Hey Lefty Drummers

Hewitt2

Senior Member
Realizing that this squarely falls within the context of "first world" problems, any of you get bummed out being a lefty drummer, particularly when using rehearsal space or playing on open mics? There have been a few situations over the last few weeks where I have felt like the odd man out, and have had to work overtime to earn the right to play.

Naturally, when sitting down to play I need to make major adjustments and then when I'm done, out of courtesy to other users, I then set things up again for a righty. Righties, however, no matter how exotic their drum/cymbal height or location preferences, never have to do many adjustments when done.

Being a lefty player is like getting a perpetual education in being a drum tech. What do other lefties do? Grin and bear it? Develop ambidextrous or learn to play righty exclusively? Refuse to do anything and leave the kit as-is once done, risky frosty glares or outright bans in the worst case?
 
Realizing that this squarely falls within the context of "first world" problems, any of you get bummed out being a lefty drummer, particularly when using rehearsal space or playing on open mics? There have been a few situations over the last few weeks where I have felt like the odd man out, and have had to work overtime to earn the right to play.

Naturally, when sitting down to play I need to make major adjustments and then when I'm done, out of courtesy to other users, I then set things up again for a righty. Righties, however, no matter how exotic their drum/cymbal height or location preferences, never have to do many adjustments when done.

Being a lefty player is like getting a perpetual education in being a drum tech. What do other lefties do? Grin and bear it? Develop ambidextrous or learn to play righty exclusively? Refuse to do anything and leave the kit as-is once done, risky frosty glares or outright bans in the worst case?
My good friend Chris Moore Plays a Righty kit, but open handed, I know it may not be much help for those who play full on lefty. All he does is move the ride left of, and below the Hi Hats. You can check him out on Youtube, search Chris Moore Drummer. He has some solos, as well as shows in the L.A. area posted.
 
My good friend Chris Moore Plays a Righty kit, but open handed, I know it may not be much help for those who play full on lefty. All he does is move the ride left of, and below the Hi Hats. You can check him out on Youtube, search Chris Moore Drummer. He has some solos, as well as shows in the L.A. area posted.

Yeah, that's the problem. I can play with the hi-hat on the left, and ride with either my left or right hand in many instances, but the big issue is what my feet are playing on and the tom set-up. Those are the big nuisances for a lefty player which impacts the overrall set-up of the kit.
 
No. Since I've been left-handed all my life so I don't let other's effect my life. Play, don't play, set it up how you like... It's something you have to embrace. Use your own equipment or be ready to reset anyone's set when you sit down. Then, let them re-set it when you're done.
 
I go to a lot of jam sessions and yeah, it sucks but it is what it is. I've also played a lot of shows and festivals where the kit is miked and so the sound guys first have to take the mikes off so I can switch around the kit. I've never had a serious problem with it, just the occasional "damn these lefties" jokes here and there.
 
I have a few different modes of thought on this.

If I'm sitting in on a right-handed set of drums, all I do is swap the snare, floor tom and hi-hat, and leave the rest of the kit the same. Then I groove better to shut up the on-lookers.

If I'm in an audition situation, I do the same thing, and play great enough to just take the gig and eliminate everybody else (if I may be so bold ;)

To be honest, I avoid open-mic nights and jam nights (or I've never really had alot of opportunity to do them anyway). In those instances, either I won't play very good, or some of the other musicians won't play very good, so I go to enjoy seeing others play.

Yes, it keeps me out of the networking loop sometimes, but I can live with that. Sometimes friends will ask me to play so my reputation will have preceded me and I'll be treated nicely. But I rarely walk into a room full of strangers and ask if I can sit in. I remember having my own rock cover band playing some local dive and having a bunch of strangers come up to me and ask if they could play, and I would always decline because we're working - it's not amateur night. Unfortunately not too many people understand this concept in the local dive bar.
 
I don't think there's a right way and/or wrong way to go about being a lefty. I'm a natural left, but play guitar right handed since I inherited my instruments and trade from my father, who was right handed.

When I started playing drums, I set up right handed because I knew that I'd end up sounding a little bit different than 90% of other drummers, and that's desirable to me. I also wanted to be able to play socially (open mic, basement nights, etc).

So I guess it's a decision you have to make early on, and commit to one way or another. Once you make the decision, don't get hung up on second guessing yourself after it's too late to switch.
 
For the most part, people have been pretty understanding, and didn't mind me reversing their kit. If I'm just doing a song or two, I'll just swap out hat Fl.tom and snare. I always make sure I put things back like they were. There have been many times where my kit was used. So I had to reverse my own kit. Ha Ha. I like being a lefty though. It makes me a little different. As if I'm not different enough already. I'm a proud lefty.
 
I'm a lefty, and when I started playing (mumble mumble) years ago, my teacher gave me the pros and cons of playing a "left-handed" kit vs a "right-handed" kit. I chose to try playing a standard setup and have never played any other way. I dabble with an open-handed style every now and then but it doesn't come naturally to me. I can ride with the left hand and play backbeats with the right, but any nuance or ghost notes get lost in translation between my brain and my right hand.

The way I see it is that there really isn't a "left-handed" vs "right-handed" kit, it's more about having a standard vs non-standard way of setting up the instrument. There are no left-handed pianos, but pianos don't have to be assembled from smaller components every time you play them either.

