Left hand exercises, rudiments, and warmups

[scottpep]

Here is a new video I made on warmups and rudiments focusing on the left hand to build it up to the right. If you do these for a month or 2 your left hand will notice a huge difference.

 

[DrummerJustLikeDad]

You are a thoughtful educator and a great player.

Thanks for sharing another great lesson.

 

[wolfereeno]

nice

Pretty much any exercise where there's a switch over between L and R lead encourages the arms to equal out. That's one of the things that's so great about the Alan Dawson Rudimental Ritual. To maintain tempo and be able to switch back and forth between L and R lead without slowing down, so you can't start too fast.

A single paradiddle is a great way to cut over. Something as simple as this. Put in various accents to make it more challenging, etc.

RRRR RRRR RRRR RLRR
LLLL LLLL LLLL LRLL

 

[scottpep]

I love paradiddles. I find though, once you get it down, it becomes muscle memory. At that point you can blaze them fast but your left side is now in autopilot mode and not learning anymore. Switch it to inverted diddles and its a train wreck, switch it to paradiddlediddles, same thing.

That is why I use about 10-15 different switch over exercises or I will stop something and change it to left hand lead for a while. The accents in odd spots for the left hand are always great. and using the diddle to change over works every time.

 

[wolfereeno]

Yup. Good advice.

The dawson thing adds in the feet so it kind of forces you to learn it and make it musical and not think so much about your hands. I invent all sorts of permutations of my own on this.

 

[scottpep]

I'll do all these over ostinatos if I can... When i am sitting on the couch I should get a foot practice pad to work on.