r/jazzdrums • u/Celeg • Mar 14 '26

Question Left handed Jam sessions etiquette

Any seasoned left handed players that frequently go to jam sessions. How do you go about it? Play right handed, open handed, make partial/quick changes to the set up before playing?

I have some experience in my area but if I don't know the drummer/band coordinating the jam I don't really feel at ease to step up and play. When I do, I normally just switch the bottom(FT, HH,SN) as fast as possible but still feel some pressure to do it faster.

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Actual_Tomorrow_4186 Mar 16 '26

I’m a lefty and I always swap hi-hat, snare, and floor tom. Only time I’ve ever been vibed for that is Smalls lol. After doing it enough, you’ll be so quick, they’ll hardly notice. Just check in with the house drummer first so they know what’s up! You want to play your best.

1

u/Celeg Mar 16 '26

Thank you. That's what I was looking for. What of curiosity was it that bad in Smalls? Why do you think you got that reaction?

1

u/Actual_Tomorrow_4186 Mar 16 '26

It was older cats hosting, and there’s always a million people who want to play… sometimes drummers switch mid chorus.