How important is your left foot / leg?

ssdaven

Member
Hi everyone,

Well, I'm on the cusp of pursuing drum lessons and purchasing a kit of my own. I live in in apartment and I can only have an e-kit, so I'm thinking of picking up a Roland TD4. I've rented a TD3 for the last 2 months and had great fun with it, and managed to teach myself some things. My entire goal revolves around having fun, but I am also serious about my hobbies and if I do purchase a kit, I'll be taking lessons, learning the rudiments, timing, stick control and grip, etc. However I have one lingering concern...

I was born with a disability that affects my left leg. I can walk run and do everything a normal person can, with a few limitations. I don't have very much muscle strength in my lower half of my leg as much of my calf muscle has been removed. My ability to move my ankle up and down (as if i were hitting a bass drum pedal "heels down") with my left foot is not the greatest - I can't do it nearly as fast as my "good" foot. Don't get me wrong, my foot isn't completely useful - to give you a good idea of it's limitations though, I'm physicall unable to stand on my tippy-toes with my left food. During my time with the rented kit, I actually didn't use my left foot at all, unless I wanted to keep the hi hat closed.

So my question is: how important is your left foot / leg when it comes to being able to play drums? Not specific to any style or genre, but fundamentals. I don't know a lot about drumming, so the last thing I want is to go out and buy a kit and find out your left foot is essential to keeping timing when playing songs, or something of that nature. Any information would be greatly appreciated :)
 
I should also add that I have had surgery on my Achilles tendon in my left leg as well. I went through physiotherapy as a child to gain more range, but my foot range is limited. I can only lift my left foot up about half as much as my right foot (with heels on the ground) so, any thing fast with my left foot would need to be done with a heels up method.
 
first off people play drums with one arm, so no worries, you have a step up on them... Get it??

I apologize for the terrible pun, please make fun of my brain tumor to get even.

But no you should not be worried about that. al long as you can open and close it somehow you are good. The most phisically demanding task my left foot does is I will smash the hats together, but that involves lefting my entire leg and just holding my angle almost limp, then I thrust my entire leg down so that the hats actually bounce of each other because my foot doesnt press into the pedal entirely.

You should have no worries, but with an electric kit, such a Technique may not be possible depending on the kit, but it should be. Anyways, dont worry about it, you'll learn how to get the sound you want with what you've got.

Edited.. sorry im a n00b :p
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking I'll be able to work around this as well, but I am still a little concerned. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to give it a shot.
 
the left foot is fairly important in some genres, like jazz for example, but i wouldn't let an issue like a weak left foot hold you back. you might learn to work your left foot pretty well with some practice, and you can do an awful lot of drumming without getting your left foot involved. i say give it a go!
 
Well - it's very important. And it's not important at all. The great thing about drumming is that you can really make of it what you want - there's no hard and fast rule that says you have to have equal facility with any particular limb. It's a great goal, but...whatever???

As one example - I attended a Global Drum Project show a couple years ago (Mickey Hart, Giovanni Hidalgo, Zakir Hussain and Sikiru Adepoju). Mickey was the only one using anything other than his hands - and he was the least compelling performer on the stage. By the same token - Sikiru was only using one hand (well - technically, he was using the other arm to manipulate the 'talking' aspect of his drum), but he kept up with everything Giovanni and Zakir threw at him. So one hand is all he needed to just totally blow me away. Nuff said?
 
Not near as important as passion and ability. Just work around it, maybe leave it a little open and stick it, maybe add a little sizzle to your cymbals. Best wishes from your fellow drummers.
 
If you have some mobility in the ankle, foot, knee, and hip You can probably do a lot w/ what you have - so go for it!

A good drum teacher and your physio working together would be ideal. Get these 2 people involved w/ each other regarding you ankle issue/drumming and yer on yer way.
 
Unless you join a metal band that requires a lot of double bass, I think it would be pretty easy to get by without using your left foot much.

Josh Freese did a whole tour with A Perfect Circle with his left leg in a cast.

The late Randy Castillo auditioned for Ozzy, and got the gig, with one leg in a cast.

I went to PIT with this guy, and he has no use of either of his feet:
http://www.lookmanofeet.com/

It can be done.
 
