I tried playing drums LEFTY for a month
Вставка
- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- Support me on Patreon: / shawncrowder
I spent the last 30 days playing a left-handed drum set. I'm a righty, but decided to challenge myself by strengthening my "weak" side. This was one of my most fun experiments to date!
Merch:
○ teespring.com/stores/shawn-cr...
Listen to Sungazer:
○ Spotify: spoti.fi/2sdTSJ5
○ iTunes: apple.co/2LUckPT
○ Facebook: bit.ly/2UtZFai
Instagram:
○ / shawncrowder
Thanks to all that have joined my Patreon in the first 24 hrs! You can still join here (plus a special deal running until May 31): www.patreon.com/shawncrowder
I suspect Adam would have an even harder time playing bass left-handed.
Drums just have to be rearranged, for a bassist, you need a left-handed bass.
@@BB.156 or better yet, just rearrange your fingers.
@@VocasoGK have you played bass before? Some people okay a right handed bass left with low strings on the bottom but generally you need a left handed bass
Vaughan Xavier he said “rearrange your fingers”, he’s making a joke
@@BB.156 Tell that to Mononeon.
I'm a lefty and I attempted drums a few times as a teen but gave up when everyone was telling me to cross my hands. I smiled when you were discussing the benefits of playing open handed and I might just have to give it another go! I love playing cajon and programming drums it would be a shame to never learn. Thanks Shaun :)
I write with my left hand and I was confused why I had to cross hands... well... looks like I'll do thst as well!
also we don't cross our legs while playing lol
Im also lefty and the whole hand-crossing thing seems pointles from this perspective
I play drums and I play crossed but I don’t really have any strong feelings of playing crossed or uncrossed. The part where you said you might want to try again. Definitely do. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a good challenge.
Dude play what makes you comfortable. They probably almost stopped you from being one of the greats. Buy a cheap kit and tune it real well. You got this!
I'm so glad that somebody finbaly admits that practice can be boring sometimes. I always here that I should relish my time in the shed and yes their are times when I'm loving the exercises, and they are like food for your soul. Or you love the tune your working on and your making good progress. but that common saying really makes me feel guilty sometimes and have thought like," maybe I'm not meant to be a musician." But sometimes it can just be drag and I'm glad that somebody else feels that way.
I'm not even a drummer but I love your videos! :)
Same
same, but as a bass player I love this content for that rhythm component
Yeah, same
Same
Geez, goes to show how well you know the instrument. I’m surprised you didn’t talk more about the pedals though because I feel like that would be the biggest change.
yeah, that was the hardest part. that and fills!
Shawn Crowder I bet, and keep up the great content. I feel like other than more cooperate sites like drumeo there just isn’t enough content on the drums like this 👍🏻
@@ShawnCrowder my life, as I know it, when I am not on my own kit.
Switched to open hand playing
and I'm never looking back at all.
I stuck to that, cause it expanded
my playing.
The more I stick to it the more
I feel how the left side is catching
up with the right side.
Left hand drummer here. I've always played a left handed kit and still do. I used to play cross handed. For the last 20 years I'v been playing open handed. Conclusion: Whether you're a lefty or righty, open handed does make much more sense. Movement on the kit is much more natural and easier and the whole kit is just so much more accessible.
That's it man, you've sold me. The New Breed is shipping to my door as we speak, and my open-handed extravaganza begins this evening after work. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is like when you play a video game to 100% completion and get bored with it. So you start from the beginning on Extreme difficulty
or run backwards to the start of a huge level.
I've noticed that drummers who started out on piano and are right-handed, they play the kit in a right-handed set up, but play the hi-hats with their left hand. For a right-handed drummer learning piano, the bass and tempo move in the left hand, which is what the right side does on drums. I've noticed since I've been playing piano, my ability to play things left-handed on drums has improved. It's crazy how the brain works and that different instruments bring out both sides of that in our bodies. Love this video!
Nothing more humbling than getting way out of your comfort zone on the drums and being shot back to virtually square one in some aspects. But the lessons you learn and rewards you can reap are oh so sweet...
