Open-Handed Article

[MattRitter]

Hey, gang

For anyone who might be interested, I wrote an article on the topic of open-handed drumming. It is published on a cool new drumming website that a friend of mine created. Here is a link to the article:

http://drumsetfun.com/play-drums-open-handed

As most of you know, open-handed drumming is a favorite topic of mine. It also happens to be a somewhat controversial topic, so I'm sure the article will spawn some interesting debates here on the DrummerWorld forum.

Enjoy.

[junglelord]

You can play open with the right hand.
I made several post about Phil Rudd and his hi-hat placement.

However Left hand open is a MUST regardless I believe.
Infact I have hi hats and rides on both sides.
I found some really cool double ride, double hi hat patterns, that I stumbled into just trying to let my mind open up. Then I realized wow that actually makes a lot of sense to an open drummer concept. So the placement of a mirror kit is what I basicly created.
I apply the Mirror Mind to this concept.
Whole Brain Syncro training with metronome via Hemi-Sync CD.
Another step in the Space Age, whole brain integration is a key neurological component to total mirror functions.

[Deltadrummer]

Nice article Matt. Since I have been working with Dom's new book, again, my drumming has opened up. Some funk Latin grooves that I had written to play just cleaned up with the OHP. I really don't think that you can progress past a certain level of proficiency on the drum set unless you experiment with OHP.

[Toza]

pretty cool matt! how this works with double pedal drumming??? I'm not double pedal drummer I just ask. And do you think this open hand can be used in some fast beats like punk or drum and base??? because i started to practice this and i didnt have any probles until started to play something faster.. it falls apart:):):) (i need to practice more;))

[The Parasprinter]

Great article! I've found out first hand how much switching your lead hand can improve your playing. I've got my HH in the center, so crossing wasn't an issue, but I forced myself to play hats with the left for a while, and it made such a huge difference. I moved some toms to the left side too, so I can practice alternating lead hands on fills as well.

Also, I'd recommend switching feet some time; play bass with your left foot and hats with your right. Not as easy as it sounds! I don't know if it has much value beyond just a mental exercise, but it never hurts to teach your feet some new tricks.

[MattRitter]

pretty cool matt! how this works with double pedal drumming??? I'm not double pedal drummer I just ask. And do you think this open hand can be used in some fast beats like punk or drum and base??? because i started to practice this and i didnt have any probles until started to play something faster.. it falls apart:):):) (i need to practice more;))

Hey, Toza

Simon Phillips and Billy Cobham are great drummers who play open-handed and double bass. Dom Famularo too. So, I would say it's OK!

As for playing fast with left-hand lead...

I am honestly starting to wonder if there is even such a thing as a naturally right-handed person or a naturally left-handed person. Here's why I'm questioning it: A couple of years ago, I hurt my right hand and had it in a cast for several weeks. I was forced to do everything left-handed. I ate left-handed, wrote left-handed, opened doors left-handed...By the time I got the cast off my right hand, I had almost completely adapted to a new way of living!

So, I'm starting to think that this business of right-handed versus left-handed is primarily (or entirely) a matter of conditioning. I don't have any way to prove it or disprove it. I'm just starting to suspect that this might be the case. In my drumming, I have certainly seen evidence of this as well. There are definitely things I can do better on the drums with my left hand simply because I practice them more with my left hand. I think the same is true for all drummers. Take ghost notes for example. Most drummers lead with the right hand, so they end up playing ghost notes with the left hand. I'm sure if these drummers suddenly tried to play ghost notes with the right hand, they would find it more difficult because they haven't practiced that way.

So...in my experience, we simply get good at whatever we practice, regardless of which hand we're using. If you want to play fast hi-hat patterns with your left hand, practice playing fast hi-hat patterns with your left hand. In fact, start a policy today of never playing the hi-hat again with your right hand! Just quit "cold turkey"! From now on, every time you play the hi-hat, use the left hand. You will be amazed at how quickly you adapt. I predict that in several months, you will be extremely good at playing this way, and you will never want to cross your arms ever again while drumming.

Best of luck!

[The Parasprinter]

You make a lot of good points. I've heard you can train yourself to be ambidexterous in everyday life, so maybe it's just a matter of practice, or lack thereof in the weaker hand.

I always wondered if hand selection could also be a right brain vs. left brain thing, at least as it relates to drumming. When you do a typical hat/snare groove, your right and left are kind of playing two seperate parts. The right hand, controlled by the left hemisphere, keeps order by keeping a steady pulse. The left hand, controlled by the right hemisphere, then adds an artistic interpretation of that pulse by emphasizing certain beats over others (typically 2 & 4) and adding ornamental notes, syncopations, etc. You could make similar arguments regarding the roles of the right foot vs. left foot in drumming too.

Just a theory, but I wonder if that has something to do with why even a lot of left handed people prefer to play right-over-left crosshand style.

[MattRitter]

I always wondered if hand selection could also be a right brain vs. left brain thing, at least as it relates to drumming. When you do a typical hat/snare groove, your right and left are kind of playing two seperate parts. The right hand, controlled by the left hemisphere, keeps order by keeping a steady pulse. The left hand, controlled by the right hemisphere, then adds an artistic interpretation of that pulse by emphasizing certain beats over others (typically 2 & 4) and adding ornamental notes, syncopations, etc. You could make similar arguments regarding the roles of the right foot vs. left foot in drumming too.

Wow- VERY interesting idea. Definitely worth giving some thought to that possibility. Thanks for the input!

[junglelord]

My Left hand has better meter then my right, due to hemisphere lateralization.

[Deltadrummer]

You make a lot of good points. I've heard you can train yourself to be ambidexterous in everyday life, so maybe it's just a matter of practice, or lack thereof in the weaker hand.

I always wondered if hand selection could also be a right brain vs. left brain thing, at least as it relates to drumming. When you do a typical hat/snare groove, your right and left are kind of playing two seperate parts. The right hand, controlled by the left hemisphere, keeps order by keeping a steady pulse. The left hand, controlled by the right hemisphere, then adds an artistic interpretation of that pulse by emphasizing certain beats over others (typically 2 & 4) and adding ornamental notes, syncopations, etc. You could make similar arguments regarding the roles of the right foot vs. left foot in drumming too.

Just a theory, but I wonder if that has something to do with why even a lot of left handed people prefer to play right-over-left cross hand style.

