I just discovered your channel and I will be following it. You explain things in very accessible ways. A couple of comments on this q&a: I've been playing for the best part of 50 years and fatigue is a issue that I've dealt with in three different ways. I play both traditional and matched grips and I've done these things to keep my right hand from tiring out on a long and/or complex gig (I've played in both Yes and Police tributes). 1) holding the sticks extremely loose 2) playing open-handed whenever I can and not affect the groove 3) reducing how hard I hit and increasing how fast I hit (more motion and less brute strength All three of these are definitely works in progress but it seems to help my endurance.
One, additional reason for the cross-over is that, back in the day, most drummers actually played traditional grip - this would be back in the early days of jazz, blues, etc - and then suddenly, in the late 20s/early 30s, the low boy became a hi hat and how were you supposed to play that, and why was it on the left anyway? The right hand had already been playing on a small cymbal to the right, if it wasn't on the snare, or other percussion on the trap tray or trap rack. So when the low-boy that was on the left got raised to become the hi-hat, drummers crossed over to do the same thing with it they had been doing with the right all along, keeping the left hand on the (usually) tilted snare. I play traditional grip myself, and although I sometimes also play open handed with the left hand on the hats, the angle is different with trad grip - like, I want to tilt my hats like I've got my snare and toms tilted, but obviously can't. So yeah, the right hand crosses and plays the hats.
I am lefthanded, and as you said, I’ve switched the whole kit around: left foot kick, right foot hihat, toms accordingly, etc. I used to play open-handed, but my present way seems much easier.
Your dominant hand is your leading hand on the drums. And you will play the time with it. Whether a quarter note rhythm, or straight eighth note, or sixteenth note, or swung eighth note. And you will play the time on the hi-hat but also on the ride cymbal which is placed on your right. And in jazz, unlike rock, the cymbal is definitely more important than the hi-hat, as the time-keeping voice. So, the right hand has a lot to learn. Historically rock music comes from jazz music, the hi-hat was first a low boy, not to be played with a stick, because it was at placed at the hight of your ankle, to be splashed with your left foot. Then it grew up to the hand level. The time was first played on different things such as woodblocks and only a bit later on cymbals of different sizes, to end up with the ride cymbals being the usually the largest on the set, always played with drumers right hand. In rock, pop, etc. the hi-hat is dominant, in jazz the ride cymbal is dominant. But everything has to be played with or against the time, so with or against the time keeping hand, that is, our dominant hand. Emma is just right saying that this the busiest hand so it has to be our dominant hand, which has to learn a lot. Lovely video, very informative, from the girls.
While watching and listening to your answers, I remembered "talking shop" with the late Eric Carr (KISS) and I asked him (technical) questions regarding why he didn't really utilize techniques such as flams, paradiddles, etc. He had told me that, I'm paraphrasing, the kid sitting in the seat way way back won't notice it, mainly visually. Eric was more of a powerhouse drummer with a mind on the visual aspect of a live performance as well as what he was playing. So as I was listening to you and thinking back to the conversation with Eric, it made me think about the "visual aspect" of a drummer. Then rather quickly you made mention of a visual aspect, as with Gene Krupa. That was cool serendipity!!! You have a pleasant style and great demeanor. Hats off to you and your teacher. Thank you, and your friend, for sharing!
Awesome vid! Very informative. There's so many more rabbit holes you can get into as well. Can start talking about drum woods, stick types, different heads, tuning, sizes... learning all this stuff really is a lifelong journey lol.
IMHO, the reason why we cross over to play the hi-hat is because playing the hats/ride is a lot more work than playing the snare, and most people want their dominant hand doing more work than their non-dominant hand. Same goes with the feet; the majority of us do a lot more with our primary bass drum foot. Thus, the right side of the body is playing cymbals and bass drum. Open-handed playing means at least one non-dominant limb is doing more work. Also, as a lefty who plays righty, I find that if the coordination gets tricky, the non-dominant hand keeping time on the cymbal is more likely to become unsteady. Of course, with enough practice, you can make up for it, but you're starting with a disadvantage, not unlike a beginner starting with traditional grip vs. matched. Speaking of, the fulcrum should not be further back when using traditional grip. However, some people have it further back (Keith Carlock, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl when he was younger). The trade-off is you get more reach, and backbeats are much more comfortable to play, but the stick barely bounces.
