Uneven Left hand/Right hand Speed

[EvanMatthiesen]

after 2 years or so of drumming i realized my left hand was much slower then my right, i guess i had never tried many rudiments and i had always just gotten used to the stronger right hand. So i started exercising my left hand/arm more, lifting weights, doing some wrist curls, and just generally trying to use my left hand more in my drumming.

the good news: i can play alot faster with my left hand now

the bad news: now i suck

i figure its because ive been so used to having the weaker left that i had always drummed that way. now i jump the gun too much when i do fills- my left hand hits faster than i expect. Even some basic beats seem to lack feel now.

is this something that i will eventually get used to? is it just a hurdle i have to jump over to the 'next level' of drumming?

[mrchattr]

after 2 years or so of drumming i realized my left hand was much slower then my right, i guess i had never tried many rudiments and i had always just gotten used to the stronger right hand. So i started exercising my left hand/arm more, lifting weights, doing some wrist curls, and just generally trying to use my left hand more in my drumming.

the good news: i can play alot faster with my left hand now

the bad news: now i suck

i figure its because ive been so used to having the weaker left that i had always drummed that way. now i jump the gun too much when i do fills- my left hand hits faster than i expect. Even some basic beats seem to lack feel now.

is this something that i will eventually get used to? is it just a hurdle i have to jump over to the 'next level' of drumming?


Possibly. The important thing is not to strengthen your weak hand, but to strengthen your ability to use each hand evenly. Structure your practices so that you work on playing each hand evenly. For each exercise that you do, try it right hand lead, then left hand lead, and keep alternating. And when you are concentrating on the left hand lead, make sure that you are still concentrating on your right hand, etc.

It's a balancing act. Basically, it sounds like you have built your left hand up to the point where it's now your dominant hand...overcompensation. So, now you need to even it out.

[EvanMatthiesen]

cool, thanks for the advice, excpet my right hand is still much faster/ more dominant than the left, its just the fact that im not used to the stronger (but still weaker than right) left hand. but ill definately try that method.

[805Drummer]

Yeah, you can always change hands back and forth. I'm left-handed, but then I broke my left arm, and couldn't use it for 5 weeks. I'm still left-handed, but now I'm better with my right hand than I am with my left, like most people are. Before I broke my arm, people use to be amazed at my open-handed playing, and left hand leading. Now, I'm working on building my left hand up again (and I'm lucky, because I have free lessons--percussion class--at high school).

[Class A Drummer]

My left hand is considerably faster than my right, even though im a righty and i play right handed. But there is nothing wrong with it, one can be faster than the other, just make sure you keep it even while playing. Just work the other hand more if its really getting to you.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Find the book, The Weaker Side by Dom Famularo. It will definitely help.

[larryace]

Speaking for myself only, it is one of my main goals, the ability to play anything with my weak side as my strong side. For myself, I have been working at it for 5 years now, and I'm just starting to approach equality, but it seems the closer I get, the farther it moves away. Work work work at it. I drive down the road and do 16th notes w/ my weak (left) side on my steering wheel w/ a drumstick, and try and make the muscle burn. In my opinion, it's crucial to be able to play evenly. I believe every drummer has this dilemma.

[EvanMatthiesen]

haha thats funny, i do that all the time. im always tapping my left hand on something, trying to feel the burn. it seems to help.

[Toza]

try to play with right all the time again