I know Dom has often talked about this, the way left hand lead feeds into your left brain creativity. I have found that there are some more difficult patterns that have been easy to do left hand lead. I played through the three voice comping section of Beyond Bop Drumming that way and then did it with the right hand. It may be because your brain becomes structured in doing something a certain way, and then the new lead hand frees it up.

The other thing is that we all use OHP with the cymbal any way. If cross sticking were such a good idea, why is the ride cymbal on the right side? Jazz drummers would have stuck it on the left side.:)

[Deathmetalconga]

Hey, Toza

Simon Phillips and Billy Cobham are great drummers who play open-handed and double bass. Dom Famularo too. So, I would say it's OK!

As for playing fast with left-hand lead...

I am honestly starting to wonder if there is even such a thing as a naturally right-handed person or a naturally left-handed person. Here's why I'm questioning it: A couple of years ago, I hurt my right hand and had it in a cast for several weeks. I was forced to do everything left-handed. I ate left-handed, wrote left-handed, opened doors left-handed...By the time I got the cast off my right hand, I had almost completely adapted to a new way of living!

So, I'm starting to think that this business of right-handed versus left-handed is primarily (or entirely) a matter of conditioning. I don't have any way to prove it or disprove it. I'm just starting to suspect that this might be the case. In my drumming, I have certainly seen evidence of this as well. There are definitely things I can do better on the drums with my left hand simply because I practice them more with my left hand. I think the same is true for all drummers. Take ghost notes for example. Most drummers lead with the right hand, so they end up playing ghost notes with the left hand. I'm sure if these drummers suddenly tried to play ghost notes with the right hand, they would find it more difficult because they haven't practiced that way.

So...in my experience, we simply get good at whatever we practice, regardless of which hand we're using. If you want to play fast hi-hat patterns with your left hand, practice playing fast hi-hat patterns with your left hand. In fact, start a policy today of never playing the hi-hat again with your right hand! Just quit "cold turkey"! From now on, every time you play the hi-hat, use the left hand. You will be amazed at how quickly you adapt. I predict that in several months, you will be extremely good at playing this way, and you will never want to cross your arms ever again while drumming.

Best of luck!

I agree completely with this. There is no "right-handed" or "left-handed" way to play the drums. I figure there are about a dozen different basic variations of hat, ride and bass placements, each with open and crossed possibilities. Indeed, most other instruments are set in stone (i.e., you can't reverse a keyboard if you're left-handed). Only the drums offer the flexibility to arrange the components in any way the player wishes, so right- and left-handed structures are totally irrelevant.

However, I would like to see you clarify the definition of open playing. Your article mentions nothing about playing both hats and ride with the same hand - a very open approach. Open playing most certainly includes playing both ride and hats with the same hand. I play open, left hand hats and ride. In fact, most drummers use one hand for hats and ride and I am no different - I just play open, but I am set in my assigned hand roles as any crossed drummer.

Open playing is sometimes confused with ambidextrous playing. In truth, they are two separate skills. Ambidexterity is great for those who have the time and commitment to take it up. One can ambidextrously play crossed or open. If you push ambidexterity as a necessary part of open playing, you risk turning people off to open playing who don't want to pursue ambidexterity.

There are many of us who play left (or right) hand hats and ride and we are open players. Because of your influence in the drumming community, I am concerned that your definition of open playing excludes players like me. I also hope future stories of yours can include some discussion of the difference between ambidextrous playing and open playing. I know you teach ambidextrous and open playing simultaneously and that is your approach, but I would appreciate it if you don't exclude the other forms of open playing.

Have you ever even tried playing left hand hats and ride? You may be surprised at how natural it feels to have the same hand do both.

[skinner]

Good article Matt. So are you teaching all of your students the open-handed style ?

Open-handed playing really makes so much sense to me. I have started working on it a couple of different times - but have always reverted back to cross-handed. I could never get comfortable with fills. I was never quite sure which hand to lead with.

Why do you think we still see such a small minority of the drumming heavyweights playing open-handed ?

I asked Gavin Harrison about it (on his thread) and he said that he has used it occasionally, but the feel wasn't never quite right. If a virtuoso like Gavin can't get the feel quite right - why should I have any confidence that I will ever be able to ?

[junglelord]

My Mirror Kit
Double Ride (20 inch and 22 inch), Double Hats, Left and Right.
I play wide open....using double ride patterns from both sides, or double hihat patterns from both sides, or the ultimate, all four.
A Mirror Kit is a must for this to expand into a new thing.
I have had a lot of compliments on this approach when watched in person.
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/7901/fivestardone001sc8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/323/fivestardone002mc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8341/fivestardone003wh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3623/fivestardone004pg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3145/fivestardone006nn0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7688/fivestardone009bu7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8745/fivestardone011wv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[MattRitter]

I agree completely with this. There is no "right-handed" or "left-handed" way to play the drums. I figure there are about a dozen different basic variations of hat, ride and bass placements, each with open and crossed possibilities. Indeed, most other instruments are set in stone (i.e., you can't reverse a keyboard if you're left-handed). Only the drums offer the flexibility to arrange the components in any way the player wishes, so right- and left-handed structures are totally irrelevant.

However, I would like to see you clarify the definition of open playing. Your article mentions nothing about playing both hats and ride with the same hand - a very open approach. Open playing most certainly includes playing both ride and hats with the same hand. I play open, left hand hats and ride. In fact, most drummers use one hand for hats and ride and I am no different - I just play open, but I am set in my assigned hand roles as any crossed drummer.

Open playing is sometimes confused with ambidextrous playing. In truth, they are two separate skills. Ambidexterity is great for those who have the time and commitment to take it up. One can ambidextrously play crossed or open. If you push ambidexterity as a necessary part of open playing, you risk turning people off to open playing who don't want to pursue ambidexterity.

There are many of us who play left (or right) hand hats and ride and we are open players. Because of your influence in the drumming community, I am concerned that your definition of open playing excludes players like me. I also hope future stories of yours can include some discussion of the difference between ambidextrous playing and open playing. I know you teach ambidextrous and open playing simultaneously and that is your approach, but I would appreciate it if you don't exclude the other forms of open playing.

Have you ever even tried playing left hand hats and ride? You may be surprised at how natural it feels to have the same hand do both.

