that just doesnt sound safe. ive seen the leather straps break and hit kids during visuals i cant imagine how a bandana would hold up

really? how do they tie the bandannas? a normal knot?

You use a couple of washers. Get a bandana, grab the opposite ends (upper right corner with bottom left corner for example), spin until you get a sort of "rope" (like if you wanted to look like Tupac for example).

Put both opposite ends together, take your cymbal, insert both ends into the hole. If you're performing Garfield grip you would put the strap on your hand (your other hand still holding both ends of the bandana on the other side of the cymbal) and adjust until the fit is VERY snug and almost tight on your hands. If you were to have the bandana all tied up, you should be able to lift the cymbal bottom-facing-floor without the cymbal leaving the pad of your hand. That's how snug it should be.

Get your washers, insert one into each end of the bandana. Slide them until they're up against the hole of the cymbal. If there's too much fabric and the washer won't slide down to the cymbal, then take out the bandana and re-wrap it until it's a nice thin rope with not much fabric sticking out.

Once the washers are nice and snug, you tie up your bandana in a tight knot. When we did this at Teal Sound, we just did simple knots over and over until there was little to no more extra fabric left to be tied. Over time, the bandanas would stretch so they require a lot of extra tieing. At one point I was tieing six or seven knots just to keep the damn things in place.

In my experience, bandanas aren't worth it. They tear easy, they tend to slip out of their knots or even out of the cymbal hole (use big washers to prevent this), and they're actually quite uncomfortable. I've had skin damage from leather straps, but never have I worn more uncomfortable straps than when I used bandanas. I had stretch marks on the backs of my hands, welts, bruising, skin flaking, and not to mention pain. This was of course using Garfield grip. I've never had experience with pistol-grip.

Excuse the rambling if any.

about the skin damage....just buy a cheap pair of batting gloves or get a pair of the hornlines gloves
that works for us

Yeah, but . . . that's like . . . not cool. :p

Just kidding. Personally, having been brought up by the lines I've been apart of, I'm a little bias when it comes to using gloves and just keeping your hands bare. I prefer having bare hands when playing cymbals. I guess there's just a "hardcore B.A." factor for me, and the rest of the people I've worked with. We always find joy in showing off "battle scars" from seasons past. Not to mention the awesome tan lines you get on your wrists and palms after a whole season of marching plates. And to me, it seems like you become a stronger, more unified group overall if you all can bear the pain of marching plates bare-handed. It feels as though we gain more respect from ourselves, our counterparts, and the rest of the marching group when we all realize just how much it takes to march bare-handed.

For the record, I've marched gloved.

But no shame in marching gloved. It's all about preference and demands of the music, I guess. :p

I always felt like I had less control when I used gloves. After a while( 4 weeks or so), youre hands stop hurting any way.

wsup, 2cymbal! Im experienced in showstyle percussion especially in the art of cymbal twirling. i agree w/ Front about not using gloves. Insomniac is right about your hands not hurting anymore after about a month of playing and I like the control i have when i play gloveless.

first things first: THE BANDANA
the bandana is the ideal choice for showstyle cymbal straps; they're cheap, strong, and easily replaceable. They can tear, but some marching cymbals come with a small, metal ring fitted inside the centre hole of the cymbal. This ring slows the progression of your strap tearing.
To strap your cymbal, start by unfolding the bandana. crease the bandana in half diagonally, then open it back up and fold two opposite corners inward, making them meet at the crease like this: >|< Crease these new folds into positon, then fold these new creases toward the center crease (like you did with the opposite corners at the begining)and crease them ,as well. Repeat this until your strap is about 1.5-2 inches wide from either side of the central crese to the edge. Fold the strap closed (like closing a book)and thread the tips of the strap through the cymbal hole simultaneously(this takes a little muscle)until your hand can fit VERY snug in the strap. Finally, double-knot the strap to ensure it doesn't become too loose during performance.
Trust me, i wouldn't waste anyone's time. This method of strapping up the cymbals keeps the hands comfortable, makes the straps last longer, and allows the straps to hold their shape in order for you to perform certain tricks and visuals.

If you see this post, let me know and i'll post more to help you start on actual cymbal visuals (eg. twirling, spinning, flashing, freestyling,etc...or whatever you may know it as

peace

P.S.
use a good pair of cymbal pads, as playing and spinning using the pistol grip can be very painful on the knuckles.