boomstick
Silver Member
Ever since I started drumming at age 12, I've been a cross-stick player. But now in my 40s, I think I am transitioning into open-handed playing, which was rather unintentional. That probably doesn't sound possible, since I consciously chose to start practicing open-handed a few years back. But the goal was never to become an open-handed player. Rather, I had identified several weaknesses with my playing, and one of the worst was my underdeveloped left hand, which my right hand was overcompensating for in a big way. It makes sense that my dominant hand would develop faster, but I figured that it was also stronger because it did most of the work. So I originally starting incorporating some open-handed playing into my practice routine in an attempt to strengthen my left hand, and it started working. My left hand finally began to catch up a bit.
Fast forward to last spring. I sustained an injury to my right hand, which made drumming painful. Even if I laid off the drums for a week or so until the pain subsided, drumming would bring the pain right back. I decided my only recourse was to take as long as necessary to let my hand heal. But instead of stopping practice completely, I decided to practice strictly with my three healthy limbs. No right hand playing at all. This is when my left hand really began to strengthen, and I even began to enjoy playing left-hand lead.
When the right hand finally healed, I just continued to practice with a left hand lead, and recently I've come to a point where I actually prefer open-handed playing, at least where the hi-hat is involved. I still play right hand lead on my ride.
Now that I appear to be going down this road, I have a few questions.
How many open-handed players converted later in life, as opposed to playing that way from the start?
If you were a later convert, how did you handle the transition? Was it a slow process becoming as skilled at playing open-handed as with cross-sticking? Any tips to speed up the process?
Do you switch between left/right lead, or did you move your ride over to the left side?
With open-handed playing, I much prefer to have my hats mounted low, but this eliminates the possibility of cross-sticking for more complex patterns that I'm not capable of yet with open-hand. Did anyone struggle with this issue and how did you resolve it?
Fast forward to last spring. I sustained an injury to my right hand, which made drumming painful. Even if I laid off the drums for a week or so until the pain subsided, drumming would bring the pain right back. I decided my only recourse was to take as long as necessary to let my hand heal. But instead of stopping practice completely, I decided to practice strictly with my three healthy limbs. No right hand playing at all. This is when my left hand really began to strengthen, and I even began to enjoy playing left-hand lead.
When the right hand finally healed, I just continued to practice with a left hand lead, and recently I've come to a point where I actually prefer open-handed playing, at least where the hi-hat is involved. I still play right hand lead on my ride.
Now that I appear to be going down this road, I have a few questions.
How many open-handed players converted later in life, as opposed to playing that way from the start?
If you were a later convert, how did you handle the transition? Was it a slow process becoming as skilled at playing open-handed as with cross-sticking? Any tips to speed up the process?
Do you switch between left/right lead, or did you move your ride over to the left side?
With open-handed playing, I much prefer to have my hats mounted low, but this eliminates the possibility of cross-sticking for more complex patterns that I'm not capable of yet with open-hand. Did anyone struggle with this issue and how did you resolve it?