Hey, DMC

I appreciate your comments about ambidexterity and open-handed drumming. First of all, you make some nice points, and you are completely correct in your understanding of the term "open-handed." As I mention in the first paragraph of the article, the term "open-handed" simply means playing without crossed arms. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, depending on the individual setup of the drummer.

In my article, I chose to focus on open-handed drumming as it applies to the world's most common drumset configuration: hi-hat on left, bass drum on right, ride cymbal on right. I would say that 99% or more of the world's drumsets are arranged this way. To play open-handed on a drumset configured like this, a drummer would end up playing in the ambidextrous approach that I discussed in the article.

Of course, a drummer is free to configure their kit in any way they like. You said that you play with the ride on the left. I've seen Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips, and Dom Famularo do the same thing, so you are in good company! I know that some drummers also play open-handed by putting a remote hi-hat on the right side of their kit. I have tried both of those approaches over the years, and I cannot personally advocate either one of them. It is very common for drummers to go to jam sessions and rehearsal rooms where they are playing on someone else's drumset. Same goes for Broadway sub work. In these situations, you cannot always readily change the arrangement of the drumset.

Therefore...even though the term "open-handed" can be interpreted in a number of ways...I believe that it is best for a drummer to learn open-handed drumming as it applies to the most common drumset configuration. This means the AMBIDEXTROUS approach to open-handed drumming...which is the only one that I can personally get behind teaching.

I hope this makes sense. Thanks again for your input.

[Deathmetalconga]

Hey, DMC

I appreciate your comments about ambidexterity and open-handed drumming. First of all, you make some nice points, and you are completely correct in your understanding of the term "open-handed." As I mention in the first paragraph of the article, the term "open-handed" simply means playing without crossed arms. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, depending on the individual setup of the drummer.

In my article, I chose to focus on open-handed drumming as it applies to the world's most common drumset configuration: hi-hat on left, bass drum on right, ride cymbal on right. I would say that 99% or more of the world's drumsets are arranged this way. To play open-handed on a drumset configured like this, a drummer would end up playing in the ambidextrous approach that I discussed in the article.

Of course, a drummer is free to configure their kit in any way they like. You said that you play with the ride on the left. I've seen Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips, and Dom Famularo do the same thing, so you are in good company! I know that some drummers also play open-handed by putting a remote hi-hat on the right side of their kit. I have tried both of those approaches over the years, and I cannot personally advocate either one of them. It is very common for drummers to go to jam sessions and rehearsal rooms where they are playing on someone else's drumset. Same goes for Broadway sub work. In these situations, you cannot always readily change the arrangement of the drumset.

Therefore...even though the term "open-handed" can be interpreted in a number of ways...I believe that it is best for a drummer to learn open-handed drumming as it applies to the most common drumset configuration. This means the AMBIDEXTROUS approach to open-handed drumming...which is the only one that I can personally get behind teaching.

I hope this makes sense. Thanks again for your input.

Matt, thanks for the response.

I am not asking you to advocate non-ambidextrous open playing (although that would be nice). I am, however, suggesting you acknowledge in your articles that there are other ways to play open than just your preferred way, such as the same hand playing hats and ride. It doesn't need to be a huge explanation, but in your articles, someone could be left with the impression that there is only one "legitimate" way to play open.

Indeed, I'd say 95 percent or more all drummers play with fairly strictly assigned hand roles, regardless of whether they play open or crossed (granted, most of them play crossed). To lead them to the conclusion that they must learn ambidexterity to enjoy the benefits of open playing could, rightly or wrongly, scare many of them away from open playing, or close their eyes to possibilities that might ultimately be better for them to explore.

While I don't have your breadth and knowledge, I think that having assigned hand roles is of great benefit to those who don't have the time to tackle ambidexterity. To me, that is a fundamental aspect of personal orientation to the instrument and how a borrowed/public drum set might be configured is much less significant. The benefits of playing a standard set open certainly wasn't worth mentioning in your article. I have played a number of standard sets and it took just a couple of minutes to swap the ride and crash cymbals and viola - instant open playing set with hats and ride on the left. For what I needed to accomplish in that musical setting, this was much easier than learning ambidexterity.

These are your articles to write as you wish, but as a well-known instructor, you have some influence in this area and a corresponding amount of responsibility to acknowledge other approaches to the set. That's not the same as advocating these other approaches. But I've seen plenty of instructors and drummers say "You must play crossed because any other approach is wrong" and I sense some of the same entrenchment in the ambidextrous-open approach.

[junglelord]

I think the other concept here is the tradional cyclic swing mechanics.
Traditional grip, circular groove ala Freddy Gruber, would never be in the mindzone of the mirror. However I find facilitation to both directions important. One is not better then the other, and neither exist in a vacuum. Facilitation of old and new is better then either or.
Just throwing that out there. Everything in context of the music when its time to do the job as Neil says.

I believe that the Mirror Kit is a more Linear approach as it has mirror symmetry.
I believe that the recent article by Neil on Swing, and the Buddy Rich Memorial, is a sign post that drums are a lifetime of ambition.
All directions are possible, and are good to explore.
To master the endless possiblities is maybe only open to the best, but all of us could use more traditional Freddy Gruber and open Matt Ritter workouts. Ask Neil or Lang!

[MattRitter]

Matt, thanks for the response.

I am not asking you to advocate non-ambidextrous open playing (although that would be nice). I am, however, suggesting you acknowledge in your articles that there are other ways to play open than just your preferred way, such as the same hand playing hats and ride. It doesn't need to be a huge explanation, but in your articles, someone could be left with the impression that there is only one "legitimate" way to play open.

Indeed, I'd say 95 percent or more all drummers play with fairly strictly assigned hand roles, regardless of whether they play open or crossed (granted, most of them play crossed). To lead them to the conclusion that they must learn ambidexterity to enjoy the benefits of open playing could, rightly or wrongly, scare many of them away from open playing, or close their eyes to possibilities that might ultimately be better for them to explore.

While I don't have your breadth and knowledge, I think that having assigned hand roles is of great benefit to those who don't have the time to tackle ambidexterity. To me, that is a fundamental aspect of personal orientation to the instrument and how a borrowed/public drum set might be configured is much less significant. The benefits of playing a standard set open certainly wasn't worth mentioning in your article. I have played a number of standard sets and it took just a couple of minutes to swap the ride and crash cymbals and viola - instant open playing set with hats and ride on the left. For what I needed to accomplish in that musical setting, this was much easier than learning ambidexterity.

