Working on building left arm and leg skills

[TGro]

I am trying to get better at drums outside of rock band and need to improve my left hand and foot. I have a few general questions to ask to see what would benefit my playing more.

-So I started playing on non-pro drums lefty flip, and was wondering if I should try and work on playing lefty flip with my left or right foot on the kick?

-Should I try playing pro mode on lefty flip or just work on non-pro? I play pro drums right handed on an e-kit with my crash between the yellow tom and snare, hi-hat to the left of my snare, and ride between blue and green toms.

-Do I need to adjust my setup since I have a mesh head snare acting the green tom in lefty mode?

-Would trying to play songs with right hand pro mode setup with left leg work better than trying to build its skill with my left hand?

I am of average level and can 3 dots songs and most 4 dots in pro mode. Mostly need to work on keeping a steady tempo with my left hand at this point and all around on my left leg. Any songs that have varied sections that could help build said skills would also be helpful.

[TGro]

I am trying to get better at drums outside of rock band and need to improve my left hand and foot. I have a few general questions to ask to see what would benefit my playing more.

-So I started playing on non-pro drums lefty flip, and was wondering if I should try and work on playing lefty flip with my left or right foot on the kick?

-Should I try playing pro mode on lefty flip or just work on non-pro? I play pro drums right handed on an e-kit with my crash between the yellow tom and snare, hi-hat to the left of my snare, and ride between blue and green toms.

-Do I need to adjust my setup since I have a mesh head snare acting the green tom in lefty mode?

-Would trying to play songs with right hand pro mode setup with left leg work better than trying to build its skill with my left hand?

I am of average level and can 3 dots songs and most 4 dots in pro mode. Mostly need to work on keeping a steady tempo with my left hand at this point and all around on my left leg. Any songs that have varied sections that could help build said skills would also be helpful.

[insomniacdude]

I am not a real drummer, except in the Rock Band universe, but I am a music educator so I feel a little bit qualified to answer. My intuition tells me that working on songs on lefty flip will have some pros and cons. Pros: it will build some strength in your left arm/leg and, more importantly, the part of your brain that controls those limbs. However, the con here is that your brain and your limbs will be building strength as the dominant limb. Instead of building strength in the left hand as a secondary limb, you'll instead have skills with the right hand as the leading hand, and the left hand as the leading hand. Being good with left hand leading is not necessarily the same as having a strong left hand. While I think it'll probably get you to the right endpoint, I feel like just putting in the work and working on fundamentals (yes, outside of the game) can help build up that limb independence. (The best place to start would be rudiments: http://www.fivestardrumshops.com/TT-files/FS_TT-Rudiments.pdf )

Something I tell my students: "People always say practice makes perfect, and that's a lie. The saying ought to be 'Perfect practice makes perfect.' You can practice all you want, but you're wasting your time if you aren't practicing right."

Just my $0.02. Hopefully otherwise can pitch in with more applicable experience.

[insomniacdude]

I am not a real drummer, except in the Rock Band universe, but I am a music educator so I feel a little bit qualified to answer. My intuition tells me that working on songs on lefty flip will have some pros and cons. Pros: it will build some strength in your left arm/leg and, more importantly, the part of your brain that controls those limbs. However, the con here is that your brain and your limbs will be building strength as the dominant limb. Instead of building strength in the left hand as a secondary limb, you'll instead have skills with the right hand as the leading hand, and the left hand as the leading hand. Being good with left hand leading is not necessarily the same as having a strong left hand. While I think it'll probably get you to the right endpoint, I feel like just putting in the work and working on fundamentals (yes, outside of the game) can help build up that limb independence. (The best place to start would be rudiments: http://www.fivestardrumshops.com/TT-files/FS_TT-Rudiments.pdf )

Something I tell my students: "People always say practice makes perfect, and that's a lie. The saying ought to be 'Perfect practice makes perfect.' You can practice all you want, but you're wasting your time if you aren't practicing right."

Just my $0.02. Hopefully otherwise can pitch in with more applicable experience.