As I mentioned before, the Beck performance on that new Nigel Godrich website is pretty rad. I enjoyed his drummer, but I don’t recognize him. Anybody know who it is? My friend Bill thought it might have been ?uestlove, but Beck’s guy is a lefty, and ?uest isn’t. Thinking about this gives me an opportunity to bring up my thoughts about left-handed players.
To clarify, I don’t want to pick on left-handed people, just guys who play drums in a left-handed way. There are two main versions of this: 1) setting up the drums in the opposite configuration, and 2) playing “open” – with the left hand on the hihat and right hand on the snare. These two methods of approaching the drums stem from the belief that left-handed people should play drums in a different way than right-handed people do, much like swinging a golf club or using a writing utensil. Again, to be clear, I have nothing against left-handed people, but I do have an issue with this belief that drumming is dominant-hand sensitive.
My thesis is this: playing drums instrument should NOT be a right-handed vs. left-handed issue. I’ve got a few reasons for thinking this, but I’ve narrowed it down to three…
1. Drums are hard for everyone when you start. If you’re a beginner, then trying to learn to play grooves feels weird no matter what. Familiarity with the instrument grows with time spent practicing, and things that once felt totally awkward eventually become second nature. If I, as a life-long right-handed player, committed the next 6 months of my life to playing only left-handed kits, I believe the scales would tip and my comfort and preference would change. So, I’m basically saying that the traditional arrangement of a drum set shouldn’t be thought of as a “right-handed configuration” that needs to be reversed for a left-handed player, because I don’t think the case can be made that playing the hihat with the dominant hand produces any actual advantage. This leads me to my second point…
2. The piano has always been configured the same way. Right-handed… left-handed… doesn’t matter. You sit down at the piano and you learn to play it the way that it is: low notes on the left, high notes on the right. Wind instruments such as saxophones are also this way. At some point drummers (and guitarists I guess) decided that the set-up of the instrument should be reversed to accommodate for left-handed players, but this only happened because changing the instrument’s configuration is possible. For the piano, left-handed people just learn it and do it… and they don’t seem to have any trouble. This is the same with driving a manual-transmission car: you put your left hand on the wheel, right hand on the stick shift, left foot on the clutch, and right foot on the gas/brake. Nobody gets to select the “left-handed” version transmission, and I don’t hear left-handed people complaining about that.
3. Left-handed players are setting themselves up for inconvenience. This last reason is a pragmatic one, and probably the most compelling. The short of it is this: left-handed players spend their entire lives dealing with the headache of switching around right-handed kits to fit your needs. Professional drummers (and serious hobbyists) are constantly put in the position of needing to play someone else’s kit. Maybe the gig has a house kit, or all the bands at the club need to use the headliner’s gear, or you’re just sitting in for one song, or whatever. Taking the time to switch a right-handed configuration around will always be a nuisance, and not only to you. I’ve heard of left-handed players not getting called for a tour because nobody wants to deal with reversing the drums. Regardless of how “discriminating” this may seem, it’s reality. I’ve talked with numerous left-handed professional players over the years, and they ALL lament the fact that they chose to reverse the instrument when they first began learning it. Their reason is always simply the annoyance of always having to switch everything around.
To reiterate, my answer to the overall issue is to suggest that drums are not dominant-hand sensitive. I have nothing against the left-handed folks of the world, I just think it’s a mistake to assume that left-handedness requires someone to reverse the way drums are set up.
At this point it’s worth asking why I’m posting about this topic. I mean, I’m right-handed, so I don’t have anything to worry about. If the left-handed players want to reverse the way they play the instrument, why not just let them? I guess I’m bringing this whole thing up mostly on a philosophical level. As I teach my private lessons, I always tell my left-handed students that they should really consider switching to a right-handed approach, because of the whole inconvenience thing. I spell out my reasons like I did above, and they usually just respond with “well, I want to do it my way.” That’s totally fine, but as a philosopher, I’m not satisfied with that answer.
I’m basically just hoping that someone here can give me a good reason for turning a guitar upside down like Hendrix did, or playing the drum set in a reversed configuration like Beck’s current drummer.
So… challenge extended.
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November 6, 2009 at 12:30 am
phillip
point #3 is why left-handed ringo learned drums in the right-handed configuration, so that he could sit in at shows where a bunch of different bands played. i knew you’d appreciate that, since you’re such a fan.
November 6, 2009 at 12:30 am
Austin
I’m a lefty who played drums both ways my first two years or so. I then made the choice to play “right handed” for the rest of my life. A choice I have never regretted. The pragmatic issue is probably the most compelling reason to play “right handed.” On a philosophical level I would agree there is no reason the hi-hat needs to be played with the dominant hand.
Honestly i would say in the beginning stages of playing drums left handed people have an advantage. Because the world is set up for right handed people, we find odd ways to use our left hands, learn to use our rights, and generally are more ambidextrous. All this to say left handed people already need to use both sides of their brain and coordinate using both hands more than right handed people who get to be lazy because the world is set up their way.
I would argue any left handed person starting to learn drums should learn to play it the traditional way. It will only improve their independence.
November 6, 2009 at 11:05 am
JoeS
Point of interest, Dick Dale played lefty, but left the strings in their original order, so any right-hander could pick up his guitar and play (except the strap button would be wrong).
November 6, 2009 at 11:35 am
alexander
Steve,
All i could find is that his name is Lance and he is a part of the band, Wounded Cougar, all of whom are currently Beck’s touring band.
ay
November 6, 2009 at 2:26 pm
JimmyMayor
How do you deal with giving lessons at NorthWestern in the cave when someone insists on playing left handed?
Just curious since you said you had students who insist on doing that way.
November 6, 2009 at 5:36 pm
JoeS
FYI:
http://www.lefthandedpiano.com/
November 7, 2009 at 3:06 pm
AaronB
Theoretically speaking, shouldn’t a drummer have the independence to play any rhythm in any limb? It should be possible to play the same hat rhythm with either you right or left hand, correct? At that point, the kit set-up is little more than aesthetics.
November 7, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Ben
Just figured I’d drop my two cents in, since I may/may not fit into this camp of “lefties.”
I’m not sure if you addressed the idea of playing “open,” where the only difference is the (dis)placement of the ride. This seems to be a relatively small adjustment if using someone else’s kit, no more than having to move mics and adjust snare height, cymbal positions, or what have you. It’s never been much of an inconvenience for me. I guess that’s my response to point three.
I agree on the first two points. Given the non-reversable-ness of other instruments, there is a strong case to be made against drums being necessarily reversed. (Funny you mention sax–I played that for years as well). I guess the only reason I do play “open” is that no one ever told me to do otherwise for a long time.” I guess that brings up the issue of learning the right way, and some of us…well we didn’t learn the “right way”. Shucks.
About Hendrix: first of all, doesn’t the Strat’s slanted pickups affect the sounds of the respective strings? I guess in that respect, a discussion of Jimi is actually different than what we’re talking about here, because reversing his guitar actually affected/transformed the actual guitar sound.
Maybe he did it just to be different?
November 8, 2009 at 11:18 pm
stevegoold
Selness…
I can’t believe that. I wonder how many of those that guy has sold.
Jimmy Mayor…
I have the students reverse only the hats/snare/floor tom, but I don’t let them switch anything else, and I tell them that they should get used it that way because of the gig situations I outlined.
AaronB…
Exactly.
Ben…
The open thing doesn’t matter to me. Sometimes I play open when I want to use the crash on my left as a crash/ride. The Hendrix thing is a good point.
Phillip…
Your mom is such a fan.