These are your articles to write as you wish, but as a well-known instructor, you have some influence in this area and a corresponding amount of responsibility to acknowledge other approaches to the set. That's not the same as advocating these other approaches. But I've seen plenty of instructors and drummers say "You must play crossed because any other approach is wrong" and I sense some of the same entrenchment in the ambidextrous-open approach.


Hi, DMC

We may have to agree to disagree here. You said "The benefits of playing a standard set open certainly wasn't worth mentioning in your article." Wow- that's what my entire article was about, so basically you are saying the article itself was not worth writing! I am sorry to hear that you felt that way. There happen to be certain settings (such as Broadway subbing) where rearranging the drumset is not only difficult but flat-out forbidden. For this reason, my teaching approach focuses on giving students what I feel to be the most effective ways of playing a "standard" drumset. If you truly do no think that this is a worthwhile endeavor on my part, then please feel free to ignore my future articles.

On other topics...

In my experience, it is not overly time consuming to learn or teach ambidexterity. It is the kind of thing that seems like it would take a lot of time, but in fact, it takes about the same amount of time as learning to play with "assigned hand roles." Once a pattern is learned with one hand leading, it is exponentially faster to learn it with the other hand leading. So, this whole idea that learning ambidexterity at the drums will take a lot longer than other approaches is a concept that does not hold water when put into actual practice. My current crop of ambidextrous students actually seem to learn drumming faster than my students from the years when I didn't teach this way.

Despite our differences of opinion, I would like to acknowledge that I can somewhat understand your upsetness. You have been using a certain version of "open-handed" drumming for many years. You saw my article with the phrase "open-handed" in the title, and then you found that I never even mentioned your particular approach! Believe me, this was not an intentional snub to you or other drummers who play with your approach. Still, I understand why you were displeased. With this in mind, I agree that a clarification of some sort might be helpful for the article. It might be as simple as changing the title to "Going Ambidextrous" rather than "Going Open-Handed." Or maybe it would just require a few lines in the beginning to clarify what the article is truly focused on. When I get some time, I will look at the article again, and I will see what I might like to adjust. I don't generally edit an article AFTER it has been published, but in this case, maybe I will make an exception!

Thanks again for the input! Continued luck with your drumming!

[Deltadrummer]

It's an interesting quagmire. I played with a strict left hand lead; but I went to ambidexterity because I often felt that moving from left hand lead to right hand lead became problematic, say when playing a cascara on the LS Ride, then shifting to RH lead for a fill, then back to left hand lead for the ride. This was also the case if I was playing a songo and moving around the toms with my right hand.

I think if you are playing most basic to intermediate rock or jazz patterns, it really may not be a big deal to go to a left hand lead posture. If you are playing a linear funk pattern, a funk pattern with ghost notes, or just a paradiddle based funk pattern, both hands are so well engaged that it is no longer an issue of which hand is playing the high hat, which hand is playing the snare. An open handed approach seems to be the most logical.

In Latin drumming, this is even less of an issue. The issue is what rhythmic pattern is going to be played where and how do you access the instrument to play that pattern. The high hat bell and cowbell are more important to the style, so put them where they are most conveniently accessible to you and the playing is most comfortable and natural

It seems to me that at some point with rock music, drummers could have just started playing with more ambidexterity, in a Gary Chester sense, and ultimately shifting to LH lead. But most had a jazz background and probably learned to play patterns on the RS ride. I think it had to do with the practicality of relearning the patterns with the left hand lead, as DMC suggests. It was the lefty drummers like Buddy Harman, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Gregg's favorite, Daniel Humair or Will Kennedy for whom it seemed to be an issue and an area to experiment. But for others, Ringo or Garibaldi it never was an issue. But who would not want to ask the question, is the reason why Garibaldi's left hand is so active and interesting because he is a lefty? Oakland Stroke does not feel natural to me with a RH high hat; but it does to David. He is shifting the lead from right hand to left, which is on the snare, as he does on other grooves like Soul Vaccination. Pat Petrillo said that he enjoyed Ringo's fills because he started them with the left hand

In my teaching, I just wait to see what happens with the student. Many will not cross, and I don't ask them to cross unless I see that not crossing is a problem; that is, matching the RH with the LH is unnatural or problematic. For most of my students, it is more natural to cross in the beginning; but I have had a few over the years for whom crossing felt odd and unnatural. And their school teachers told them they were playing wrong.

[MattRitter]

Good article Matt. So are you teaching all of your students the open-handed style ?

Open-handed playing really makes so much sense to me. I have started working on it a couple of different times - but have always reverted back to cross-handed. I could never get comfortable with fills. I was never quite sure which hand to lead with.

Why do you think we still see such a small minority of the drumming heavyweights playing open-handed ?

I asked Gavin Harrison about it (on his thread) and he said that he has used it occasionally, but the feel wasn't never quite right. If a virtuoso like Gavin can't get the feel quite right - why should I have any confidence that I will ever be able to ?

Hey, Skinner

Thanks for the follow-up questions. Here is my best attempt at answering them:

1) I start my fills with whichever hand makes most sense for the fill. A lot of times, this will be determined by which crash I intend to hit at the end of the fill. For me, this is not at all related to which hand I lead with on the hi-hat or ride. I simply do the fill, end with a crash on beat 1 (in most cases) and then go back to playing the hi-hat with the left hand or the ride with the right.

2) We don't see many heavyweight drummers playing this way for a number of reasons. For one, evolution is a VERY slow process. It took many years before traditional grip fell behind matched grip in popularity. Matched is clearly more prevalent now, but it took decades for it to happen! Secondly, if someone is considered a "heavyweight" drummer now, then they probably began drumming somewhere between 10 and 50 years ago! I believe that ambidextrous drumming is actually more popular now than ever before amongst new drummers who are currently in their early years of development. It will take a decade or 2 before these young drummers grow up and become the "heavyweights" who are visible in the public eye. When that happens, ambidextrous drumming will suddenly seem much more common and normal. We'll touch base again in 20 years to see if I was right!