Since I was a teenager I've always had 2 drum-sets set up - 1 left handed and another right handed. Then in my late 20's I set up a double bass set with a hi hat mounted to each side of the bass drums. Today (almost 60), I only keep one single bass drum-set set up but I continue to experiment from left to right. I strongly encourage you to continue on with your experimentation - it will definitely improve your abilities. Incidentally, it took me well over a year to master the left handed set - the hi hat is always everyone's biggest obstacle.
Lefty drummer here, checking in after scouring the internet for lefty drumming.Thanks for exploring our side of the drumming universe. I see a HUGE opportunity. I think I should really consider expanding my youtube channel to cover left handed drumming, there is definitely an audience out there.
I have being this a long time now so glad some had the resources to share it , arguably the most aggravating/ gratifying drum lessons I ever had and you really explained this very well great job
I'm just starting, having gotten a kit a few weeks ago. After a couple weeks I made the deliberate decision to go lefty style. I think it's a superior configuration and, if you are just starting out, it doesn't really make that much difference either way, and whichever way you move forward with will become completely natural to you. So I'm going to go that direction.
On the guitar (which I've played for many decades) a while back I decided to just go strictly finger oriented on the right hand, and not use a pick.
While these types of things may make it a lot harder to play in the local bar band, they will probably tend to help you develop a sound that's more your own.
Really great stuff Shawn! I've been considering trying the same, or trying the Harry Miree-style completely ambidextrous setup. Currently on a pad with it, as rearranging my kit in the tiny space it's in could be interesting!
I am a pianist and I love all your videos, Shawn ! All of your videos teach me a lot even though I don’t play drums!
🙏🏼Thank you! 🙏🏼
Snare drum sounds incredible!
I have been playing lefty with my feet for years brought on my an injury, and I recently purchased some mini 10" Istanbul hats and a remote hi hat pedal and wow! I know what you are talking about.... I suck! I can't play that way but I am going to give it a shot for fun! Thanks for the uplifting video!
I was just thinking of doing this! Great Video!
Bobby Jarzombek who plays open handed told in some interview (drumtalk podcast or something) that it took about 10 years for him to switch completely from cross handed (right hand dominant) position to open handed.
Also I'm playing drums a bit myself and was playing open handed from first practice because it's more comfortably and gives me more freedom to run around a kit in different ways (i'm righty at life). Without moving and rearranging the kit, just lowered hi-hat down to snare because there is a lot of space for backswing for right hand to kick snare.
The question how much longer it would take to learn instruments both left and right would make for a nice video from Adam 😅
I did it with the electric guitar, took me 3 times faster to get to the same level the second time. (half a year of playing lefty got me to the same level of 1.5 years of playing righty)
I can’t play a right handed piano, only a leftie one.
@@Henry-uv9xu didn't know they exist
So inspiring, I found your Japanese channel last December and through it started using Anki, came here to look for any Japanese updates and of course you are still doing insane brain challenges. Keep going.
Like some others here, I am lefty but originally learned to play righty as a kid as a result of influences from my teachers and doing marching band which forced me to lead righty to match everyone else's sticking. Then in my late 20's I decided to switch to open hand (left hand lead) but never flipped the pedals. That also took a fairly long time and there were lots of things I never really learned to do well that way. I play double pedal too but not very well and never managed to develop my left foot very well. I really liked this video as it is interesting to see someone way beyond my playing level is a true righty flip everything just for the challenge. It was definitely an inspiration although it also reminds me that the one of the main differences between the pros and me is that they practice a lot and I don't. That's life though! Thanks Shawn!
I strongly recommend getting a cable hi-hat and mounting it just behind the snare, that way you can play open-handed while leading with either hand. I also rearranged my kit so that it's roughly symmetrical, with one of everything for each hand, so I can play left- and right-handed at the same time. Did wonders for my ambidexterity, and lets me use my left hand so much more, now that it's not trapped under my right hand.
The two drum teachers I've had are both left handed but play regularly. One of them just swapped his cymbals order to have the ride cymbal closer to his left side than right side, like some jazz drummers do with one up, one down. Interesting to watch!
