left leg tapping
- Thread starter penko
- Start date
i prc my legs in the MRT when i sit..haha.
i remembered trying to play with my left leg tapping. its REAL hard...i used to think its a skill that is exclusively for God-like players.
what i learned from all these time of playing, hard work still kicks in. (just like u gotta do excercise to make you slim)
play simple beats, real simple beats. then try to play with your left leg. its gonna feel REAL funny, but its a really good technique to master. if you just can't do it, start your left leg playing a constant tap, 4/4. let it go auto pilot, then play your bass drum and snare ONE BY ONE. do it REAL slow. tt should do it.
its a real help for time keeping. trust me it feels really nice, its as if your whole body is dancing to the beat.
hey, happy drumming!!
i remembered trying to play with my left leg tapping. its REAL hard...i used to think its a skill that is exclusively for God-like players.
what i learned from all these time of playing, hard work still kicks in. (just like u gotta do excercise to make you slim)
play simple beats, real simple beats. then try to play with your left leg. its gonna feel REAL funny, but its a really good technique to master. if you just can't do it, start your left leg playing a constant tap, 4/4. let it go auto pilot, then play your bass drum and snare ONE BY ONE. do it REAL slow. tt should do it.
its a real help for time keeping. trust me it feels really nice, its as if your whole body is dancing to the beat.
hey, happy drumming!!
not neccessary...
u can shift it down if u think its too fast..juz follow your feelings. sometimes u may not want to tap your left leg.
oh yah, when u tap left leg doesn't mean u play your hi-hat using your left leg. your tapping shd not cause a sound to be produced using the hi-hat. unless u wanted to produce a sound. its more of feelings in this case.
at least this is what I do after seeing drummer play.
hey! happy drumming!!!
u can shift it down if u think its too fast..juz follow your feelings. sometimes u may not want to tap your left leg.
oh yah, when u tap left leg doesn't mean u play your hi-hat using your left leg. your tapping shd not cause a sound to be produced using the hi-hat. unless u wanted to produce a sound. its more of feelings in this case.
at least this is what I do after seeing drummer play.
hey! happy drumming!!!
hmm left leg tapping started for me this year... really colourful stuff... it's also one step into 4 way independence...
left leg can move in a variety of ways:
2 4
1 2 3 4,
& & & &,
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
these are the more common ones... the others are like 2-3 son/rhumba clave and 3-2 son/rhumba clave (Hercio Henandez/ Akira Jimbo)
usually the common ones are used in rock to add feel... they work hand in hand with the ride cymbal so it's impt that both ride and hihat cymbals match up and compliment each other in terms of sound.
so to get started you could start working on rock patterns with different bass drum patterns... the trick is for the right hand and left leg to sort of lock in while the rest of the stuff does the magic.... pretty soon the right hand can start going and all that too...
some ideas are like playing the right hand on the ride bell on 1 2 3 4 and on the ride shoulder on & & & & while the hihat goes & & & & and vice versa. you can practice the straight 8 notes on the hihat while the right hand plays on the ride... it would be cool if your ride can play all the weird syncopated 16s while the left leg goes... your whole groove will be neatly covered and like it would sound like tremendous load of ppl playing but man, it's just one guy! hahaha
that's just a start... but if you start getting into samba, and jazz... your hihat will be pretty trained on the & & & & for a rock beat... at that sounds sweet in a slow song as Mr Jimmy Lee plays it...
yup hope it helped...
left leg can move in a variety of ways:
2 4
1 2 3 4,
& & & &,
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
these are the more common ones... the others are like 2-3 son/rhumba clave and 3-2 son/rhumba clave (Hercio Henandez/ Akira Jimbo)
usually the common ones are used in rock to add feel... they work hand in hand with the ride cymbal so it's impt that both ride and hihat cymbals match up and compliment each other in terms of sound.
so to get started you could start working on rock patterns with different bass drum patterns... the trick is for the right hand and left leg to sort of lock in while the rest of the stuff does the magic.... pretty soon the right hand can start going and all that too...
some ideas are like playing the right hand on the ride bell on 1 2 3 4 and on the ride shoulder on & & & & while the hihat goes & & & & and vice versa. you can practice the straight 8 notes on the hihat while the right hand plays on the ride... it would be cool if your ride can play all the weird syncopated 16s while the left leg goes... your whole groove will be neatly covered and like it would sound like tremendous load of ppl playing but man, it's just one guy! hahaha
that's just a start... but if you start getting into samba, and jazz... your hihat will be pretty trained on the & & & & for a rock beat... at that sounds sweet in a slow song as Mr Jimmy Lee plays it...