3) Come on- let's give Gavin more credit than that! He's a terrific drummer. He absolutely could get the "feel" for left hand lead if he valued the idea enough to fully commit to it. When a person has played in a certain manner for years and years, it can take a long time for a brand new approach to catch up with the previous approach. With someone of Gavin's experience level, it would require a complete mental commitment to making the change. Basically, he would have to make a policy of never leading on the hi-hat again with his right hand! He would also have to accept the idea of sucking for a year or so (Of course, his "sucking" would probably still be pretty great by most of our standards). If he did these things, I guarantee that he would be fine with left hand lead in a relatively short amount of time. Whether or not he feels that it would be worth going through all of that is another story. Most drummers of his level are not interested in such a major overhaul. That's why it's a good idea to start this process now, BEFORE you are touring the world and appearing on the cover of Modern Drummer!

I hope these answers help somewhat. Best of luck to you.

[Deathmetalconga]

Hi, DMC

We may have to agree to disagree here. You said "The benefits of playing a standard set open certainly wasn't worth mentioning in your article." Wow- that's what my entire article was about, so basically you are saying the article itself was not worth writing! I am sorry to hear that you felt that way. There happen to be certain settings (such as Broadway subbing) where rearranging the drumset is not only difficult but flat-out forbidden. For this reason, my teaching approach focuses on giving students what I feel to be the most effective ways of playing a "standard" drumset. If you truly do no think that this is a worthwhile endeavor on my part, then please feel free to ignore my future articles.

On other topics...

In my experience, it is not overly time consuming to learn or teach ambidexterity. It is the kind of thing that seems like it would take a lot of time, but in fact, it takes about the same amount of time as learning to play with "assigned hand roles." Once a pattern is learned with one hand leading, it is exponentially faster to learn it with the other hand leading. So, this whole idea that learning ambidexterity at the drums will take a lot longer than other approaches is a concept that does not hold water when put into actual practice. My current crop of ambidextrous students actually seem to learn drumming faster than my students from the years when I didn't teach this way.

Despite our differences of opinion, I would like to acknowledge that I can somewhat understand your upsetness. You have been using a certain version of "open-handed" drumming for many years. You saw my article with the phrase "open-handed" in the title, and then you found that I never even mentioned your particular approach! Believe me, this was not an intentional snub to you or other drummers who play with your approach. Still, I understand why you were displeased. With this in mind, I agree that a clarification of some sort might be helpful for the article. It might be as simple as changing the title to "Going Ambidextrous" rather than "Going Open-Handed." Or maybe it would just require a few lines in the beginning to clarify what the article is truly focused on. When I get some time, I will look at the article again, and I will see what I might like to adjust. I don't generally edit an article AFTER it has been published, but in this case, maybe I will make an exception!

Thanks again for the input! Continued luck with your drumming!


You are right. Now that I re-read your article, I see I was wrong to say your article didn't mention the benefits of playing a standard set open.

Thanks for considering mentioning other open styles and the distinction between ambidextrous and open. Certainly, open playing of any kind facilitates ambidexterity (theoretically, you could play ambidextrous and crossed but that would be bizarre!). If you play open, you enjoy the exact same benefits whether you play ambidextrously or assigned, And for many licks, you will play them the same regardless of your orientation.

[Deltadrummer]

Matt,

I was just thinking. If Ringo, being a lefty had played open-handed would we even be having the discussion? We would all be doing what Ringo had done.

Ps and so there is no confusion, I mean left hand lead with both cymbal and high hat on the left side.

[MattRitter]

You are right. Now that I re-read your article, I see I was wrong to say your article didn't mention the benefits of playing a standard set open.

We had a miscommunication. I did not think you said I didn't mention the benefits. I thought you said it "wasn't worth" mentioning the benefits. I did mention the benefits, but I thought you were saying that it was pointless for me to do so.

Thanks for considering mentioning other open styles and the distinction between ambidextrous and open. Certainly, open playing of any kind facilitates ambidexterity (theoretically, you could play ambidextrous and crossed but that would be bizarre!). If you play open, you enjoy the exact same benefits whether you play ambidextrously or assigned, And for many licks, you will play them the same regardless of your orientation.

Again, we may have to agree to disagree. As I have read your posts, I have gotten the subtle feeling that you think we share the same views, but I have somehow misrepresented those views in my article. Actually, this is not true at all. For better or worse, we do NOT share the same views. You statement above is a perfect example. I do not agree in the slightest that the same benefits are enjoyed regardless of whether a drummer plays ambidextrously. For the record, I believe that moving the ride cymbal to the left of the kit and leading everything left-handed is only mildly better than crossing arms. It definitely eliminates the annoyance of hitting the sticks together, and it makes life easier when playing the toms during a hi-hat groove. However, it lacks many of the advantages that are part of the ambidextrous approach. Here are some reasons that I strongly believe in teaching ambidexterity at the drums:

1) It enables a person to automatically sit down and play a standard drumset. How on Earth could I teach all of my students to NOT have the ability of leading on a ride cymbal with their right hand? It would be almost criminal, considering that 99% of the world's drumsets have the ride on the right side!

2) As mentioned almost word for word toward the end of my article, it helps people to develop somewhat equal strength, stamina, and coordination between the hands. This is major. Even professional level drummers typically complain that one hand is great while one hand is horrible. My teaching approach nips that in the bud from the first day.

3) It enables a person to make their choices based entirely on what they want to do musically. For example, if a person decides they want to lead on any part of the kit at all, they can do it! It's very common in rock music for a drummer to lead on the floor tom as if it were a ride cymbal. With the ambidextrous approach, a person can easily do this. In your approach, I guess you would have to move the floor tom over to the left?

4) This one is the biggie. The ambidextrous approach gives a drummer OPTIONS. It allows a drummer to do anything they want on almost any kind of setup. For example, it even allows a drummer to cross their arms for the hi-hat if they want! We sometimes do that in my studio simply because the students find it fun to occasionally drum like their favorite rock star! So why not? They are completely capable of leading with their right hand, so we sometimes cross over. No big deal. We also sometimes lead on a crash cymbal that is on the left side of the kit. We make that choice based on the sound of the song. If it seems like we should lead on the left crash, we simply do it. In reality, we don't discuss this business of left and right very much. It's ironic that I end up discussing it so much on the forum. In my actual studio, we just decide what sound we want, and then we lead on that drum or cymbal with no big discussion. I'm sure you'll love this one, DMC- my students actually have the option of putting a ride cymbal to the left if they want to do so. Believe it or not, I myself have a crash/ride on the left of my kit! hahahaha! Sometimes I lead on it with the left hand! So ya see...my students and I can actually drum in the exact manner that you advocate! The difference is that it's simply one of many options for us.