You're a nutter mate, big props for committing to this for a whole month. Super impressive man! 👊
Your ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ is my daily reality... great stuff man.
Love it.GREAT
I’m lefty. I’m so glad you did this.
Ok, right now, as I'm watching this video, there are 1k thumbs up and 0 thumbs down. NEVER seen that on UA-cam! That's pretty accurate, amazing video, man!
You have inspired me to try this now. Years ago I broke my right (favored) hand. I had to learn to do everything with one hand... that clumsy left. After the healing process, I could easily learn and play patterns and styles that had seemed too difficult for me for years. We've all been taken out of our comfort zones in the past couple of months, and this is a great challenge for quarantine.
That's what I've been doing since I started drums in the 80's, so I'm right-handed, but I've never played right-handed ever. It has two benefits -- it works your weak hand, and it's consistent with other instruments like keyboards where the low pitches are on the left and they ascend rightwards (which means I'm less confused when I sequence drums from a MIDI keyboard). I think Terry Bozzio does the same thing, but I didn't find that out until after I'd already been doing it for awhile.
I'm a left handed drummer who's played on a right-handed kit for their whole life (not open-handed). When I started out leading with my right was nearly impossible for me so I just led with my left. After a while that didn't work well for me so I started working on leading with my right. It's been around two years since that and while my left hand is definitely still stronger, leading with my right feels just as if not more natural than leading with my left.
I have a friend who plays lefty, after playing for 15 years it's a real humbling experience to sit on an opposite kit, it's like starting all over again. Kudos for taking up the challenge!
Now that's dedication!
I'm left-handed and recently started to play drums. First on a regular standard layout and I noticed that I have severe problems on this kind of setup. Right hand for the hi-hat and left hand for the snare was totally fine for me but kicking with the right foot was something my brai couldn't comprehend since I'm a die hard lefty on everything I do. Starting a roll with the right hand was impossible and starting it with left gets my hands in their way eventually when moving from tom to tom... So I decided to rebuild the kit into a left-handed version and oh wow... it feels so much more natural to kick with left and be able to use the left as dominant hand when starting rolls or fills...
But there was stll one odd thing. For me, it feels way more natural to play open-handed for unknown reasons so far. I took a drum teacher online for the last 3 months and he always shakes his head about my playstyle but somehow finds it interesting and cool looking. So far it doesn't hold me back on my drum progress and that could be a good sign that, what feels natural to you in the first moment, is the right way to go. And after 3 months of drumming being able to pull of "SOAD - Revenga" and "Genesis - Turn it on again" as the first songs to play is even more impressing to my drum teacher than to myself. Sry about the brag. I just can't believe how natural drumming feels after being a guitarist for almost 20 years.
Picked up drums a couple years ago and after watching a vid from Harry Miree, I switched from cross/righty to open/lefty. Since I was new to the instrument, switching between was fairly easy and I got comfortable with the kit set up both ways. Enjoyed the vid as always!
Good luck to the drummer who is going to fill in for you in live gigs! Also one way to ensure that they hire you for live gigs... Smart!
It's been on my mind to try this, the biggest reason is seeing the creativity that comes from left handed drummers who play righty kits.
Love this!
1:33 *dial up sounds in background* 🤣
so subtle and perfect
I did the same with my Pearl rhthym traveler for a few months at a time.It opens up a whole new world drumming wise
2:00 - Grapvine Fires by Death Cab?
Hitting the studio with one of my bands soon, but I will definitely be trying this afterward!
Thought about switching to a lefty kit for a few years now, maybe it is time to finally do it!
This is great, man. It's funny how I just started today to read through a portion of David Garibaldi's book open handed and watching your process gives me ideas on how to approach open handed playing (or just balancing both sides?
Thanks, Shawn!
Doing the recording leftie was a bold move man! I think I’m going to do something similar but with open handed playing.
