest to
largest. He will put a 13” tom first,
followed by a 12”. He may not do that all the time, but he pointed out the
strange setup to the audience at one of the Cascio drum clinics that I
attended. He’s more of a mixed handed drummer. He will play both ways.
John Blackwell is one of the few who plays open grip. He makes it look easy. At times you can see that he will be playing
a ride cymbal with his right hand and keeping time on the hi hat with his left,
hitting the snare with his left, when the song calls for it. Certainly one of
the more famous drummers to play this way is Carter Beauford. Mr. Beauford is one
of the best when it comes to utilizing the open drumming technique. If you
follow him closely, you find that he will make the most efficient moves behind
the drums. Open handed drumming can
certainly do that for you. There is no
need to “uncross” your arms before making a move. You can reach out in either direction at any
time.
I must say that over the years, it has been a bit of a pain
to play this style if you are going to be playing a “house” drum kit that is
set up for right handed drummers. Most
times, you will find that the ride cymbal is on the right hand side of the
standard kit. For best results, it’s
best to move the ride cymbals to the left, just over the top of the hi
hat. That way, you don’t have to cross
your arms for any reason. If you are
truly ambidextrous drummer, it really doesn’t matter where you put the cymbals,
but I have yet to meet someone with that kind of talent. Everyone has a strong or dominant hand.
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