September 2011

Rock ‘N’ Jazz Clinic

Open-Handed Playing

Part 1: Unlocking the Hidden Potential

by Claus Hessler

One of the biggest advantages to playing open-handed is that you no longer have to deal with the obstructed movement of crossing your hands to play the hi-hat and snare. Part one of my article series on open-handed playing covers basic exercises to help unlock your coordination.

Here’s a play-along track for you to practice with in order to apply some of those ideas from the article. There are two mp3s (one with drums and one without), and a PDF of the chart. Enjoy!

[audio:https://moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/33-Be-what-you-are-complete.mp3|titles=Play-Along Track With Drums] Download here

[audio:https://moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/34-Be-what-you-are-click.mp3|titles=Play-Along Track Without Drums] Download here

Here’s a link to download the chart.

Be What You Are – play-along

Check out the complete article in the September 2011 issue for exercises and additional insight.