I started my first practice as lefty today and this video pops on my yt home page :) Feels so weird but great to work on left hand
I´ve tried this exercice recently. Hard, challenging but fun. Great patience dose needed ¡¡
Absolutely true. Always keep it musical. I also get bored practicing the technical without melodies behind me. If I have good music to play with I can play for five hours straight without even noticing. I feel like many players are too focused on the technical and it shows when you see the beats and rolls people play. They’re all technical without melodic relevance to the song melodies. This is a cool concept. I’m going to try it.
i do not play drums but your videos have a lot of stuff and ideas that can be applied to other instruments
6:49 Yes! I've also melted my brain a few times on a lefty kit, and yeah, some of those resulting grooves are ones I'd never have thought to play back on the righty. Haha, if you hope to stick with it, just set up an entire righty+lefty kit (a righty and lefty kit combine, each sharing the same hi-hat. Half-spin yourself over to the lefty kit mid song without whacking your right shin on the snare 🤪).
I did the same challenge! At the brining of May I just decided that I should play open handed after 13 years of playing the drums casual righty path. I feel pretty confident that I can fully switch to open handed drumming till the end of 2020 and play the "new me" at gigs in 2021 :) But hardest parts for me were the shuffle grooves, ghost notes with right hand and playing various combination of 3 16-th strokes on hi hat with left hand
This is cool! I am lefty and I started out playing as a righty. I come from a very musical family and everyone is righty but me. I'm also the youngest of 6 kids. When I was 7 I got my first real drum kit and of course my dad set it up righty. Why not? Well I played that way for 5 years until my sisters boyfriends band mate and drummer asked if he could mess with my kit and of course I said sure! I was 12, he was 20 and a rock star and taking an interest in me? He'll yeah!😂😂😂
I sat behind my now backwards kit and I played like a m.f. (which is a real jazz term kids!)! I'm 59 now and though I have always chosen to play lefty, I have been forced to play righty when sitting in. The craziest thing is I am severely left footed!
I really struggle getting my feet to do what they are supposed to on a righty kit, however, I play great jazz patterns on a righty kit but can't swing a jazz feel to save my life lefty. Even my right hand does way better ride patterns on a righty kit! It's okay though cause I'm not a jazz head. I actually don't like jazz. Dizzy, Miles, Monk, Bird, Parker and the like you can keep it! Some fusion I enjoy playing but bop, and Avant-garde stuff.... I'd rather go to sleep! So being able to jump in on any kit has been a great advantage through the years but I still prefer lefty. Now bass and guitar I can only play righty!
So good luck to you on your quest. Im glad i found this video and I hope you fair better than me on your weak side developement!
Stay safe!
✌
Glad to see you're starting a patreon! That's awesome! Question, though: what was your thought process for deciding when you were ready to start a Patreon? Like, how did you know it was time?
Left handed drummer gang rise up
Good stuff man! I always find myself loving to play on the Ride as a righty much more, because you can switch to Tom's and stuff. Should consider to this as well!
Dude major respect for sticking with it for a whole month. I think more set players need to adopt the the drum line concept of “off the left”
FUCK yeah shawn this is that good mainstream clickable shit and then it delivers i love this
This video could not have come out at a better time for me. I've been staying with my parents for a bit during quarantine so I've only had a practice pad. What I've found in this time is that I'm actually much more comfortable playing lefty, but I had learned righty because that's how the kits I've used were always set up. I'm heading home tomorrow and the first thing I planned to to was rearrange my kit to be lefty, but now I'm considering trying to play open handed a bit first, before I try the full lefty kit. Perhaps I can get the best of both worlds. Thanks for sharing your journey and tips!
I'm in high school drum line and play jazz on kit, so I'm super focused on traditional right now. Recently I've been hating crossing over so I'd love to work on open-handed playing when I'm out of high school and I never thought of switching my kit around. Thanks for the idea.
Funny, I always got a 'drumline'" feel from the way I see your drums set up in Sungazer videos!
Been doing this myself. I keep my set up right but switch hands on lead. More or less what Carter Beauford does. Ringo's sound was unique being he was left handed on a right handed kit.
