Equal Opportunity Hands?

[Boomka]

It maybe a stylistic thing, but it does require all limbs to be more or less on par.

It certainly takes as many limbs to hit as many things. Not sure if it amounts to much, though.

I guess the players that I admire most don't play like that -- AT ALL. Being on par with those guys requires something quite different.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, that guy can play. It's just not the sort of thing I dig on.

 

[MikeM]

Good to see you, Abe.

Can't quite bring myself to claim being advanced, but I have been at it without a break for over 30 years, so wherever that puts me ... I play matched grip because I don't have to think about it, though traditional can be entertaining and I love watching other drummers use it.

I'd say my left hand can do about 75% of what my right is tasked with doing - and my right can probably do 90% of what my left is tasked with.

Equality between the two isn't one of my goals, though. They just do different things while serving the same master.

As long as they're competent at working together and I can pull off what I'm shootin' for ... if not, then I'll take the time to work it out. The way I prioritize my playing isn't to front-load the learning of skills; I learn what I need in order to play what I want to hear until I hit a wall and need to shed on a few things in order to hit the next idea.

I realize too, that this has more to do with my ADHD approach to most things, and I fully recognize the potential benefit to working toward more balance between the limbs. I just can't get exited about ritualistic practice routines when faking it until making it has its own rewards, and seems so much more in line with my personality type. Good thing I've never tried teaching!

As a drumset player, I'm hard pressed to imagine a situation where it would be terribly useful to get all that balance. Just the way a standard-ish kit is setup favors different roles for left and right sides. Only exception I can come up with would be someone like Mike Mangini, who really does use full ambidexterity in his playing - and has the setup to take full advantage of it - but it seems like a lot of work to get there, and perhaps limited musical application if most of what he's doing is simply mirroring. But it's probably a lot of fun if you have the time and patience for it.

 

[aydee]

Good to see you, Abe.

Can't quite bring myself to claim being advanced, but I have been at it without a break for over 30 years, so wherever that puts me ... I play matched grip because I don't have to think about it, though traditional can be entertaining and I love watching other drummers use it.

I'd say my left hand can do about 75% of what my right is tasked with doing - and my right can probably do 90% of what my left is tasked with.

Equality between the two isn't one of my goals, though. They just do different things while serving the same master.

As long as they're competent at working together and I can pull off what I'm shootin' for ... if not, then I'll take the time to work it out. The way I prioritize my playing isn't to front-load the learning of skills; I learn what I need in order to play what I want to hear until I hit a wall and need to shed on a few things in order to hit the next idea.

I realize too, that this has more to do with my ADHD approach to most things, and I fully recognize the potential benefit to working toward more balance between the limbs. I just can't get exited about ritualistic practice routines when faking it until making it has its own rewards, and seems so much more in line with my personality type. Good thing I've never tried teaching!

As a drumset player, I'm hard pressed to imagine a situation where it would be terribly useful to get all that balance. Just the way a standard-ish kit is setup favors different roles for left and right sides. Only exception I can come up with would be someone like Mike Mangini, who really does use full ambidexterity in his playing - and has the setup to take full advantage of it - but it seems like a lot of work to get there, and perhaps limited musical application if most of what he's doing is simply mirroring. But it's probably a lot of fun if you have the time and patience for it.

...


Cheers, Mike. Great post, as always! My reason for pushing my right ( Im lefty ) is more holistic and less a need for Mangini-like twin turbo engines on either side of the kit. Hopefully 2 + 2 equals 22. As Larry mentioned, it opens the kit to new possibilities, voicings and ideas.

Comparing the two hands based on capability is the question- not which hand plays better triplets at 160 bpm or which hand drags with more feeling..

I am assuming that your right does everything ( mostly everything ) that you want it to. Does you left also do mostly everything or is that gap greater?


...

 

[Anon La Ply]

What is it that Buster Bailey used to say? "Hang in there and watch the left hand!" It's the oldest problem in the book.

That pretty well sums it up for me.

It's like my brain knows what I can and can't handle, so any increase in facility automatically came with new ways to use it.

I can imagine that but the price is too high. Sitting and practicing. Like a disciplined adult. I never had the knack for it.

Ello' Lass!!! Thats me, the lout that spouts without a doubt..I think your left is more than 50 listen to your discography over the years.. Do you think Keith Moon had a preference?

Maybe 60%? When I dabble in the occasional exercise I find my LH and wrist are uncoordinated and stiff like a dalek's arm.

I think (?) Keith normally lead with his RH and LF. I've known of people who play tennis right handed but kick footballs with their left foot so I guess he was a bit like that - but like playing tennis and football all at once

 

[Larry]

I never had any big plans for weak hand domination. I just wanted equal facility. IMO, it's one of the best things you can do for your brain. Strengthening the weak side strengthens your corpus collosum, the middle part of your brain that coordinates the 2 halves. Einstein's corpus collosum was highly developed. Strengthening the corpus collosum... I actually think it allows a person to utilize more of their brain. It's got benefits that absolutely transcend drumset. This is JMO and have no hard facts only my own experience.

 

[rotherdrummer]

i'd probably say about 75%. i'd say i'm an intermediate player in terms of experience etc (been playing just over 10 years and been gigging quite regularly for about 4)

slightly off topic, but one thing i would say is that it's easy to fixated on grip, speed, technique etc when chatting on forums. there are some awesome drummers out there who have been playing no time at all! try not to compare yourself to everyone else. it's not a bad thing to want to imrpove, but if you become too obsessed it can kinda have a negative impact on your playing. for the first 5 years or so i was addicted to forums like this and constantly comparing myself to other drummers and taking advice about practicing for 30 hours a day, 8 days a week, etc! but i always think of it like this:- i could practice football (soccer) 24/7, but i still wouldn't be as good as ronaldo. there's an element of natural ability in everything we do imo...

for me, my natural co-ordination between left and right honestly isn't that good, and no amount of practice (and stress) will perfect it. don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with striving to be better, but don't let it take it's toll on you. for me, so long as i can play the songs required for my bands i try not to worry too much what the next guy does. i tend to find i enjoy drumming much more these days and sometimes surprise myself as i'm not over-thinking everything

having said all that, good luck getting your weak hand up to the speed you want