newbie needs :-)

[akira]

Hi finally after years of sulking my missis has allowed me to have my 1st kit its only a roland td-3 basic entry level i will be upgrading when i can afford/warrant 1 ..My problem is this at the moment i'm having lessons once weekly which i've had now for the past 10 weeks and i feel i'm progressing nicely my only drawback is my left hand/weak hand is slow clumsy and just not good my tutor reckons this will be improved in time has anyone any tips on improving this or is it case of just grin and bear it cheers chris :-p

[Fox622003]

Hi finally after years of sulking my missis has allowed me to have my 1st kit its only a roland td-3 basic entry level i will be upgrading when i can afford/warrant 1 ..My problem is this at the moment i'm having lessons once weekly which i've had now for the past 10 weeks and i feel i'm progressing nicely my only drawback is my left hand/weak hand is slow clumsy and just not good my tutor reckons this will be improved in time has anyone any tips on improving this or is it case of just grin and bear it cheers chris :-p

The fact that you realise this so early in your playing is already good. Practice the same beats/exercises you with are doing leading with your right hand, but leading with your left; you should notice improvement soon if you are constant at it.


Fox.

[Bo Eder]

You could also start doing things with your weaker hand. Open doors, move things around. Everything except maybe handwriting and eating, and driving too, you could probably coordinate to use your left hand. This is an old skool method, and I can't believe how many times I've heard it and discovered that it works! Your left hand might not be weak at all, just that your left hand muscles aren't used to doing articulate things because it's never had to.

[Rick H.]

I actually do the same thing BO said, i still do to this day. I always try to dedicate my left hand to things when it seems appropriate

But another method i see works is to start your fills off with your left hand rather than your right. Generally people use their strong hand at the start of a fill, but if you start them off with your weaker hand you will not only strengthen it but you may see yourself playing a more unique style of fills.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

Practice your rudiments......play 'em with a right and left hand lead.

Play open handed....the left hand plays the pulse on the hi hat, whilst the right plays the snare.

Play 4 measures of 16th note singles with the right hand, into 4 measures of 16th note flat flams (both hands in unison) into 4 measures of 16th singles with the left....take note of your left hand when playing the flat flams. It's a good guide as you can compare your left hand to your right. Make sure your weaker hand mimics your right.....stick heights should be the same, the sound dynamics should be the same and the hits should be in unison, i.e. no flams.

Practice, practice, practice. Keep at it. 10 weeks is hardly enough time.....it'll take longer than that.

[Turks]

I'm a new drummer too. I started about 18 months ago and had exactly the same issue.

It's still not quite as relaxed as my right hand but I've seen a massive improvement in my left; I remarked on it to my teacher last week. As others have said, practice, practice and more practice on rudiments. It takes time and patience but it will get easier.

[Kg_lee]

I've been playing over 30 years and still have a weak left hand. I consider myself a good drummer. I wish there was some easy way to to improve the left hand but you just need to work at it. I suggest focus on working on that hand now also work on strong double stroke rolls, if I only knew then what I know now.. double strokes are what these guys are burning out on the drums playing kool solo's.

[akira]

cheers everyone my teacher has given me stick control for the snare drummer by george lawrence stone to be honest i opened 1st page and thought god thats boring but looks like i'm gonna have to work through thanks for the advice very very much appreciated...by the way how the hell can our kid play drums to metallica by just learning stuff off guitar hero the game no lessons or anything life is sooo unfair :-)