seeking advice from experienced players

[Pikachu]

Hey guys, my name's sean and im actually a new member here and id like to say theres some great, informative posts, as well as amazing drummers!
im going to be a senior in high school, and ive been playing drums for 4 years now.

ive actually never taken drums "seriously" and i played drums as a hobby. however, recently inspiration just hit me in the face and I decided to develop my skills and make myself a better drummer.

as i stream the forums and ask and even answer questions, i hope that i can build myself to be a more knowledgeable drummer!

wow that was a long introduction. but okay! ill be posting a lot of questions but to start my first goal... im a righty but i really want to develop my left hand. my left hand "chops" are terrible and i need exercises and ideas to have a stronger, faster hand. im desperate right now because i joined drumline and i got tenor drums. the song requires me to play paradiddles and move around the drums in 172bpm. right now, my left hand struggles to keep up with my right and overall feels very uncomfortable.
i need to be able to build my left hand in ~2 months...is there any intensive training that i can do? im motivated to practice so even the most dreadful exercises are okay as long as it will show fast results

this might be asking for much, but if you can, can you guys be as descriptive as possible?

thank you guys so much!!!

summary: how to make my left hand stronger//faster in around 2 months. how to overall just increase playing speed! practice methods!

[DamageDrummer]

its going to be all about practice man, the more you can work to build your muscles in your left arm and hand, the better off you are. practice those paradiddles! teachers teach you that so your muscles build equally in both hands. for you as a tenor player and for snare players, also learn double paradiddles, and as many of the other exercises that you can....there are hundreds of these exercises out there, just do the research to find them, and im sure other marching dudes here will know also.

i have been playing for over 20 years and have recently built different muscles in my RIGHT hand for backwards stick twirling. i can do it perfectly now, but couldn't do it without dropping a stick 6 months ago.

[jordison515]

Practice, practice, practice! I suggest going to your local drum shop and looking for books on hand technique, and practicing your rudiments every day until your hands hurt!

[Drumbledore]

Some exercises.

Straight 8th's, 1+2+ etc
RLLL RLLL
LRLL LRLL
LLRL LLRL
LLLR LLLR
RLRR LLLL
RRRR LLLL LLLL LLLL

Triplets, 1+a, 2+a
RLL RLL
LRL LRL
LLR LLR

All of these and more are pretty much what you'll find in books such as Stick Control, etc.

If you do play a drum kit at home, try playing slow 1/4 notes on your hi-hat with your left hand (with the right foot on 1&3 on the bass drum, right hand on the snare on 2&4 going together as you keep playing the hi-hat with your left hand) before you attempt playing all 8th notes left handed. Keep it slow and count all 8th notes in between your 1/4 note hi-hat hits. Thinking this way will force you to think more with your left hand, obviously.

Another thing to keep your left hand going is to try to do simple everyday things that you normally do right handed....attempt them with your left. You will feel very clumsy at first, but with persistence, they will happen. Obviously you're not going to master left hand writing....that's just being too silly....but you can type slowly with your left hand leading most key strikes. Or put your mouse to the left of your keyboard. Or brush your teeth or stir your spoon left handed. Bounce a ball. Simple things like that. After a while you'll gain a confidence in your newly strengthened left hand. I had to do it the hard way......dislocated my right thumb and had it in a cast for weeks on end and rehab....had to have someone write for me for quite a little while and couldn't work for a period of time.

[Russ]

Welcome to drumchat Sean! You may have to slow down tempo a bit to keep your strokes even and develop right and left the same. If you can, i'd suggest getting lessons, but if not there are a lot of online ones both available to watch through drumbum or youtube, just search and you shall find them. I suggest putting half of your practice time into rudiments, and not just one or two of them- all 40. Not all at once necessarily, but keep at them and make sure to use a metronome when practicing.

[rickthedrummer]

Work the rudiments, especially paradiddles then play with just your left hand and the BD.

I did that as a kid, and I do it today to help my left wrist which has arthritis.

It will build speed and endurance for your left hand, and give you some interesting patterns between your left hand and BD.

[DrummerD]

I agree with all of the above.