These are some of the reasons that I specifically recommend and teach the ambidextrous approach to open-handed drumming. My article was not at all misrepresentative of my drumming philosophy. My article was misrepresentative of YOUR drumming philosophy. Rather than asking me to change what I wrote, why don't you just write your own article about YOUR concepts? Seriously. You seem to write quite well, and you have strong opinions on the subject. Write your own article. If I end up editing my article at all, it will simply be to make it clearer what the focus of the article is- AMBIDEXTROUS open-handed drumming. Clarifying this from the beginning (maybe in the title) will hopefully avoid any future confusion. I will not be changing the article at all for the purpose of accommodating your personal drumming views. I respect them, but as I've just explained, I do not actually agree with them.

[MattRitter]

Matt,

I was just thinking. If Ringo, being a lefty had played open-handed would we even be having the discussion? We would all be doing what Ringo had done.

Ps and so there is no confusion, I mean left hand lead with both cymbal and high hat on the left side.

Hey, Ken!

I think you hit the nail on the head! If Ringo had played in a chicken suit with his bass drum hanging from the ceiling, that's probably how we would all be playing right now! hahahaha!

Seriously, I consider the Ringo story to be one of the great ironies in the history of drumming. Before Ringo, nearly all drummers played traditional grip with crossed arms. In fact, I believe they used crossed arms largely BECAUSE of traditional grip. Then Ringo comes along and eliminates the traditional grip factor from his playing. Yet he holds onto the crossed arms factor! Of course, the entire world sees him playing this way, and copies him. Ever since then, matched grip with crossed arms has been the norm, and everyone assumes this is because we need to lead on the hi-hat with our "strong" hand. Little do most people know...Ringo, the guy who popularized this approach, was actually LEFT-handed!!! It's just so ironic that it's almost unbelievable. The world's greatest fiction writer could not have come up with a crazier story! History is a funny thing.

Thanks for contributing to the discussion, Ken.

[MattRitter]

However, I would like to see you clarify the definition of open playing. Your article mentions nothing about playing both hats and ride with the same hand - a very open approach. Open playing most certainly includes playing both ride and hats with the same hand. I play open, left hand hats and ride.

Hey again, DMC

I figured out the source of some of the confusion here. I just now found out that the article I wrote had the title changed by the editor without any approval from me! Until 2 minutes ago, I had no idea the article was currently being called "How To Play Open-Handed"! No wonder you were annoyed! That title makes it sound like the article is an instruction manual on open-handed drumming, and yet it never covers the various VERSIONS of "open-handed drumming." OK- I totally see the problem here. When I wrote the article, I called it "Going Open-Handed." A subtle difference, but an important one. The title was supposed to reflect my own personal journey of...well...of "going open-handed" after playing crossed for many years. Your input has made me think that it would still be helpful for me to come up with a better title...which I probably will do. However, this confusion between you and me was definitely made much worse by the unapproved title change that I just discovered a few minutes ago. hahaha! Things are seldom as they seem!

[abe]

4) This one is the biggie. The ambidextrous approach gives a drummer OPTIONS. It allows a drummer to do anything they want on almost any kind of setup. For example, it even allows a drummer to cross their arms for the hi-hat if they want! We sometimes do that in my studio simply because the students find it fun to occasionally drum like their favorite rock star! So why not? They are completely capable of leading with their right hand, so we sometimes cross over. No big deal. We also sometimes lead on a crash cymbal that is on the left side of the kit. We make that choice based on the sound of the song. If it seems like we should lead on the left crash, we simply do it. In reality, we don't discuss this business of left and right very much. It's ironic that I end up discussing it so much on the forum. In my actual studio, we just decide what sound we want, and then we lead on that drum or cymbal with no big discussion. I'm sure you'll love this one, DMC- my students actually have the option of putting a ride cymbal to the left if they want to do so. Believe it or not, I myself have a crash/ride on the left of my kit! hahahaha! Sometimes I lead on it with the left hand! So ya see...my students and I can actually drum in the exact manner that you advocate! The difference is that it's simply one of many options for us.

I've been thinking where I want to lead my drumming for last year and I've come to almost same conlusions. I felt like you spoken my own thoughts :)

[Deltadrummer]

I think the other issue is that if you change from right hand lead to left hand lead you are regaining a whole new way of playing and feeling the drums. For DMC, that is not an issue because hen plays left hand lead already. I don't know whether he is left handed or not. Are you, DMC? The realistic benefit of OHP is the you are not blocked by your cross sticking to get around the set: i.e playing toms in grooves with the high hat on the left side.

[MattRitter]

OK- based on some of the comments by DMC, the article has been edited to more clearly state its focus (which really is ambidextrous drumming, rather than open-handed drumming in general). I may do more edits at some point in the future, but for now, I think the main point of confusion has been clarified. Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for the nice feedback.

[Deathmetalconga]

I think the other issue is that if you change from right hand lead to left hand lead you are regaining a whole new way of playing and feeling the drums. For DMC, that is not an issue because hen plays left hand lead already. I don't know whether he is left handed or not. Are you, DMC? The realistic benefit of OHP is the you are not blocked by your cross sticking to get around the set: i.e playing toms in grooves with the high hat on the left side.

I am right handed. My very first instructor (also right handed) insisted I play open handed, left hand hats and ride. He even had his ride to the LEFT of the hihat! He could get some amazing grooves going with the left hand moving between the hats, ride and snare and right hand between hats, snare and toms. Nevertheless, his foundation was assigned hand roles and did not teach ambidexterity as such. In that sense, he was much like a traditional crossed player. I find that I like having my dominant hand on the snare, as the snare is the heart of the drum set.

There are some grooves (i.e., both hands on hats, both hands on snare) that seem to promote ambidexterity whether someone plays open or crossed.

[Deathmetalconga]

OK- based on some of the comments by DMC, the article has been edited to more clearly state its focus (which really is ambidextrous drumming, rather than open-handed drumming in general). I may do more edits at some point in the future, but for now, I think the main point of confusion has been clarified. Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for the nice feedback.

Wow, looks great!

