With direct assistance from global drumming ambassador, Dom Famularo, the Learning Advantage program was engineered by Mapex to strengthen its ongoing commitment to music education.

Learning Advantage is supported by two core principles. First, Mapex ensures that dealers are equipped with well-maintained, high quality drum sets and hardware on which students can successfully learn. Secondly, Mapex provides an avenue for its member instructors to enhance their own education and, in turn, pass that knowledge along to their students.

Industry research reveals that students excel at a faster pace and are more likely to practice when their equipment is of high quality. Mapex Learning Advantage Dealers are offered extra incentives to keep their teaching studio gear replaced frequently and in excellent working condition.

Learning Advantage instructors have direct access to some of the greatest teaching resources in the world. Lesson plan archives, access to new teaching methods and direct contact with some of the industry’s greatest living instructors are just a few of the components that allow Learning Advantage Instructors to empower students of all ages and abilities.

With its goals firmly in place, Mapex is committed to challenging student drummers to reach their fullest potential and most importantly, have fun while doing it. The Learning Advantage Program places Mapex in a position to pave a path of learning that propels the next generation of drummers into the exciting world of modern drum set artistry.

When you are looking into percussion education, look into Learning Advantage and see the future. Mapex Learning Advantage... It’s not about the drums. It’s about the drummers

4/17/2007

Open Handed -The Wave of the Future

By Dom Famularo and Stephane Chamberland



Some people makes waves, some people ride the waves and some people spend all their time looking for the beach. See The Cycle Of Self Empowerment by Dom Famularo (P.15).



Here we are in the 21th century with new concepts and techniques from which to learn. Everywhere in the world, people try to improve their skills to become better musicians and to surpass limits. In every aspect of life, I think we should find new ways to be open-minded because we all can make a difference.



The drumset, like every other instrument, is growing; thus, the way we play the instrument is improving. We just need to watch the new players perform to realize that the future will be a treat. Gene Krupa, in his book shows us that in his time, people were playing the right hand on the hi-hat and the left hand on the snare with the left hand on top to play louder and the right hand under to play softer. Today, we just put the hi-hat higher to hit harder. But one day, a wise man named Billy Cobham invented open-handed playing. This is simple, and means: Never cross your arms!



The benefit of this technique is tremendous. Try to play a beat with your left hand on the hi-hat and your right hand on the snare drum and be creative. You can move your snare hand around the toms to create new sounds and hear the music. Dom influenced Steph and convinced him that this kind of playing is the wave of the future. Do you remember when the double bass pedal was just becoming popular? Some people were very anxious about playing this, and many others thought that this was just a thing that would not stay around for a long time. To the contrary, the double bass pedal is now a part of the modern drumset!



With open-handed playing, you can now put two ride cymbals and two hi-hats in your drumset. We use two different-sized hi-hats and two different-sized ride cymbals. So, on our right, we can play a groove with our right hand on the hi-hat without crossing our arms, and on our left, we can play with our left hand on the other hi-hat while playing the back beat with our right hand.



Einstein said that we can not solve new challenges with old solutions. Today, with the evolution of the drum set, we need a new solution. Open-handed playing is the new solution. Think about it: We must not settle for "good"; but rather strive for "best". Always try to find the best in your life, in your playing. Drumming is about expression, and with open-handed playing, you will be capable of expressing yourself with the best tool!



We have been playing this way for a few years, and let us tell you something: We will never come back to cross-sticking. Simon Phillips, Carter Beauford and Will Kennedy use this technique. Now, persevere, quitting is not an option. Enjoy the journey!