There isn't much flexibility over the positioning of the various components of the other instruments the way that there is for a drum set. Sure, there are variations on wind instruments with additional keys or stops or valves, but in general a woodwind is played with the left hand above the right hand and a trumpet/cornet/flugelhorn is played with the right hand on the valves and the left hand on the valve slides. Left-handed wind players don't seem to mind, but then again they are using fine motor skills (fingers) while we use large motor skills (hands, wrists, and arms). A guitarist can decide to change the tuning of the strings, or put on a bass guitar string in place of the low E string or whatever, but it's not like having the complete freedom to put various drums and cymbals and other percussion in whatever place on your kit makes sense to you.
 
I am a lefty and switched to right hand "everything" 20 something years ago. Much easier all around. Give it a shot , you might like it.
 
I am left handed and right footed, so I play open handed. I live in the boondocks, so there is no jam night situation for me to deal with. Peace and goodwill.
 
I am a lefty and switched to right hand "everything" 20 something years ago. Much easier all around. Give it a shot , you might like it.

This idea had crossed my mind, but since I work semi-regularly, I'm afraid I don't have the time allotted to get my act together right-handed (sigh). But I wish I had those ambidextrous ways like when Bun E. Carlos played left-handed for a Cheap Trick video.
 
After meeting drummers, sometimes they ask if I want to check out their kit - which is kind of surprising to me... I'm not sure I would do that. But anyway, I thank them and then inform them that I play left-handed and would have to switch everything around. So I politely decline. I always wish I didn't have to.

When ever I check out new drum sets - like at Guitar Center - they're alway set up right-handed. And for me, that's a PITA. One time at GC the guy in the drum dept. told me to just use the left-foot pedal on the double bass pedal to play. I tried to explain to him that it's all still in the wrong place for me and everything would need to be reversed. He just didn't get it.

I'm amazed at the number of people who think that Jimi Hendrix simply flipped his guitar over to the right when he plays. No, he also had to restring all of his guitars (E,A,D,G,B,E), replace the nut and redo the set-up.

Righties don't understand.
 
Righties don't understand.

Just like parents don't understand (sorry, had to throw in a DJ Jazzy Jeff reference there)


Seriously, though, being left-handed can be a serious pain, especially for an instrument like the drums where the pieces need to be configured in a certain way. Knowing what I do now, I probably would have ripped off the bandage years ago and relearned playing as a righty.

I can't say that it's enough of a priority for me now, though. I would rather stomach the rolling eyes and under the breath mumbling when I get on a shared kit and move stuff around, rather than play as a righty. I'm too set in my ways than to make such a fundamental change.

MMulcahy is right, though , that these are considerations in which righties are blissfully unaware. Likely because they are evil and sinister beings, lefties are left to weather the many injustices of life's insistence on right hand dominance (buttons, opening doors, etc)
 
... opening doors, etc)

I hear you, I truly do. However, I do not believe that I have ever seen (or used?) a right-handed - or left-handed for that matter - door.

Hmmm?
 
I hear you, I truly do. However, I do not believe that I have ever seen (or used?) a right-handed - or left-handed for that matter - door.

Hmmm?

It's generally a problem that wait-staff and delivery people encounter.

When you come to a double door that has doorknobs (and not a bar), which door do you use? Which side is the knob on? Which hand do you use?
 
I have two friends / band mates that are left handed. Both of them are learning drums, but play other instruments mainly. Both of them play their other instruments standard (or right handed), but one of them plays the drums lefty setup, and the other tries to play an entirely right handed setup. The one who plays drums lefty seems to be more fluent and relaxed, where the other has a problem with being to tense while playing. I instruct him to stay loose and and it'll make his playing a lot more effective because as of now, his timing his off, his strokes are very choppy, and it's just sloppy. I've reccomended him looking into open handed playing or switching to lefty but he seems pretty bent on playing entirely right handed.

I'm sure he can move past it. I started experimenting with playing open handed (even though I'm right handed) about four years ago. I don't really consider myself ambi or super skilled, but it does kinda' take people by surprise when I finish a fill and return to the backbeat keeping time with my left hand. I'll even cross over left handed, and play my ride with my left hand (it's not dynamic, but it looks odd, so I like it.)
 
An argument could be made that maybe kids should just play the kit the way they see it. Afterall, nobody will ever make a left-handed piano, right?

But I did have a couple of students in my past who were trying to make themselves play right-handed (everything else they did was left-handed, like kick, throw, or swing a bat). When I asked them why they were playing right-handed, they were unaware there was "another way" to set up the kit, or approach playing basic snare drum (they were pre- and early-teens). When I suggested they set up their kits in reverse, suddenly their playing got much better and they were less frustrated with not getting things right away.

I've even met guitar teachers who let their student continue on left-handed if that is easier for them. One teacher told me that for lefties, "The groove is in their left-hand, the strumming hand". And that totally made sense to me too.

But the bottom line I guess is that these students were no longer frustrated and they continue to play to this day. As much as it is a PITA to be able to sit-in somewhere if you're left-handed, if playing makes you happy, then I'm all about letting people be happy first. Deal with how you sit-in somewhere later. Or, never attend a sit-in, start your own band and go out and play that way ;)
 
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