problems with my left arm

[Nick G.]

im finding my left arm is becoming very lazy and rests on my left leg whislt playing the snare. its causing me to do a lot more unwanted rim shots and other werid stuff. which inturn forces me to tilt the snare more than i would normally want.


is there a correct height that i should be sitting at??

im finding that when i lower my stool my left armo still rests there and causes even more! rim shots.


also, should my left arm stay in the air most of the time when im playing??


Thanks drum genious' of DW :D

[djpin89]

Well their isn't really a correct position... its whatever feels comfortable to you. I find that my left hand hovers over the snare when not playing maybe 3 inches above it... If your not happy with your hand resting just while your playing focus on it and make it a habit for it to be anywhere else but your leg... play more ghost notes =p

[denisri]

Bottom line...you need to retrain your left arm! Denis

[Deathmetalconga]

I assume you play crossed, left hand snare and right hand hats. I'm not a physical therapist, but it seems logical to me that if one hand is playing something higher and the other hand is playing something lower, that is going to promote imbalance.

If it is really bad enough, you might want to look into playing open, left hand hats and ride and right hand snare. Your hihat should be about at the same level as the snare in this arrangement. It is a less customary but much more ergonomic way to play.

[Nick G.]

I assume you play crossed, left hand snare and right hand hats. I'm not a physical therapist, but it seems logical to me that if one hand is playing something higher and the other hand is playing something lower, that is going to promote imbalance.

If it is really bad enough, you might want to look into playing open, left hand hats and ride and right hand snare. Your hihat should be about at the same level as the snare in this arrangement. It is a less customary but much more ergonomic way to play.

hmm this seems intresting but id have to buy a remote hi hat stand :S


the thing is, i never hit my sticks together, i think its just caused by laziness which has now built into a habit

im gonna try and really work on the control with my left hand/arm now

thanks for the input guys

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I would check my posture. Try sitting up straighter and be conscious of your left arm and you can correct it.

[TTNW]

I would check my posture. Try sitting up straighter and be conscious of your left arm and you can correct it.

I have this problem at times. Gruntersdad's advice is good. When I sit up and try playing with a more "Moeller Stroke" approach with my left hand, I abandon the lazy habit of resting my left hand on my leg.

I used to do this as a way of keeping my backbeats from being to loud and give myself a reference point, but ultimately it is a bad habit worth correcting.