Welcome to DC Pikachu! If you're looking for help or some insight on drumming, you'll definitely find it here.

[VIbes]

Here is a way to try.

It helped me be even with both hands.
I can hit a double LL or RR on a tom if needed to the crash.

Start with your left.

Paradiddles: LRLLRLRRLRLLRLRR
Then: RLRRLRLLRLRRLRLL
One thousand times each day.
Seriously.

then eventually try : Kick foot pedal, Hi Hat Pedal, alternateing: boom 1 chic 2 boom 3 chick 4, 1234 1234 with the paradiddles.
Wish we had notation capabilities here.

[NPYYZ]

I'm doing these lessons for hands and feet. I'm not a Death Metal drummer but I want to develop my speed more. I'm finding these to be very helpful and painful.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPFEP_stPGI&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪Derek Roddys Drum Lessons & Solos Part 2‬‏[/ame]

[Pikachu]

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

I guess it's just rigorous practicing from here...

I'm gonna try that exercise in the video above me and I'm going to just practice 2hours daily or until my arms "hurt" :P


So do you guys think it'll be possible to get my left hand comfortable in around 2 months?

[dt344]

One thousand times each day.
Seriously.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Unbelievable repetition is your friend. And yes, you can do this in two months if you start at a speed you can handle and slowly work your way up. Also if you work past your goal tempo, the piece will be easier when you play it.

[DamageDrummer]

Pretty much what I was going to say. Unbelievable repetition is your friend. And yes, you can do this in two months if you start at a speed you can handle and slowly work your way up. Also if you work past your goal tempo, the piece will be easier when you play it.

agreed +1 thats pretty much what my response was too. you should only start slow, but try to train yourself at the highest speed possible, you can only gain from that. (from what i was taught in marching band) i wouldent use a metronome.....here is why- they dont even let you have printed music in front of you- you have to memorize, so they arent going to let you have a metronome either. thats really what the snares are for, and thats what most instructors are going to want you to be in sync with. its important when you are in the marching band mindset to train your brain to be its own metronome, because everyone else has to. if you were playing in jazz band, you eventually do the same, but its better to learn with a click track or metronome.

the best of luck to you man! let us know how your doing every now and then!

[jafo]

Work the rudiments, especially paradiddles then play with just your left hand and the BD.

I did that as a kid, and I do it today to help my left wrist which has arthritis.

It will build speed and endurance for your left hand, and give you some interesting patterns between your left hand and BD.

You beat me to it Rick. As Rick has stated, playing with just your left hand and bass drum. I practiced trying to carry a simple 4/4 beat with just my left hand and bass drum. It's just like playing with both hands but instead your using just your left hand for the hats and snare.

Once you get comfortable with that, you can work in simple fills and switch back and forth between the hi hats and another cymbal you have on that side of the kit. Don't forget to throw your cymbal accents in there too. You want to keep moving your left hand around as you carry the beat. It gets you mind off of what your feet are doing. Make your foot just keep the beat without thinking about it.

I used to do this everytime behind the kit. You should feel your left hand getting more comfortable getting away from the snare.

Another thing I like to do is traditionally, you play your right hand on the hats and left hand on snare. Switch them up during the beat. Use the left hand on the hats and the right hand on the snare. Just play a simple 4/4 beat and switch them up every four measures.

I normally try to let the more experienced guys answer these questions but this stuff actually worked for me pretty well. It's all depending on how much time you spend behind the kit. Independence just takes time. I don't think you can really put it in a time frame like 2 months. Everyones different. Some get it quicker than others. You just gotta put in the time. I've played for maybe alittle over a year now and am fully dedicated to learning all I can. I put in at least a 1 1/2 hr. practice every night now. Then, I would do 2 to 3 hr. drumming sessions once a week and practice over an hour to two hours a night the rest of the week. Were not talking 5 days a week, were talking a 7 days week. It's all about dedication and how bad you want it.

It's frustrating sometimes but you just have to hammer away at it until you get it.

[DamageDrummer]

^^ well said, Jafo.

