beginner drumming question

suicide_circus

just started trying to play drums a few weeks back.
i seem to be playing 8th notes, on the hihats for example, with my left hand. i'm right handed. If i'm playing 8ths on the other side of the kit, i play em with my right hand. both are equally comfortable. any of the stuff i've read or tutorial videos i've watched suggest i should be doing this with my right hand...does it matter? will this cause problems later?
thanks.

Demeyes

You'd probably want to stick with one hand leading. It would be handy to be able to switch but unless you are fully aware of what you are doing it could lead to confusion and might slow down your progress.

suicide_circus

thanks.
but when i try to stick to one hand i struggle with my arms getting in the way of eachother and sort of tie myself in knots...

flyswatter

suicide_circus wrote: »

thanks.
but when i try to stick to one hand i struggle with my arms getting in the way of eachother and sort of tie myself in knots...

At what part do your hands get in the way? What you are doing on the hi hat isn't actually rigidly wrong at all, it's called playing open handed and some great drummers like Billy Cobham and Carter Beauford do it. Keep trying to play right handed though.

suicide_circus

flyswatter wrote: »

At what part do your hands get in the way? What you are doing on the hi hat isn't actually rigidly wrong at all, it's called playing open handed and some great drummers like Billy Cobham and Carter Beauford do it. Keep trying to play right handed though.

i dunno it just seems natural to me to do it like that...i don't see the point in crossing my arms unless completely necessary

Mr. CooL ICE

I'm kind of a failed drummer so you should take my advice with a pinch of salt. But what I think of it is this.

If you are right-handed, your right hand should be used as a lead hand and therefore will lead any rolls you play. Technically, it is ok the play quarter/eighth notes using your left hand on the hi-hat and right hand for the snare, but if you decide to use the ride instead of the hi-hat, your mobility will become more constricted than any situation by using right-hand for lead (assuming your ride cymbal is located in the classic position, i.e. to the right of your kit). Also, when you start playing sixteenth/thirty-second beats, you will be alternating your left and right hands on the hi-hat to play the full 16/32 beats. Since this beat will somewhat equate to a roll, having your strong hand as your lead hand makes the most sense. Basically, what I think could be summed up below...

Pros to using weak hand as lead hand:

• Allows open-hand beats, allowing greater mobility around kit

Cons:

• Weakens ability to play rolls
• Weakens ability to play 16th/32nd notes
• Restricts use of ride in classic position

If your main problem is that your hands are getting cris-crossed, have you looked closely at how that happens? Do you know if you are holding the sticks correctly? What part of your arm is being used to project the stick towards the drum? Your fingers, wrist, elbow or shoulder?

Some great drummers (particularly funk drummers) will attest that what you aren't playing is equally important to what you are playing. Sounds corny, but it is true. The following video shows a little of what Neil Peart learned from Freddie Gruber:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzDktOZw5o