0:13 - Steven Sweet played "open handed" and it was fine. I put my hihats on the right side and started playing like that because I got bored with the typical setup
The most plausible answer I have seen to playing the hi-hat with the right hand is that you are keeping the pulse with the same side of your body (right foot with the bass, and right hand with the hi-hat). Opening the hi-hat and even snare are "incidental" events.
I really love the way you explain certain subjects. Very similar to how I explain things to my students. I'm American so your accent makes you sound much smarter than me... Than I?... Lol I don't know. My answer to the question as to why we cross our hands... My explanation for this is as a right handed person I lead with my right hand so when I think of my counts that are being played on the hats, I start with count one in my right hand and lead around the kit from there. You mentioned the great Ringo. If you watch him play the song Come Together for instance, you notice that he's playing a right handed kit but is leading with his left. As you said, there is no specific rule to this. Great video! I always enjoy watching them.
To "why cross hands" - It's sort of dominant hand, and hi-hat placement, and it's also the reason the Kick drum is played with the right foot as it's the dominant foot and can learn to play the trickier stuff better than thew left foot which mostly only needs to keep time with opening and closing the hi-hat. I learned to play left-handed with the hi-hat on the right, and the kick drum played with my left foot - then realised after about 3 years of playing like that that because I'm right handed, I should have the drum kit set up the othr way round. So that's what I did. It means I can play either way round.
Also, as a follow up to a previous post, my drum teacher would tell me, whatever you do right handed, practice it as well as left handed". Basically learning to play ambidextrous. - Your Ludwig set sound great and look sharp!
So I'm a lefty and I have been trying to play open handed hi-hats with my left hand on a right hand configuration. An important thing I note and I think you nailed it Emma, is that it's bad ergonomics to do those subtle movements at that angle. My wrist is killing me.
I'm a lefty and I was always taught to play on a right handed kit. My teachers reasoning was if I'm ever required to dep for another drummer and the kit is already set up, if I can only play in a lefty configuration, everything will need moving round. This is great advice until you turn up to a showcase gig with 3 other bands, whose drummers are all lefties who play on left handed kits and I'm the only one who plays on a right handed kit 😅
Bloody excellent question regarding "right over left" at the beginning. In 40 years of playing drums, I don't think anyone has ever asked me that. My answer would be that the HH are in the place they are because your right foot (right handed players) is on the bass drum pedal so your HHs are under your left foot kind of forcing you to play "crossed up". I'm kind of a lefty but play a right handed kit (long story) which leads me onto your next Q about playing open handed. I can, yes but over the years I've become conditioned to lead with my right, however playing ride instead of HHs is much more comfortable for me because it leaves my left open to play oddities that naturally right handers might not consider. That said, I am not very dextrous with my left. I watch Emma's tuition to try and learn greater left hand control but it's a little bit of teaching an old dog and all that...
I never understood why beginners aren''t taught to play open handed on the hi hats and lead right on the ride. I am naturally left handed with everything except playing drums. I naturally led with my left when I began at 10 years old. My drum teacher changed that. Over the past year I have started practicing open handed and find it has strengthened by left hand and dexterity
@@markravitz1684 Interesting. The abridged version of my "long story" is that I write with my left but I'm right handed every other way, however due to early 1970s school policies I was forced to write with my right which (regardless of the correctness of those policies) left me with some degree of ambidexterity in both directions which was enough to give me a slightly unique (if totally unimpressive) technique when playing drums.
Loved the explanation about bright and dark cymbals. I just assumed that heavier cymbals were darker because a splash is higher pitched than a ride cymbal. So good to know.