yup hope it helped...
alvinthedrummer
New member
Woah guys, I think there is some misconception here.....the tapping of quarters or quavers (or anything at all) with the left foot does not equate to consistent time....in fact, if you have bad time, your left foot click may help to make it even more obvious with the clicking racing or dragging! I think you should change your mentality a little. Instead of using it as an aid for time keeping, you should use it to strengthen the feel of the groove. For example....if you want to state a strong 4/4 straight ahead rock groove....you might click on all quarters to help strengthen the feel. Or if you want a more swingy feel, you might want to click the upbeats etc....now most importantly, hi-hat clicking is not a must! In fact, alot of recordings I did, I was told to not click the hats when riding....in other words, it must be something that is done only when you want it....not because it is helping you in anyways....you should have good time without having to lose a limb!
A good example....can you play a samba without relying on the upbeats clicking on the hi-hats? I know alot of people rely on the hi-hat clicks as an "achor"....in fact, alot of samba ensembles don't even have the upbeats playing.....moral of the story....stop losing a limb for nothing but a tool for additional percussive expression.....
A good example....can you play a samba without relying on the upbeats clicking on the hi-hats? I know alot of people rely on the hi-hat clicks as an "achor"....in fact, alot of samba ensembles don't even have the upbeats playing.....moral of the story....stop losing a limb for nothing but a tool for additional percussive expression.....
wow thanks!
omg i had always been reling on tapping my left leg to keep time, might not be clicking the hi hat at some times, just merely tapping the heel XD
after reading i understand more about when to click and when not to click, but my left leg had now been my key time keeper (without makinging the sound) i find it easier to 'feel' the time and playing it in a consistent tempo, rather than just relying on the hand (playing the hi hats)
how would u tap yur heel if u wanna play open hi hat, to 'feel' the groove better?
omg i had always been reling on tapping my left leg to keep time, might not be clicking the hi hat at some times, just merely tapping the heel XD
after reading i understand more about when to click and when not to click, but my left leg had now been my key time keeper (without makinging the sound) i find it easier to 'feel' the time and playing it in a consistent tempo, rather than just relying on the hand (playing the hi hats)
how would u tap yur heel if u wanna play open hi hat, to 'feel' the groove better?
alvinthedrummer
New member
You should be able to feel the time without having to rely on any limb! Playing a consistent hi-hat pattern only serves the groove....it shouldn't be used as an aid to help you time-keep as a drummer. So are you trying to tell me that if my producer tells me to play a groove without the ride cymbal or hi-hat I will be in trouble? It shouldn't have to be! What if you are required to play a groove...let's say...flaming 2 and 4 on snare drum and bass drum on the "n" of 1.....will you be able to stay in time then?
If you need to play open hi-hat...then simply just don't tap your foot! You dun need to and shouldn't have to! Hope you understand where I'm coming from....
If you need to play open hi-hat...then simply just don't tap your foot! You dun need to and shouldn't have to! Hope you understand where I'm coming from....
yeah, its a feel to this. plz do be be obliged to tap your left foot. its a wrong mentality. always keep the song in mind, play accordning to the song, the type of song. do not change the song to fit your needs (tapping your left foot) but rather change your habit to fit the song.
i find that you mainly tap your left leg when your right hand is on the ride. it contributes to the groove as well as helps keep time. advisable to do 8th beats, which means it follows your right hand which is on the ride. however make sure the tapping flows with your groove, not making it even worse.
many drummers tend to do it for the sake of it, if you dont see the point in doing it, you'll just look very busy and at the same time it screws up your beat thus making it sound messy. so do it right, make sure it flows, make sure its clean. not a way to showoff.
many drummers tend to do it for the sake of it, if you dont see the point in doing it, you'll just look very busy and at the same time it screws up your beat thus making it sound messy. so do it right, make sure it flows, make sure its clean. not a way to showoff.
kari_convention
New member
agreed on u. at first it was quite hard to do it but after many attempts, its just come naturally.joshie said:
i also strongly advice that the hi-hat timing is done when u are riding or doing rolling as it will keep the timing well when ur hand busy.Just saw this clip. Check out Glenn Kotche, drummer of Wilco. Looks like he's like tapping but not playing the hi-hat. Looks really busy and actually, it looks a bit unsightly! Like shaking legs or something. Haha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_7ZH8Dy6XI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_7ZH8Dy6XI
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