I've being doing a similar thing for a while now. Not really changing my set to "lefty-settings" (just because I don't want to be constantly changing the setttings, if I ever get to have two kits in the same practice room, I'll probaly try it), but including some "lefty-mode" regularly in my practice time, playing open handed, but also playing my bass drum with my left foot (left side of my double pedal). Concerning my toms, I'm used to lead with both hands anyway, going down or up.
After 30+ years playing the conventional cross handed way, I don't think I'll really get used to play comfortably open handed* or in complete "lefty-mode" (maybe some simple stuff, but nothing complicated), but I found that by including this on my regular practice, my independence and my control, as well as my double bass playing have improved hugely. So even if it is just taken as an exercice, I recommend everyone to try it, I think it worths it.
* To be more accurate, we all play open handed when we play our ride cymbal or an auxiliary hats set by our dominant side, but you know what I mean. I have indeed an aux hats set and I think that an interesting future investement could be a remote stand for it.
There's such an art as poi spinning.
It's all about equal ability on both sides, by its nature.
And when you've learned something one direction and are learning the same thing the other direction, it goes anywhere from 20% to 300% in terms of work. Quite nonlinearly.
I'm a lefty and I often get to hang out with friend's bands and I get to sit in sometimes to jam with them. So I get some jam time playing reverse and I can say that doing a shuffle was a challenge at first, but it did open up a ton of fill ideas with being forced to play an awkward setup!!
Shawn you beast.
I think the reason right handed drummers cross over on the hi hat is because the hi hat is the time keeper in many common beats, and if your right hand is better than the left, it makes sense in that way...
I still agree that it's a good idea to try and exercise both sides, and this coronavirus situation has given many drummers the opportunity to give this a go. I've been practicing my piano playing a lot more because I've been home more, and goddamn, the progress I've made is great!
Thanks Bro!!!
I've been self teaching myself drums since september, and I've just been doing open handed because that's what Gene Hoglan does and he looks so comfortable doing it. Because of him I've always been really interested in it, it just seems free-er and more practical. The first thing that jumps out to me with it (as a right hander,) is hitting the snare with the right hand I get way more attack.
Your video has me thinking that it'd be really neat having different muscle memory for each side. Kind of like when you try to write a song on a different instrument because you want to avoid your usual muscle memory choices, but instead you get to stay on your instrument. You could have left side and right side chops and switch whenever you get sick of them or feel stuck.
Amazing video
great idea,,,,, independence is key
Awesome
Im left handed beginner drumer, thank you for this video😊😊😊
i feel like you’d be able to utilize a bill bruford type set up really well given your progress at this! something to consider i guess
I’ve been a left handed Drummer my whole life. It’s nice because it’s given me a convenient reason to avoid sharing my kit with someone if they are a hard hitter and are at risk of damaging my cymbals, snare, or drumheads. Conversely though, it’s also made it impossible for me to feel comfortable at sit down gigs like open mics and jazz sit ins.
Knowing I won’t be playing gigs anytime soon, would you recommend I try and switch my kit around?
Spencer Jessee as a lefty who’s used this excuse before, I can say that it’s invaluable to learn to play open handed on a righty kit, just moving the ride cymbal over atop your hats. Look at Carter Beauford and you’ll see what I mean. The only thing that really changes is your bass drum and hihat foot as leading underneath your right hand while going down the toms is the only other real obstacle I faced with trying it. Makes it hugely more easy to just hop on someone else’s kit and only have to move one thing which usually doesn’t annoy them anywhere near as much as suggesting a full resetting of their kit the other way round. Hope this helps 👍🏼
I'd recommend it, though I have no clout or influence in the music community. But, as a lefty (bass, guitar & drums) it would be valuable for a lefty drummer to practice right handed for the reason you cited. For a drummer, you can't take your drums everywhere and expect to be able to set them up when asked to sit in as a guest at another band's gig. As a lefty bass player, I can do that easily, by plugging my bass into their amp.
I've enjoyed this video, and as an ex drummer (retired), I've been learning to play open handed as a challenge.
Might have to try this when I get my new kit. Old one got stolen and it’s been a good year since I played.
