Comments on: Other instruments

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

It seems that at least on here there are a lot of left handed percussionists, I totally avoid playing on anyone elses instruments as I have mine set up left handed and in exactly the right places for me, also it makes a difference how mine are set up as I am short, my right foot has no hope of being able to keep up the constant beat on the bass so my own set up is essential. I even managed this in the very “left handed is unacceptable” world of the 1950s.
Yes I’m told I look odd when playing and on the odd occasions when I have been expected to play a concert bass drum as in a band contest, I have said no sorry when I play it I cant see the conductor so I take my own and use it like a kettle drum and sitting down, there are ways around everything. I think leftys learn very quickly to “think outside the box”.
Some one has said on this forum being left handed will either make you excell or fail miserably, I failed miserably on the piano and my hand writing is really the worst, the piano failure was due to not being able to get my right hand to work correctly, but my hand writing failure is totally due to the school teachers I had who would not let me even hold my pen for a moment in my left hand, so because my grip in my right hand was poor the pencil or pen went everywhere by the time they finally gave up it was to late for me to learn to write with my left hand either I was so far behind it was impossible. Thank God for the typewriter and now the computer! And excell yes in anything to do with being creative, art ,design, sewing I learnt to think outside the square very early for even sewing machines are right handed.
Logn live the lefty percussionists

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I’m a lefty but I learned to play guitar, bass, and drums right-handed. I eventually switched the set up lefty(using my right hand for hi-hat/ride only). I never had any trouble learning any instrument (either way). I was first taught guitar by my right-handed father (He made sure I was comfortable with it first though). I have recently found that I can play lefty as well– whitch (among other things) leads me to believe that I may be ambidextrious instead (although my preferrence for most things {writing, eating, manipulating objects} is to use my left hand. I’ll keep up my lefty guitar, but I have eleven years experience playing righty….so I’m not going to give THAT up.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Hi,
I love music and had no problems learning the recorders nor the clarinet. I used to play one of those little electric organs you could get in the 70’s with chord buttons on the left and keys for the right hand, with my hands crossed over, until my Dad insisted I taught myself to play the ‘right’ way round. However when I came to learn the piano I was fine except for the over-loud bass, but when a piece got difficult and I had to really concentrate, then without any conscious thought, my left hand would play the treble clef and my right hand the bass clef – woops. I really struggled doing drum rolls on the timpani- until I started the roll with my left and hand not my right. For some reason I could not cope with playing the harp at all. Singing is non-handed but I do not seem to be able to pitch accurately and realiably. Any other lefties have problems with singing in tune reliably? Liz

By: Dave Conley

Dave Conley — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I have really enjoyed learning that there are a lot more left-handers that are drummers in the world. I learned to play right-handed with the traditional grip used for sticks but now I try to used a matched grip whenever possible. I haven’t played for awhile but miss it alot and hope to go back to being a stickman very soon. I was very lucky growing us as eventhough my mother wanted to change me into a righty, God Bless my first grade teacher Mrs. Caldwell who flatly told her NO! In regards to an earlier post concerning having to use the leadliner’s kit in a concert setting… This is very true. I have several friends in the sound system/concert stage business and a lot of the time the kit is theirs, set to the demands of the main act. Also, as mentioned, time constraints also are sometimes prohibitive. Now, 52, I am so used to being left-handed in a righty world, a lot of times it would now be more diffifult to do certain tasks as a true left-hander. But, if I had a child who was a lefty, I would encourage them to be a lefty to the max. If their teachers were not open to their particular needs, I’d be sure and protest until they were. In my area in Eastern KY, a school system outlawed peanut butter because one student… yes one student out of hundreds was allergic to peanut butter. LEFTIES ROCK!

By: RORY MAC LEOD

RORY MAC LEOD — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Hi,

As a leftie drummer(and dentist) of MANY MANY years, I am aware of some of the following drummers being lefties and playing that way…wearing the hi hat on the right..

Ian Paice(Deep Purple) Phil Collins(Genesis)Dom Howard(Muse) are all lefties. The band GOSSIP have a female drummer-sincere aplologies,I don’t know her name,is also left handed! Pete Riley a well known drum tutor on Rhythm magazine is a leftie! Even better is the fact, that his video lessons are shown as a leftie, thus for once its our right handed majority who have to work out what is going on…”now you know how it feels!”

By: Jade

Jade — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

When trying to play right handed, i get mixed up, and so i prefer playing left handed. Also because my left hand is stronger than my right hand, and therefore i find it easier to keep up the hi hat beat with my left hand.
I am only thirteen, but have been told i have a talent and not to throw it away, haha!
Since i started learning how to play the drums, i’m forever watching music videos, and when i go to concerts to see which famous drummers i have seen are left handed. So far? None.
Does anyone know any famous left handed drummers?

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

11/29/09

I, too, am a left handed drummer. I play a right handed set up drum kit while using my left hand for both the ride and hi-hat cymbals. My right hand plays the snare and toms. I am happy to find more left handed drummers opinions about drum kit playing.

Ken

By: Sandra Davis

Sandra Davis — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I wanted so much to learn the violin. But in my younger days, they didn’t have violins for lefties. I tried with a right-handed violin, but I had to quit before I found out if I could do it or not. So, I became a pianist. I don’t have the dexterity in my right hand as much as in my left. So, playing the trills and other right hand techniques is harder for me. I had to really work at it, but even with years of work, it is still not as easy for me.

By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I too played both trumpet and trombone for awhile in Middle School. I did find the trombone hard being a lefty and it didn’t last long. But to be honest, neither did the trumpet. I played many different instruments during that time. I always went back to playing the clarinet then, but still really enjoyed the bass notes of the trombone. I have now found my niche later in life with a bass guitar. I now get to play those bass notes again, but in a way I can as a lefty and even more fun now as an adult.

By: Jade

Jade — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I also play the drums and i’m left handed.
my drum teacher has taught me left handed, and i play the same way as you do. It is difficult to set my drum kit up the opposite way to as right handed people would play it, but it’s something you get used to after a while.
it’s nice to know that someone else is a left handed drummer!