Article on Developing Ambidexterity & Open-Handed Playing

AMBIDEXTERITY & OPEN-HANDED PLAYING
by Dan Britt

Ambidexterity and Open-Handed playing are increasingly popular topics in the drumming industry. Carter Beauford's elegant display of fluid open-style playing has been influential, as has Dom Famularo's motivational speeches on the topic, coupled by his own switch to it after 36 years of crossing over. As far back as the 1930's, some of the most successful drumming literature has also encouraged the idea:

In Jim Chapin's classic Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, he states, "all these exercises should be practiced in reverse as well, with the left hand on the cymbal and the right hand playing the snare part. It is more practical while playing the hi-hat cymbal to avoid crossing by simply using the left hand ... Crossing hands to play hi-hat was caused originally by weak left hands, though it has become the accepted way to play and in the eyes of many laymen is confused with skill and good technique ... it is important in any event to develop the ability to play either way."

In New Breed by Gary Chester, there are exercises for both left hand and right hand lead in order to develop better control, eliminate the weak hand, and allow for more tonal possibilities. Leading with either hand affords flexibility to the other hand - an approach he called "open arms". Gary states, "Crossing over the snare drum to play hi-hat seems unnatural to me ... If you put a four-year old child behind a set of drums, the child would not cross over to play the hi-hat." His exercises also develop both feet.

Any drummer that has gone through Master Studies, the book of legendary Joe Morello, is familiar with the numerous exercises that start from both sides. Moreover, It's Your Move by Dom Famularo and Joe Bergamini has many sections targeted for the non-dominant limbs including one entitled The Weaker Side.

Ambidexterity: What It is and Its Benefits

Ambidexterity is the ability to use both hands (or feet) with equal capability. It requires that we develop the weaker hand (and foot), and use it more. This would provide us with greater facility to play open-handed, the ability to lead with either hand, eliminating any crossing over of hands. And, in open-handed playing, we can

1) Have a greater range for our snare drum hand to move up.
2) "Open" up the entire kit to the snare drum hand with ease, no longer being "stuck" under the hi-hat riding hand.
3) Eliminate the tension caused when reaching (holding up) our shoulder and arm to cross the stick over the snare drum hand.

Historical Greatness and Human Potential

A lot of examples of superior human performance in any activity come from ambidextrous people. Commonly cited in the drumming world are Billy Cobham and Simon Phillips. They have been applying this open-handed approach for years.

As if Cobham and Phillips were not enough proof of the benefits of ambidexterity, consider that Leonardo DaVinci was ambidextrous! Like Billy Cobham and Simon Phillips, Leonardo DaVinci was a natural left-hander, but developed his ambidexterity while working on the Last Supper. He would regularly switch hands! So did Michelangelo when working on the Sistene Chapel. In sports, some ambidextrous greats were Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Revolutionary intellectuals Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin were also ambidextrous.

(Ok, so they weren't drummers, but they were pretty smart and/or talented!)

In Michael J. Gelb's book, How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci, Professor Raymond Dart says, "Balance the body, balance the brain. The future lies with the ambidextrous human." In the cerebral cortex, the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and the right hemsiphere controls the left side of the body. He advised that we coordinate the two sides of the body to enhance the integration and balance of the two hemispheres.

Everyday Ways in Becoming Ambidextrous:

1. Try Juggling. A balanced body tends to promote a more balanced brain, and vice versa. Juggling promotes rhythmic coordination between the two sides of the brain and the two
sides of the body.
2. Use your non-dominant hand for common activities such as brushing your teeth, throwing a ball, and eating meals.
3. Try writing with your opposite hand, then writing and drawing with both hands at once.
4. Kick with your non-dominant foot (unless you are physically attacked!)
5. Pour your drink with your opposite hand (ut oh, better get Bounty!)
5. Try this cross-lateral exercise to engage your attention when learning and working: Touch your left foot with your right hand by reaching behind your back. Then touch your right foot with your left hand by reaching behind your back. Do each one 10 times.
(Warning: Employ common sense when choosing activities to use your opposite hand with!)

Drumming Exercises to Promote Ambidextrerity:

1. Similar to the cross-lateral exercise, here is a cross-wiring exercise from TigerBill's book DoubleDrum. Go very slow and make sure you hit at the same time with the diaganol limbs. Then try it reversing the stickings and footings:
Hands: RLRL
Feet: LRLR
Hands: RRLL
Feet: LLRR

2. Play quarter notes with your left hand on the hi-hat (right hand if you're a lefty), 2 & 4 on the snare and 1 & 3 on the bass drum. Then try eighth notes with your left hand on the hi-hat.

3. Move your ride cymbal to your left side (right side if you're a lefty), and repeat Step 2 using the ride cymbals with your left hand (right hand if you're a lefty).

4. Start any rudiment with the left hand (right hand if you're a lefty) and apply it to the drumset.

In doing the exercises, you will be developing pathways in the brain to allow signals to transfer between it, and the muscles of your weaker limb, thus becoming more ambidextrous.

Think about how many times you read or heard something like this from a drumming educational source: "Strive for even strokes between the hands" or "Try to develop the weaker hand". And how about drumming's evolution to include multi-pedal set-ups (ala Thomas Lang, El Negro, Marco Minnemann, Neil Garthly, etc.) and increasing double bass control and speed? All of these examples, too, would naturally develop as a byproduct of becoming more ambidextrous with both our hands and feet.

True ambidexterity is rare. Even the people who are competently using both sides of their body usually show a preference for one side of over the other. Therefore, you can still simultaneously enjoy your preferences and the benefits of strengthening your weaker side, and do not have to be a perfectionist about cultivating exact ambidexterity.

Hey - I gotta go eat dinner now. And, quite frankly, I'm looking forward to picking up the fork with my right hand this time. (I'm a lefty eater.) Perhaps I should wear a bib!

P.S. I would even give my left arm to be more ambidextrous! (ha ha, get it?)

Hi Everyone..

I'm taking on one of my biggest teaching challenges.
Firstly, I'm right handed, playing crossed with trad in my left hand.
I'm attempting to teach my left handed cousin on my own drum kit, teaching him to play open handed matched on a righty kit.
So, I've never actually tackled teaching open handed to a left hander. Or a right hander. I've only ever asked my righty students to try playing open handed as an exercise.
So I really need some help on those of you who play/teach open handed. I'm a complete idiot on this and need some help. I think I can teach rhythmic patterns quite easily, but it's the fills and stuff that really bonkers me.
So ground basics explained as easily as possible, from simple stickings of simple fills to triplets and applications on the set. Everything open handed related that is approached in even the slightest difference to cross handed playing.
Thanks in advance.