In contrasting and clarifying the distinction between simple open-handed drumming (like what I do) and the ambidextrous approach, ambidexterity sounds even more attractive than it did before!

[junglelord]

Funny anyone would say playing left hand hi hat was playing wrong.
But tradition is stronger then logic sometimes.

[Ambidextrous]

Hi guys... My take on this article.
About ambidexterity on leading with either hands, i agree that its indeed ambidexterity.
But the point is when doing fills we have to choose to start with either the left or right.
And the legs... We play the bass drum with our legs more than the hi-hats. So that is the argument in my thoughts... like, U are ambidextrous BUT can u play the bass drum with both legs i mean same skill, if u can't u are not fully ambidextrous...If u can! why should u? even double pedals u still have to choose which leg to lead. So i think one can be ambidextrous but there is no nid to spend ur life time practicing both sides when u can happily play the drums and properly with the dominant limbs. unless u are preparing for the loss of ur dominant limbs or should i say the loss of the dexterity of the dominant limbs... haha.


Its just my opinion no offences, not intending to talk bad about open-handed styles.

[abe]

So i think one can be ambidextrous but there is no nid to spend ur life time practicing both sides when u can happily play the drums and properly with the dominant limbs.

For lefties living in world of righthanded players it's a need to be able to play with right foot on bass drum. Whenever there is no time to change kit(club, festival etc), lefty will play bassdrum with his ''nondominant'' foot.

[peanut23s]

i can play open handed as a righty but cannot hold a rhythm with my left yet my feet are very strong either way was tempted to set up open but i wouldnt be able to use my pedal

[MattRitter]

Funny anyone would say playing left hand hi hat was playing wrong.
But tradition is stronger then logic sometimes.

I must agree! Thanks for the interesting input you've offered in this thread, Junglelord. I appreciate it.

[MattRitter]

Hi guys... My take on this article.
About ambidexterity on leading with either hands, i agree that its indeed ambidexterity.
But the point is when doing fills we have to choose to start with either the left or right.
And the legs... We play the bass drum with our legs more than the hi-hats. So that is the argument in my thoughts... like, U are ambidextrous BUT can u play the bass drum with both legs i mean same skill, if u can't u are not fully ambidextrous...If u can! why should u? even double pedals u still have to choose which leg to lead. So i think one can be ambidextrous but there is no nid to spend ur life time practicing both sides when u can happily play the drums and properly with the dominant limbs. unless u are preparing for the loss of ur dominant limbs or should i say the loss of the dexterity of the dominant limbs... haha.


Its just my opinion no offences, not intending to talk bad about open-handed styles.

Hey, Ambidextrous! You have a good name for a guy posting in this thread!

I agree with you that becoming ambidextrous just for the principle of the matter is not necessarily a good idea. In my own playing, I didn't set out to be truly ambidextrous. For example, I don't practice reversing my feet at all. For me, I mainly want to avoid crossing my arms! Therefore, I've been playing the hi-hat with my left hand. As a guy who played right hand lead for many years, I don't see any reason to move my ride cymbal over to the left. Instead, I've just continued playing the ride with my right hand, but now I play my hi-hat with my left hand. In effect, I've ended up being somewhat ambidextrous, but not entirely (as you pointed out in your post).

Again, my main goal was simply to get my arms uncrossed! That's why I naturally referred to my approach as "open-handed." DMC made me think that maybe "ambidextrous" is a better term since I don't have my ride on the left. Honestly, I'm still not sure. I may even end up editing my article again once I really make up my mind on the clearest terminology to use here. I feel that my approach is more than simply "open-handed" because it does have an element of ambidexterity to it. On the other hand, I make no effort to be completely ambidextrous in areas where I feel that it would be unhelpful to me (such as the feet). So, "ambidextrous" is not exactly the best term for my approach either! Normally, I would say that labels aren't my primary concern, but in this case, finding an appropriate label might add clarity to what I'm writing about and teaching!

[skinner]

I agree with you that becoming ambidextrous just for the principle of the matter is not necessarily a good idea. In my own playing, I didn't set out to be truly ambidextrous. For example, I don't practice reversing my feet at all. For me, I mainly want to avoid crossing my arms! Therefore, I've been playing the hi-hat with my left hand. As a guy who played right hand lead for many years, I don't see any reason to move my ride cymbal over to the left. Instead, I've just continued playing the ride with my right hand, but now I play my hi-hat with my left hand. In effect, I've ended up being somewhat ambidextrous, but not entirely (as you pointed out in your post).

Again, my main goal was simply to get my arms uncrossed!

Yes ! I am not really concerned about which side the ride is on (although I just left mine on the right). The only thing I'm concerned about is comfort and ergonomics. Playing the hi-hat without crossing the arms just feels so much more comfortable. For the last few days I have immersed myself in it (after reading Matt's article) and have made a lot of progress.

I was worried that I would never be able to get the "feel" right, and so far I still haven't, but I am now convinced it will come. It just makes sense, the more comfortable you are, the better you will be able to groove. So, for now I have taken a few steps backward, but I'm convinced it will pay off in the long run.

Matt, how about just saying "Un-cross the arms" ? Similar to "Un-bury the beater" .

[MattRitter]

Yes ! I am not really concerned about which side the ride is on (although I just left mine on the right). The only thing I'm concerned about is comfort and ergonomics. Playing the hi-hat without crossing the arms just feels so much more comfortable. For the last few days I have immersed myself in it (after reading Matt's article) and have made a lot of progress.

I was worried that I would never be able to get the "feel" right, and so far I still haven't, but I am now convinced it will come. It just makes sense, the more comfortable you are, the better you will be able to groove. So, for now I have taken a few steps backward, but I'm convinced it will pay off in the long run.

Matt, how about just saying "Un-cross the arms" ? Similar to "Un-bury the beater" .

Thanks, Skinner! Glad the article has helped in some way!

Ya know...in my DVD, I play the hi-hat with my left hand. Admittedly, I don't do anything all that fancy, but it is interesting to note that I had only been playing left hand hi-hat for about 11 months when I filmed the video. I knew it might be somewhat shaky, but I no longer believed in playing with crossed arms...so I didn't want to release a video that featured me playing that way. Anyway, I think I pulled off the left hand hi-hat thing somewhat convincingly, which just shows how quickly the transformation can happen if you commit to it. Now, it has been a number of years since making the change, and I could never imagine going back!

