How to teach lefty kid?

BTW. Aydee has been one of the lefty drummers I've been listening to for my private teaching practice. And all the other stuff, it just DON"T work. I can tell you that from experience.

I asked a famous lefty drummer why he played righty on a righty kit, and he answered because back then no on was smart enough to turn the drums around.
 
I didn't realize people have different dominant limbs. e.g. left hand dominant -right foot right foot dominant. Is this more common in left handed people? Several of the lefties that I know are able to do a lot with their right hands, but I've always struggled to do anything with my left hand.
 
I asked a famous lefty drummer why he played righty on a righty kit, and he answered because back then no on was smart enough to turn the drums around.

Right Ken, we played righty kits because we had to. We had to compromise, figure it out at the expense of the first few tunes, leave out a bunch of chops because we were somewhat disoriented.

I had to beg the stage hands to help me switch the snare and floor tom and hi-hat. They'd be rolling their eyes and I'd say "ok, forget the toms" dont bother with the cymbals, leave all them where they are, etc etc etc.. rush rush, pant pant... what a pain....

I dont see why anyone has to go through that. Sure, a by-product of this experience has been a positive one, in that it teaches you independence, it teaches you how to do the same thing in many different ways and adds to your creative skills, but man, all this should not be at the expense of the sheer joy and comfort of having your kit set up just right!

...

I didn't realize people have different dominant limbs. e.g. left hand dominant -right foot right foot dominant. Is this more common in left handed people? Several of the lefties that I know are able to do a lot with their right hands, but I've always struggled to do anything with my left hand.

People do. It is generally said of lefties that they are more ambidextrous than righties, and have stronger weaker limbs than righties, but I dont know if there is any scientific support behind it.
...
 
I play mostly crossed but I do play simpler songs open. I also play with both traditional and matched grips. I only play traditional with my left hand.
I've been playing this way for decades.
I never felt comfortable playing as a lefty. I first learned that way because I was told that a lefty should play as a lefty.
It wasn't hard to switch.
Playing as a righty is great when sharing a kit at gigs with other bands.
Most kits are set up righty.

+1.

1. Sharing kits gets important when you're older (in a new city you'll go to jam sessions and open mics and sit in).
2. A well-coordinated left hand will likely adopt traditional grip with ease (lots of righty students complain about trad grip being difficult to acquire, myself included).
3. Her right foot may want to kick the bass drum, possibly because she has learned other things right-footed (kicking a ball, dance steps, hop-scotch).
4. Being young, her brain and body will adapt rapidly, and she'll probably notice equal hardship with either setup. I have plenty of right-handed students that have trouble crossing over, usually because of grip and posture, but it was never difficult for me).
5. She'll have enough to deal with as a girl in a boys' club; she won't need the additional inconvenience of switching kits around.
6. It's true, no doubt, that an open-handed approach increases one's possibilities, but there are master drummers who are lefty, righty, or both. Handedness is not nearly as related to mastery as experience, training, or practice.
7. If your girl wants to set the kit up the other way, watch closely when you do. She may think it will be easier, but it may not be so.
 
So, Just as I first thought, This is an open sore subject in the drumming world.
After seeing this argument discussed numerous times. I have never seen this settled either. I suppose that it never will be truly settled.

We all have our own ideas about Open/Closed, Lefty/Righty!
I found my own way to the best of my humble ability. I settled on playing righty in a right handed world and supplementing with some open hand playing.

I suppose that your daughter will find her own path in her own time.

Here is another whacky thing that I do.
I guide a right handed circular skill saw with my left hand. I tried the left handed model and I prefer the right handed saw backwards!!
All of us lefties make our own rules! We do what works for us!
 
I really appreciate all the comments and advice. I didn't realize I was touching on such a sore subject!

I'm a bass player, so I was going to give her a bass when the time was right, but all my basses are righty, so that's why I'm going to set her up her own kit. And she loves to whack the drums.

My daughter is only 3, so she has plenty of time to learn (and zero coordination right now). I'm hoping if she starts early enough (on a righty kit, for example), it will feel natural... but I'll let her choose.

I'll start small, probably just kick and snare and ride, and see if she gravitates one way or the other, then make adjustments. (Though her favorite part of the drums by far is getting the stick caught in-between the high-hats!)
 
I didn't realize people have different dominant limbs. e.g. left hand dominant -right foot right foot dominant. Is this more common in left handed people? Several of the lefties that I know are able to do a lot with their right hands, but I've always struggled to do anything with my left hand.

people even have dominant eyes! (you sight off one and the other paralaxes to that)

try this -

1) straighten your arm out and make a pointing finger.

2) point at something at a distance (say 30ft) with that fully extended arm

3) maintain that pointing and close your left eye ( is the finger still pointing at the object?)