17:43 It really can be. Just last night I had to partially take apart my kit, which is quite large (yet if I remove one piece I find myself missing it), and I always like to play around on it each time I put a piece back to see what it influences me do. Anyway, I went to do a certain cross stick thing I've seen Gavin Harrison do where he'll position the stick to glance off the rim of one of his toms to make it sound like a flammed cross stick, but that tom wasn't put back yet; so I wound up going to the next rack tom, and it was too far to do that same thing and instead I hit the rim of the tom while the butt of the stick stayed on the snare head and it made a really cool sound that I now plan to implement regularly. If someone wants to try it, the specific sound I found interesting was with no hand contact on the snare, only butt of stick + hit tom rim.
Being a teenage wannabe drummer in the 70's/80's my idol was Neil Peart so of course I wanted a huge kit but at uni I saw a local band where the drummer had a bass drum a snare and a small crash cymbal and that was it. He didnt even use a stool but that meant he could dance around the snare almost to his hearts content and he created such a huge sound both in terms of volume and variety. It was a true eye opener. It was in Liverpool and I am almost sure that the band was called Lawnmower. They and he were brilliant.
Tradition. Originally the hit-hat was called the low-boy and was was not on a high stand and was only played with a pedal…. When drummers started using the stick on the low boy they had to cross there hands….. 🤔 I might have to start just playing open
In addition, the different nationality in the grip also reflects in the angle in which the sticks are being held to each other; There's one in which they're even parallel! 🙂
Great video! Wow, goosebumps...your video just took me back to when I was taking lessons...I mean ALOT!!! Not only your explanations but especially your terminology and voice cadences remind me SOOO much, so close to my (late) drum teacher Mr. Greg Edwin. Wow! Also, the questions you were asked were, almost for batem, the questions I was asking!!! I have several questions I'd like to ask you more than several questions, but for space in this post, I'd like to start with cymbals. First, what is your preferred ride cymbal? 2nd, have you ever tried an "Earth" ride cymbal? 3rd, what are your hi hats of choice? That's it for now. More questions, if you don't mind, in a separate comment. Thanks for sharing and more so, THANK YOU for the experience of reliving my drum lesson years with my dearly missed friend and teacher.
I'm lefthanded but i haven't mirrored the drumset. I learnd to play like a righthanded. I think there are two advantages: I can play on every drumset and my backbeat is always tight.
I am lefty, I just learnt to play right-handed bass, drums, guitar. I already got used to you damn righty-majority's other tools like scissors my whole life, at this point I just accept the right-handed world I live in. It works fine.
Like others have said, traditionally, the hi-hat was only a pedal device. Since the evolution of the hi-hat, it is now largely on the left because that it where it is easiest/cheapest to have it due to the pedal. I have a remote hi-hat stand, and it's a pretty good one, but I found that in my playing I just don't like it over on the right, it gets in the way of everything else. Danny Carey famously had it mounted in the center, but even he went back to left because he says the remote pedals are just not responsive enough for him. (I'm not that good, the remote is plenty responsive for ME, I just trip up my sticks when it's over on the right.)
I think the crossing thing might be because it's divided by "function" not sides, so one hand will always play the snare and the other will swap around hihat/ride/etc, easier to memorize patterns like that maybe?
I've inherited an old drum kit. How can I get the best out of setting it up / tuning it / cleaning it? It's a bit battered, but it keeps me entertained. Kick. Snare. Hit hat. Crash. Ride. 2 toms and a floor tom
im a beginner and left handed, I am playing right hand cross handed. Trying to keep it that way so i can use my tutors drum kit! Seem to be doing ok so far
I always thought it was the natural right/left split so that the main thrust of so many beats (r/h bass - l/h snare) would be more difficult both done with the right side and easier when alternated between opposite and complimentary sides. Does that make sense? In any event please feel free to disregard my thoughts as I am a mere guitar player 😂
the hi hat started off as a very low height pedal (not even capable of being hit with a stick) that was just for use by the drummer's "other" (non-bass drum) foot - so that's why it ended up in that position.
There's no valid reason to use traditional grip these days. Besides, if you hand somebody a pair of sticks and tell them to play the drums or some biscuit tins or whatever, chances are they're not going to think, "Let's see, what's the most unnatural, uncomfortable way for me to hold the snare stick? That's right, I'll twist my arm into this weird, upside-down position that I'd never use for anything else, and away we go!" I know, happens all the time.
