Welcome to the Q & A section of my site. This is an ongoing forum where I address reoccuring questions, presented to me over time, about drumming.
Q- How do I stregnthen a weak hand?
A- Snare drum rudiments,rudiments,rudiments... Oh did I mention snare drum rudiments? It's what the rudiments were designed for- to make a weak hand stronger (in my case the left). No, you won't be using all 40 rudiments every time you sit down to play drum set as there will be a few main ones that you will use more than the others, but it's still a good idea to practice all of your rudiments because,again, they were designed to make a weak hand stronger. It's something I must do every single day (ok except Sun) so I can remain effective as a player everytime the weekend rolls around and it's time to go play my gigs. Another device that can be used to stregthen the weak hand is the grip trainer or hand gripper avaible at Academy, Walmart, ect. in the sports section. I squeeze this while I drive-works great. (If you are too young to drive-while you watch tv,study etc.)
Q- Do I need a drumset to start lessons?
A- No, because we will be starting you out on one drum first, which is the snare drum (the heart of the drumset), to get your hands strong and get you good at reading one line of music first (which is what snare drum is) before we get you reading three lines at the same time (which is what drum set will be). I don't even recommend a snare drum at this point, I recommend a practice pad for around $25- $35. (I use one all the time myself.) This relatively short period of time (six lessons or so on snare drum alone) will either give the adult beginning student time to get out and shop drum sets, or give the parent time to see if the student will be committed and motivated to stick to a practice regimen before investing in a full drumset.