That's some amazing discipline. I lost feeling in my R foot from back surgery, and have wanted to, and was reccomend to learn to play L. Unlike you, i don't last 1/2 hour
I’m right-handed, but I’ve been playing open-handed for a few months. I started because I got a double bass pedal and I decided that I might as well fuck shit up.
It’s been going pretty well, it feels a lot more flexible. Would definitely recommend trying it.
*cries in guitar* I'm not able to do this. Michael Angelo Batio however definitely applied the principle of balancing left and right. Anyhow, awesome playing as always, Shawn.
Truly it's one of the best exercises a drummer can do. Playing open handed and ambidextrous is a game changing
As a tip, I would recommend start doing daily and mundane thing with your left hand, it help me a lot
Matías Pauer I starting doing that too. I haven't noticed a difference yet after more than a year, but I'm still doing it.
Set up a kit that allows you to do both righty and lefty. Use remote hi hats alongside two bass drums, for instance. Then you can just be a switch-hitter, like Keith Moon.
I did this years ago. At the time I felt like it improved my balance. Probably wouldn't hurt to do it again!
Your day 13 is maybe the most informative part of this video. We're all going to have that day 13 and finding a way to deal with it is what will further your progression. Amazing work brotha.
I always play lefty and riighty in te same drum kit. Ambidextrous aproach here
Hearing about open handed playing reminds me of Ilan Rubin. Dude's a beast
I switched to open handed after watching I think Harry Miree talk about it along with the prevalence of remote hi hats now, meaning you can put them where you want so why not play open because of the reasons you give here. It frees up your body and takes away the awkward crossover. He also touched on the gigging aspect in that sometimes you'll show up and the kit is opposite to how you play so open style will help you drop in naturally. He suggested if you're just starting out with drums then start open handed. I played righty in high school but hadn't touched drums for 20 years since so now feel like I'm starting again anyway so gave it a go and I will never go back.
Makes me laugh now seeing crossed over players, I feel smugly superior. Except I suck 😂
2:00 the Purdie shuffle! Trying to figure out what you were playing along to and there's SO many things it could be.
THE once in a lifetime opportunity!
I'm a lefty on a right handed kit, and I've been playing for almost 10 years at this point. And in my early years of playing, being self taught, all I did to practice was to just play along to my favourite songs. I've tried playing a lefty kit but I've just always felt more comfortable on a righty kit
5:42 It's funny, as a natural lefty it also makes more sense to me to play guitar/bass as a righty. My dominant hand takes care of the fretting, which seems a more complex and precise duty than plucking/strumming.
Always love hearing the Purdy Shuffle. Grapevine Fires perhaps?
Maybe next step: try to play a Travis Orbin kit?! (Or your own modified version). I feel like the big challenge is on the feet as well... I play open handed and I’d say the ratio of catching back with your strong side is 30% of the work, catching back with your weak side is 200% of the work
your feel is amazing... even as a beginner lefty... haha
Didn't even know drums had a handedness. Never touched a drumset in my life so I guess I just never considered it. Wish you had delved a little bit into which hand is in charge of what in right vs left-handed playing
mike mangini even has a symmetric kit. chain hi hat in the middle
Most drummers are right handed and in most popular styles traditionally play a steady pulse on cymbals with the right hand and play accents on the snare with the left. A hi hat for a right hander is set up for their left foot so the hands cross over like he talks about. I think like he says early on for drum students there's some pressure to do it this way because it's what everyone else does and there's an argument that the strong hand leading makes the time more consistent, but I think Shawn is arguing that there are advantages to spending time evening out which hand is dominant.
The dominant hand usually does timekeeping, either on the hat or the ride. The dominant foot is on the bass drum. So this results in the crossing of hands since you have your hat where your other foot is able to control the pedal.
@@simongunkel7457 thats why i switched to keyboard permanently. My dominant hand is right and my dominant foot is left... I never took the time to try to overcome that.
@@DJKuroh put hihat on the right, play openhanded. simple :P
Hey Shawn thanks for making these awesome drum concept videos! You are definitely offering a new perspective on the sea of yt drum videos. After doing it for a month do u feel the added benefits are worth it for some one to spend their entire career learning open handed ?
A once in a lifetime opportunity