Keeping Mentally Sharp at 70 and Beyond, Part Three: Playing Drums Open Handed!

In the Practice Cave, 02-11-2026

Well, if you gonna write about open-handed drum playing, there is no better soundtrack than to listen to Simon Philips, the master of open-handed playing.  In addition to being a master player, having played with The Who, Toto and Hiromi Uehara to mention a few, at 68 years of age (Simon was born in 1957), he is still very much relevant.       

So, it all started with the song “Don’t Stop Believin’” by the group Jurney, which I had played in bands since 2015 with varying success, and always playing the song “cross-stick”, using my dominant (left) hand to play the 8th notes on the high-hat and bell cymbal.  However, in 2021 when I started playing with our work band “The Heartbeats”, I decided to figure out how to actually play the song, with all of its syncopated toms and bell work.  Well, being the YouTube junky that I am, I started looking for videos that explain how the song is actually played by Steve Smith, who was the drummer in Jurney at the time, and who invented the drum beat.  So, central to playing Don’t Stop Believin” “the right way” is open-handed drumming, in which case your non-dominant hand (my right in my case, since I’m a lefty) will carry the 8th notes, while your dominant hand does a lot of fancy tom and bell work.

So, besides strengthen your weak hand, what does open-handed playing do? Well, as they say “I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous”, the research on doing things with your non-dominant hand seem to be ambiguous; in the article “Does Using Your Non-Dominant Hand Make You Smarter” (https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/thinking-and-awareness/2019/does-using-your-non-dominant-hand-make-you-smarter-080919) author Charlie Wood presents mixed results from research, without any obvious long-term benefits, nor any drawbacks.  However, the article “The Cognitive Benefits of Using Your Non-Dominant Hand” (https://www.insidehook.com/wellness/cognitive-benefits-using-non-dominant-hand), author Tanner Garrity presents a positive view of using your non-dominant hand for everyday tasks, which could have long-term cognitive benefits.  Also, the article “Increased functional connectivity between cortical hand areas and praxis network associated with training-related improvements in non-dominant hand precision drawing” (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4903896/), by authors Benjamin Philip and Scott Frey, notes that “These data indicate that modest amounts of training (< 200 min total) can induce substantial, persistent improvements the precision and quality of non-dominant hand control in healthy adults, supported by strengthened connectivity between bilateral sensorimotor hand areas and a left-lateralized parieto-prefrontal praxis network.”

On my personal level, I do believe that continuing to do new things, especially as we age, is of tremendous importance, be it learning new skills, engaging in new activities and / or meeting new people (or re-engage with some old friends for that matter).  I also  believe that for an old dog it is important to learn new skills, especially if that old dog has been retired from active duty! 

So, on that note, here is a little inventory of songs where I’ve played open-handed, from my little YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/@peterlindwall8875:

Open-handed playing explained

Play That Funky Music open-handed

It's Going Down, open-handed

In The End, open-handed

Sultans of Swing, open-handed

Somebody That I Used to Know, open-handed

Ring My Bell, open-handed

Super Freak, open-handed

Neon Moon, open-handed

My Maria, open-handed

Gimmie Three Steps, open-handed

Take It Easy, open-handed

All Right Now, open-handed

Uptown Funk, open-handed

Papa Was a Rolling Stone, open-handed

Lips Like Sugar, open-handed

Miss You, open-handed

Billie Jean, open-handed

Don't Stop Believin open-handed playing explained

Don't Stop Believin, open-handed










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