Open-handed lefty on right handed kit

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Bamadrummer88

Junior Member
Hey everyone I have a dilemma I would like some opinions on if possible. I am 28 year old self taught drummer and have been playing since I was 9 or 10. The only lessons I ever really had were on how to do a basic 4/4 rock beat and single stroke roll across the kit. Anyway, it only recently hit me that being left handed and leading with my left foot, that 16th notes on the hihat, double bass runs, and single stroke kits rolls were somewhat awkward to play. So I switched my kit to lefty a week or two ago, and while those things listed above were smoother, the lefty kit felt foreign and awkward in it's own way, not only because I had been playing open handed on a righty kit for 20 years, but also unique fills and such that I could do before were very difficult. So, I'm thinking of switching back to righty so I can keep doing the open handed fills and stuff, while at the same time developing my weaker limbs, being my right arm and leg, so that I can play open handed and righty. Ambidextrous I suppose. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
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I'd say stick with what you know and refine your rightedness, which can't be too bad since you've been playing that way for 20 yrs., right?

I've been trying to switch to matched grip, practicing for a yr. and have finally realized I do sooo much better with trad grip I can't see the need to make the switch.
 
I'm a lefty who plays lefty as well. But, I have (a few times) played open handed on a right-handed kit. It is backwards all the way around, but my biggest issue was using my right foot on the bass instead of my left foot.

Just stick with what you already - for 20 years - know!

Cheers.
 
I think you need to discuss and work on your left hand/right hand situation with a good experienced drum teacher. No, I mean a really good teacher.

It is critical what you decide to do from here on out. You need to work on how you set up your kit, what you want to play, what will enable you to be as efficient as possible when playing and how you will play the right handed kits that you will encounter in your travels.


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Bamadrummer88 said:
Ambidextrous I suppose. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...

No real advice to give here but thought I would say that I feel your dilemma as well. I'm left handed, playing on a lefty kit but am right footed. I can play open handed on a righty kit in a pinch but leading with my right feels awkward (not to mention that pesky ride being on the 'wrong' side). At the same time playing left footed is not ideal either but it's the lesser of all evils. No matter how you slice it, there's always a compromise to be made.

Ultimately I guess you need to play to your strengths, minimize your weaker areas, etc. so based on how you've described your situation, keeping to a righty setup sounds like the more practical path.
 
Hard to say without actually seeing you play. I wouldn't go by what feels best after doing it for five minutes-- whatever you do, you're going to have to practice. I've seen a lot of long time drummers who were self-taught, who really needed to fix basically everything about their playing. If you're one of those people, you might just as well relearn to play normal-righty, or normal-lefty. Lefty would probably be easier. If your stuff is actually reasonably solid, you should probably keep doing what you're doing. I would get a few lessons with the best teacher you can find and see what he or she suggests.
 
hiya,
I'm only a junior drummer, but I've met a couple of drummers in my area who have told me that they re-position their drumkit from righty to lefty intermittently every few months for practice. Their reasoning is for developing the weaker muscles in the shoulder and arms, but also to play known songs but with differing accents.

I sort of believe that idea too, because when I try to play open-handed versus
cross-handed, my brain and muscles do struggle to maintain sync and rhythm, but it does take stress off my right shoulder (from reaching across the body to reach the hihat).

Also, recently I saw a drummer in a world-touring metal band, who played about 1/2 of a song striking the snare with the left-hand, but then during a transition in the song he switched over and played the rest of the song by striking the snare with his right-hand. He played the whole song
open-handed.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I talked to a drum teacher and he suggested I switch my kit around to lefty, while still working on my weak limbs. I did and it's been working out very well.
 
Bamadrummer88 said:
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I talked to a drum teacher and he suggested I switch my kit around to lefty, while still working on my weak limbs. I did and it's been working out very well.
Click to expand...

SUPER !!
Great to hear this.


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