4) no open your left eye and close your right eye ( is the finger still pointing at the object?)

the one where your alignment doesn't change is your dominant eye (usually, but not always your dom hand - I'm right handed, but left eyed)
It actually affects what kinds of rifles I can use and there even cross-eye stocks specifically designed to let a shooter sight with the left eye, but shoot righty

I've seen some statistical stuff that points to lefty being more ambidextrous (there is also some stats that they live slightly less long) - this might simply be due to the fact that they wind up having to do some common stuff righty and righties don't have to deal with.
Sometimes this can come in handy like with baseball pitchers and fencers (something like half the world's champ fencers have been left handed...probably because it does change the game. I've known quite a few guys to spend some considerable time woring on fencing lefties specifically)
 
I can't talk from experience too well, but I do have a friend who plays lefty kit and hates having to switch everyones' stuff around when he goes to play on it.

Also, something you might want to try:

Aaron Spears is actually left handed, but plays everything right handed, no open at all. At first this may seem odd, but in a sense, he has the natural tendency to be able to play left hand lead fills without actually having to practice on it. So, he has all the abilities of a right handed drummer, but has some extra left hand lead instinct? So, if you start her young enough - and you mention that she's 3 - she could learn and be extremely comfortable playing full on righty, but be unique later in her playing by using left hand intuition.

But yeah, I'm a righty, so I can't really speak from experience, but it seems that has been working for Aaron Spears :p.
 
...

Unlike Bob, I'm a hardcore lefty, and I like it that way even though I've struggled with many gigs where I was always scrambling to switch snare/floor tom, hi hats, with a minimum of fuss.

If there was more time for the switch, I'd like the ride switched too but so often, I'm used to being in a less than perfect situation and it certainly would help to be able to play righty.

Converted righty drummers, I find, have very interesting foot work and play open hihats, which gives the whole thing a funky spin.

I would guess that a matched grip would help keeping her flexible if her interest continues. The rest of the learning process is a mirror image.

RRllRL to me reads LLrrLR : )

...
 
Last edited:
ive only bin playin drums for a couple or 3yrs, and am very much a lefty, and when i started this just felt the most natural, however, as some of the other comments hav said, ive naturally started playing open handed, or right handed kits and things, jus through progression/neccesity an wanting to mix things up a bit, although im still very much a closed lefty. incidentlly i play a guitar right handed!
 
im right handed, but learned on a standard lefty kit. ive been playing for a while now, and havent changed.

personally, i like it because my dom hand (my right) is on my snare. it makes for fun shuffles.
it did take me a sec to figure out stanton's RRL RRL RL is actually LLR LLR LR for me...
i see backline problems often, and having to switch a kit isnt fun.

i still by default will start fills with my right hand. :( but that really doesnt matter anymore.

if i had it to do over, i would play righty kit. and i dont think i would teach someone lefty. in hindsight it just seems impractical..

PS. listen to aydee. he is THE lefty on these here boards
 
I started drumming with my best friend who was a lefty, we both learnt on the same kit, we both were equally matched in skill levels, so I say just stick her on a kit and see if she can play right handed. The majority of kits are set up in a right handed position so I see it as the most practical way. If she really cant get her head around it then just teach her open or standard left handed.
 
I am left-handed and I started with a right-handed kit naturally without even thinking about it. No problem whatsoever. Most of the time, I play open-handed, but I also like to use the traditional grip (like a right-handed player would do). I actually like the feeling of my stronger left hand using the traditional grip quite a bit.

I don't have much problems with my right hand on the ride cymbal, or my right foot on the kick. Yes, it is my weaker side, but when you are just starting with drumming, then I think that both sides are your weak sides in a way, so after some practice, you barely notice.

And as somebody once pointed out, we lefties have the advantage that we live in a right-handed world, so our right side is not as weak as the left is for the (poor) righties. :)
 
im right handed, but learned on a standard lefty kit. ive been playing for a while now, and havent changed.

personally, i like it because my dom hand (my right) is on my snare. it makes for fun shuffles.
it did take me a sec to figure out stanton's RRL RRL RL is actually LLR LLR LR for me...
i see backline problems often, and having to switch a kit isnt fun.

i still by default will start fills with my right hand. :( but that really doesnt matter anymore.

if i had it to do over, i would play righty kit. and i dont think i would teach someone lefty. in hindsight it just seems impractical..

PS. listen to aydee. he is THE lefty on these here boards

I'm the same as you, tbmills. Right handed in everything I do but learned to play left handed. I've been playing for a long time but only recently changed to a right handed setup and play open.

I'm still stuggling a little with my feet as my left still wants to play the bass beat but I'm getting there. I feel a lot more comfortable and free playing open.
 
Last edited:
Right Ken, we played righty kits because we had to. We had to compromise, figure it out at the expense of the first few tunes, leave out a bunch of chops because we were somewhat disoriented.

I had to beg the stage hands to help me switch the snare and floor tom and hi-hat. They'd be rolling their eyes and I'd say "ok, forget the toms" dont bother with the cymbals, leave all them where they are, etc etc etc.. rush rush, pant pant... what a pain....

