I can’t quite figure out where to put the cowbell on my drum pads—should it go on the dominant or non-dominant hand side? And where does it make the most sense on a 4x4 pad layout (or on the FGDP)?
On one hand, most rock tunes use the cowbell on the on-beats, which makes me think it belongs on the dominant side. On the other hand, in other styles it’s often used for syncopation—and even in rock, the dominant hand is already pretty busy. So even though it’s just hitting 1-2-3-4, maybe the non-dominant side makes more sense?
Curious if anyone else has thought this through. I’d love to hear your opinions! 
Thanks,
David
I think I put cowbells in the spot of side sticks (so both sides) and often I use independent hands playing to play them. So mostly non dominant hand and allowing to hit both hands at the same time, where the dominant hand plays some sort of main beat and the other one plays a cowbell pattern. It also depends on the song. If I clearly only need my left hand I might put it only left. If I really need side sticks but not all toms I might put it in one of the tom spots. Because it is almost always independent hands it does not matter that much where it is placed. (for left hand left side would of course be better)
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I’d placed it in the lowest, left-most pad and had played with independent technique for a while. But then I got to thinking, I’d better ask before I train this too deeply into my muscle memory.
Thanks for the reply!
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