Unless you join a metal band that requires a lot of double bass, I think it would be pretty easy to get by without using your left foot much.

Josh Freese did a whole tour with A Perfect Circle with his left leg in a cast.

The late Randy Castillo auditioned for Ozzy, and got the gig, with one leg in a cast.

I went to PIT with this guy, and he has no use of either of his feet:
http://www.lookmanofeet.com/

It can be done.

A drummer with four limbs is better than a drummer with fewer than four limbs.

I use my left foot as much as any of my other limbs. It is constantly playing 8th or 4tr notes, clave patterns, tambourine, wood block, variable-pitch drum or something else with the left foot. I never, ever use it for double bass though; that seems really pointless when there is so much else that can be done with it.

In fact, judging by the consistency with which I use my left foot, it is my most important limb. Anyone who neglects it will never be as good as someone who includes it.

ssdaven: If you can, get the physical therapy to incorporate it into your playing. In fact, I bet the hihat could be a good way to gradually strengthen the left foot. Make every effort to include it in your playing and it will open up new ideas and possibilities for you as a musician.
 
For one, since your challenge is your calf muscle, you can play heel up on your left foot and have the upper half of your leg do most of the work. But even if you had no use of your left leg at all, it's worthwhile playing. I do not agree that someone is necessarily going to not be as good of a drummer just because they do not have the use of four limbs. By far, your most important musical faculties are thinking and "feeling" anyway.
 
ssdaven, not that it comes close but I have trouble with the right ankle, shattered it in HS. I have since regained full use but it's become part of my regiment before playing to stretch it out properly.

To answer your question, unless your playing some of that busy jazz stuff or some crazy octopus drums like Deathmetalconga you'll be fine. Just because I have full use of all 4 limbs doesn't make me a better drummer than the guy from Def Leppard. Arguably one of the best guitar players of all time, Django Reinhardt, only played with 2 fingers on his left hand.

Are you able to lift your left leg and bend the knee at a 90 deg. angle like you a sobriety test? If so you should be able to use the muscles in the back of your thigh to lift the whole leg and keep the ankle in a fixed position. Actually a lot a metal cats use this "heel up" motion for the kick.

I'd ask you doc or physical therapist about which stretches you could do before playing to avoid injury, wrapping or binding the ankle might help too.
 
Not near as important as passion and ability. Just work around it, maybe leave it a little open and stick it, maybe add a little sizzle to your cymbals. Best wishes from your fellow drummers.

This ^^

Leon Parker plays jazz without hats and he's brilliant. Moonie didn't use hats and he's a legend.

Given a choice, I'd rather have the left leg happening than not, but if I didn't have it then I'd look for workarounds like permanently closed hats or stacked cymbals for time ticking.

Good luck and have fun with it!
 
ssdaven, not that it comes close but I have trouble with the right ankle, shattered it in HS. I have since regained full use but it's become part of my regiment before playing to stretch it out properly.

To answer your question, unless your playing some of that busy jazz stuff or some crazy octopus drums like Deathmetalconga you'll be fine. Just because I have full use of all 4 limbs doesn't make me a better drummer than the guy from Def Leppard. Arguably one of the best guitar players of all time, Django Reinhardt, only played with 2 fingers on his left hand.

Are you able to lift your left leg and bend the knee at a 90 deg. angle like you a sobriety test? If so you should be able to use the muscles in the back of your thigh to lift the whole leg and keep the ankle in a fixed position. Actually a lot a metal cats use this "heel up" motion for the kick.

I'd ask you doc or physical therapist about which stretches you could do before playing to avoid injury, wrapping or binding the ankle might help too.

Good advice from someone who has faced this issue. I would also suggest modifying the hihat stand - would it help to make the pedal higher? More draw or less draw? Is there a certain position where the left foot works best (like more or less knee bend), but it's not good for hat placement? Then you could use the best foot position and maybe put the hats where you need them with a remote cable. If your body can't fit the standard instrument, then make the instrument fit your body.

Laughed hard at "crazy octopus drums"!
 
Thanks to everyone for the support, advice and help on this. :)

I've since purchased a set of V-Drums and am loving it. I'm in it for fun, and I'm successful at that, so it's well worth it.

Thanks again!
 
Back
Top