Not a bad idea about calling it "Un-cross the arms"! If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up being known as a person who constantly goes against convention. Not what I initially intended, but it seems to be turning out that way!

[cornelius]

I'm going to get back into open playing again. When I first tried it, I found having the ride on my left helped in a two ways. Psychologically, you're having to rely on your left, without the ride on your right. I think the only way to get left hand lead down, is not to dabble with it, but to really dive in. Technique-wise, I found that my left hand touch improved a lot more when riding on a ride with my left. When I got back to the hihats with my left, it sounded a lot more musical to me. But that's just me, I think I was overplaying the hats with my left to gain more strength, when I tried playing a ride, I sounded terrible!

[Ambidextrous]

I Love to talk about these topics haha! I've thought of practicing the feet both ways like left bass and right hats. But after thinking... We would only nid one for each ( unless for double pedal players) so y waste the time to practice Both ways when u can improve on ur current skill...

[Wavelength]

I know a right handed drummer who has played the drums not unlike DeathMetalConga since day one, and he's expressed his doubts of his playing style on numerous occasions. According to his latest experiment with crossing over and leading with the right hand, after just a couple of hours of woodshedding and getting familiar with the motions, he managed to play better than ever before.

It just goes to show that the open handed approach isn't for everyone.

[MattRitter]

I know a right handed drummer who has played the drums not unlike DeathMetalConga since day one, and he's expressed his doubts of his playing style on numerous occasions. According to his latest experiment with crossing over and leading with the right hand, after just a couple of hours of woodshedding and getting familiar with the motions, he managed to play better than ever before.

It just goes to show that the open handed approach isn't for everyone.

Wow- interesting. In my studio, we practice leading with the left hand AND the right hand, so crossing over is an option that my students always preserve. Every now and then, we play crossed over so they can have fun imitating their favorite rock stars (usually Travis Barker). Without exception, my students all express that crossing over feels very weird and is something they would not like to do except on rare occasions as a novelty.

[Deathmetalconga]

Wow- interesting. In my studio, we practice leading with the left hand AND the right hand, so crossing over is an option that my students always preserve. Every now and then, we play crossed over so they can have fun imitating their favorite rock stars (usually Travis Barker). Without exception, my students all express that crossing over feels very weird and is something they would not like to do except on rare occasions as a novelty.

I can believe it. Even crossed drummers like to play open when they get a chance. I've never seen a crossed drummer cross their arms to play a ride on the left - it's always on the right side of the set, so they can enjoy the benefits of playing open.

[Deltadrummer]

I can believe it. Even crossed drummers like to play open when they get a chance. I've never seen a crossed drummer cross their arms to play a ride on the left - it's always on the right side of the set, so they can enjoy the benefits of playing open.

That's actually quite interesting. I feel like I've read that somewhere before.

[Wavelength]

I've never seen a crossed drummer cross their arms to play a ride on the left - it's always on the right side of the set, so they can enjoy the benefits of playing open.

Each and every jazz drummer has a ride on the left side of the kit, but they don't have to cross over to reach it. I never cross my arms to play the hi-hat with my right hand, anyway. It's the sticks that do the crossing for me.

[Deathmetalconga]

Each and every jazz drummer has a ride on the left side of the kit, but they don't have to cross over to reach it. I never cross my arms to play the hi-hat with my right hand, anyway. It's the sticks that do the crossing for me.

How do you keep your sticks from hitting each other? Depending on how you have the hihat and snare arranged, it seems like the sticks could hit each other with some frequency, unless you avoided certain movements.

[aboylikedave]

Can I just clarify what some of you mean by 'leading' with the left or right? Do mean a) playing the hats/ride patterns with it, or that you actually start rolls with that hand? There seems to be differing usage of it.

For the record I play open, LH on hats, RH on ride, but I would say I lead with my right, since I instinctively start rolls, fill setc with my RH

BTW, the main reason I play ride with my right is a) there's often no room to the left on stages and practice studios b) I like to keep my RH active. c) the ride 'sits' in my 4 piece on tjhe right much better than on my left d) seems to add a bit of balance. to the set up. e) it feels good to vary 'sides'.

One thing I will say about open playing though, is that its DEFINITELY easier to play a tight groove with the foot and hand on the SAME SIDE doing the linked work. RH/RF playing together is much easir for me that RH/LF. by this same token, when I play jazz I like ride on the left since my LH is on ride and LF is timekeeping with the HH

[Wavelength]

How do you keep your sticks from hitting each other? Depending on how you have the hihat and snare arranged, it seems like the sticks could hit each other with some frequency, unless you avoided certain movements.

If I'm playing at a medium-soft dynamic on the hi-hats, I can play the snare drum with a matching volume with strokes whose heights stay below the right hand stick's level. If I need to slam full-on backbeats, I can either use a larger upstroke motion with my hi-hat hand to give clearance to the snare hand, or approach the hi-hat á la Billy Ward (http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/billywardbigtime1.html) -- moving the entire right arm forward so that the left stick is totally free of obstruction.

[Mikecore]

I changed to a symmetrical open-handed cymbal setup about ten years ago after seeing an article about Mike Mangini and his Extreme rototom kit. I had wanted to do a centered remote hi-hat anyway, and that was the final push. I have not played a traditional hat setup since. Naturally this has led me to lead with my left hand from time to time, if only to spell my right arm for a bit (like during the guitar solo to "Stranglehold", which my guitarist plays more or less note for note). My old cymbal setup had ride cymbals on both sides, but I've adopted a total Bozzio-style setup since, which keeps the symmetry, but offers little in terms of riding with the left hand.

The point made earlier about the drumset only being about 100 years old versus other instruments is a good one, and it makes me wonder what the ultimate form will end up being, since it seems no two drummers can seem to agree on the best way to set the stuff up. Being such a Bozzio/Collins/Wackerman fanboy, I'd like to think it will get more tonal/melodic anyway, and in another hundred years this whole conversation might be pointless. More likely that the two schools of thought will evolve parallel, with melodic/ostinato guys eliminating some of the more traditional timebeating elements like hats and ride, and the timekeeping crowd moving towards simple but flexible setups that any drummer could groove on, righty or lefty. Imagine a set with hats on both sides, with the ride in the middle! Open-handed theory could really find a home and flourish with such a kit.

Also, look at how Bill Bruford has been setting his drums up the last several years.