I dont see why anyone has to go through that. Sure, a by-product of this experience has been a positive one, in that it teaches you independence, it teaches you how to do the same thing in many different ways and adds to your creative skills, but man, all this should not be at the expense of the sheer joy and comfort of having your kit set up just right!

I agree. I get the pragmatic concerns about sitting in, etc. But should we sacrifice creating comfort for pragmatism when the goal is presumably relaxed (i.e. comfortable) expression? Though, I also think the same logic applies to allowing Righties to lead with their RHs predominantly without being told that, for instance, playing the HH with their right hand is "unnatural". It has never felt unnatural to me. Open-handed playing is a useful tool, and I've practiced it and have my students practice it a certain amount, but it is not, and never will be my default setting and I don't worry too much about that. I'm happy to see people like Bill designing stuff that gives us all more options, however.

People do. It is generally said of lefties that they are more ambidextrous than righties, and have stronger weaker limbs than righties, but I dont know if there is any scientific support behind it.
...

That seems to be my experience. I was a lone rightie growing up in an otherwise leftie house (statistically very rare) and all of my family can do things with their weak limbs that I have had to work at simply because they've had to adapt to a world built by/for righties.

I got very curious about all this a few years back and did quite a bit of research into limb dominance. Many writers on this subject recognise 4 categories: Righty, Lefty, Mixed, and Ambidextrous. And as I've said in other discussions about this here, one common theory is that limb dominance is determined in the womb and that Ambidextrous born people missed a developmental stage at that point. These researchers also note that ambidexterity tends to come along with a cluster of other things like learning difficulties, ADHD, etc. There are also genetic theories for limb dominance.

Many "ambidextrous" people are often lefties who have adapted to doing things with their right hands or are "Mixed-Handers", meaning that they might write with their RH, but kick a ball with their LF. People who train for ambidexterity still tend to favour their native handedness. I.e. If you surprise and toss something at the head of a trained "ambidextrous" person, they'll put up their strong hand to defend themselves more often than not. Their speaking gestures will also continue to favour the dominant side, etc.

Interestingly, there is research showing that an unusual proportion of musicians and artists are left handed.
 
Last edited:
people even have dominant eyes! (you sight off one and the other paralaxes to that)

try this -

1) straighten your arm out and make a pointing finger.

2) point at something at a distance (say 30ft) with that fully extended arm

3) maintain that pointing and close your left eye ( is the finger still pointing at the object?)

4) no open your left eye and close your right eye ( is the finger still pointing at the object?)

the one where your alignment doesn't change is your dominant eye (usually, but not always your dom hand - I'm right handed, but left eyed)
It actually affects what kinds of rifles I can use and there even cross-eye stocks specifically designed to let a shooter sight with the left eye, but shoot righty

I've seen some statistical stuff that points to lefty being more ambidextrous (there is also some stats that they live slightly less long) - this might simply be due to the fact that they wind up having to do some common stuff righty and righties don't have to deal with.
Sometimes this can come in handy like with baseball pitchers and fencers (something like half the world's champ fencers have been left handed...probably because it does change the game. I've known quite a few guys to spend some considerable time woring on fencing lefties specifically)

Interesting info, Ish.

My right hand is clearly dominant so I was surprised to find I'm apparently left-eyed. I prefer playing crossed over to open - I feel more balanced. Not sure how much would be habit and how much could be my dominant eye wanting to connect with my dominant hand.

Does anyone have info on the right brain / left brain situation in drumming? Maybe no big deal compared with the other points raised here but I imagine it would count for something.
 
Does anyone have info on the right brain / left brain situation in drumming? Maybe no big deal compared with the other points raised here but I imagine it would count for something.

Check out This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin. Great read! In the book, music (and rhythm) are described as a game of anticipation, where your expectations are met or defied in a clever way. As far as parts of the brain, music appears to be multi-faceted, using many different brain regions. You might access some traditionally right-brained areas when composing or improvising, but you are also using left-brained problem-solving, and your memory for comparison and contrast, at the same time.

Granted, I'm lumping drumming in with conventional pitched instruments, because even if we don't directly deal in melody or harmony, we do interact with it.
 
Teach her on a proper left handed set up. How many guitarists learn the opposite way so it's easier to sit in? None. Playing open handed might mean she'll have trouble copying her idols properly. Plus you can use it as an opportunity to strenghten your weaker side.

Just my 2 cents.
 
And as somebody once pointed out, we lefties have the advantage that we live in a right-handed world, so our right side is not as weak as the left is for the (poor) righties. :)

Bingo!

It is forced onto lefties to learn to do so many things in the righty way. Even simple things that most righties don't think of like opening a door - which side is the handle on?

In the end it is mostly learned, but to force a lefty to play righty kits is not allowing the natural ability to flourish as well as it might.
 
My jazz band teacher plays drums and hes AMAZING on a right hand kit like even with foot, and he can bop like super fast on ride cymbal jazz pattern. Then after practice one day i saw him writing with his left i was like OMG. He has an advantage now because he's so comfortable with both hands because he plays on a righty kit lol.
 
Back
Top