In our level 1 and 2 lessons two different type of sixteen beat are discussed. In one Two Hands are used to play and in the other only the Right Hand is used. When following this from a lesson it is obvious which version of the sticking to use as it is explained to you but how do you tell when learning a song?
The answer is actually quite straight forward, you just look at what is happening with the cymbal part when snares are struck. If there are a lot of snares played on there own that it is most likely intended to be a two handed 16 beat. If snares have cymbals played at the same time as them then it is probably intended to be the one handed version.
For example, look at the snares in this drum beat:
You can see that the two snares that appear don't have any hi hats with them, so this would be played with the single stroke 'R L' style sticking.
Then look at the snares in this groove:
All four snare strokes have hi hats played at the same time so you should assume that here the one handed version is used.