[Zeta]

there are a few different ways to do this, some of which are really hard to explain in text (I would need some paper to draw it for you) The best way I can help you is by telling you to work on your rudiments with a metronome. Start them at a speed you are comfortable with, and once you have no problem with that tempo increase your speed by 3-5bpm at a time. repeat this until you are at the speed you desire.

[steveplaysyamaha]

a metronome wont help you remember speeds it will help you maintain consistency during rudiment practice. The rigorous practice is what will prepare you for the 172 bpm scores you will have to play.

[Geo Rose]

That's right! Emphasize that LRLRLRLR...

Do 5, 9, 7, 11, 13...etch stroke rolls starting on the left, ending on the right. Do another one starting on the right ending on the left. And do what my teacher has me do.


Play quarter notes with just your right hand. Then move up to eighth notes. Then play sixteenth notes. Easy huh. Now try that just with your left hand. Do triplets as well. Start out with 2 minutes, then move up to 5 minutes. Now start doubles with both hands. How does your doubles sound now?

[Strider]

The Derek Roddy exercise (an excellent one) is actually part of an exercise from Joe Morello's book "Master Studies" on page 54 called "The Stone Killer" shown to him by his teacher, "the" George Lawrence Stone, the author of "Stick Control". Both books should be in your library. My warm-up routines come from them and a series of vids from Kenny Aronoff called "Power Workout".

Joe takes it to the next level by introducing accents that displace as the exercise goes along. When playing the four strokes on each hand, accent the first note for fifty repetitions (rather than 2 minute segments) on both right and left hands---Rrrr Llll---you can change it up by accenting the second note---rRrr lLll---and so on. I usually shift the accent after every 10 repetitions, the last 10 shifting the accent each time a hand takes the lead---Rrrr lLll rrRr lllL. Then on to the 8 strokes per hand with the same progressive accent shifting. Then the 12's and then the 16's. That's why Joe's book is subtitled "Exercises for the Development of Control and Technique" And it works, big time. As always, you have to put in your hours but Practice Pays Off! You will be amazed at your acceleration of ability IF...

With the greatest of respect, you should not practice until your arms ache. You should stop when you feel any "Burn" in any muscle(s) (lactic acid buildup) and realize that you're tensing up---a drummer's worst enemy. Relax all muscles, get up and walk around, take a break while the burn subsides. Try again but if the burn comes back, stop for the day. Concentrate on playing relaxed. The "No Pain, No Gain" theory was debunked long ago. Worse yet, if you injure yourself, it will affect your playing for a long time, perhaps permanently.

Good luck, m8, and let us know how it comes along.

Strider

[Pikachu]

thankyou guys so much! it's been almost 3 weeks that I've been working on my hands, and it's definitely getting a lot faster! Thank you guys for your advice!

[DamageDrummer]

nice! it can only get better from here on out.

ive found that stick twirling will build new muscles also, just dont let your band teacher catch you doing it on the feild

[itchie]

search "left hand independence" in the search bar on the main page of the forum

[Drumbledore]

The Derek Roddy exercise (an excellent one) is actually part of an exercise from Joe Morello's book "Master Studies" on page 54 called "The Stone Killer" shown to him by his teacher, "the" George Lawrence Stone, the author of "Stick Control". Both books should be in your library. My warm-up routines come from them and a series of vids from Kenny Aronoff called "Power Workout".....


Strider

Strider, that Kenny Aronoff video is a brilliant one, a real workout! Thoroughly recommended.

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

as everyone else said practice practice practice that's all you can do. I would suggest even if you practice 10 minutes a day just on your left hand then you can get better.

[Russ]

Nice to see it's working out so well for you Pikachu. You'll find that once you start practicing things the right way, technique develops faster, and I think in the long run you'll really thank yourself for taking the time to go through the seemingly tedious exercises. I wish you well on your journey.

[Strider]

Strider, that Kenny Aronoff video is a brilliant one, a real workout! Thoroughly recommended.

Yes!!!! Spot on, m8. Too many benefits in so many categories to list. Really got me stoked about double bass. Sounds cool played swung, too.

Best regards,

Strider