Left Hand Workout /// Play Better Drums w/ Louie Palmer

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Here's another look into some of the members content at playbetterdrums... featuring a great exercise to build your left hand speed, control and endurance. Not only are these exercises isolating the left hand, they include accents and ghost notes, plus the accents are rim shots so you can work on your backbeat sound and consistency. Add this to your wily routine and you'll feel the difference in your left hand…
PDF - members.playbet...
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Now based in LA, Louie Palmer has played with Mike Stern, Gary Husband, Tim Lefebvre, Mitch Forman, Janek Gwizdala, Charles Altura, Ruslan Sirota, Bob Franceschini and many more.
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Louie endorses Pearl drums, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Remo heads and Protection Racket cases.

[@trewgodell]

1st exercise: 2:16 2nd exercise: 4:30 3rd exercise: 5:31 4th exercise: 6:55 5th exercise: 7:45 6th exercise: 8:19 Putting it all together: 8:39 and intro

[@mickberry164]

Thanks. That cuts to the chase.

[@yuricroscenko9767]

You are one of the best drum teacher on the web! Every video is amazing and all the concepts are really well explained... Thank You Louie :)

[@davidmayse315]

Love the video and tips on a stronger left hand. I find it difficult to relate to teachers teaching how to strengthen the left hand who are match grip players. I appreciate that you are a traditional grip player, teaching me a traditional grip player how to strengthen my traditional grip left hand. Thank you so much, you just got a new subscriber! 🙏🏻👍

[@blapis89]

Louie, you're becoming a really REALLY good teacher.Your advice are spot on, thanks a lot, honestly.

[@sharksdelight]

Was practicing on the kit and noticed that my left hand simply was nowhere near as strong over long periods as my right. Did a search on KZbin and this lesson came up. Great idea, very good lesson and easy to follow. Now to put it into practice.

[@yannismadu]

So did your left hand get stronger after practicing this?

[@eelistuominen6701]

Just did this for about hour. What a difference that made!

[@johndiraimo1444]

Terrific lesson yet again Louie. You are a fabulous teacher .... the depth of your playing is quite obvious just through your teaching. All the best !!

[@outtatw6939]

Always enlightened.. Cheers Louie.

[@mrpelado22]

Love your videos! Awesome lesson! ... very very helpful! Regards from Argentina!

[@terrykilleen4487]

Thank you for this video which is more helpful to me as so many seem to major on matched grip and not the traditonal grip.

[@zelmastrachan1683]

You have helped me so much!!! Love this , keep it up, we thank you😄😄😄😇

[@steliosgl8826]

Great job! Inspired me to play all the 16th note accents - possibilities, like that.

[@gothic8]

Louie, I love your work. Had a major setback after having knee surgery the second surgery landed me in a nursing home and I'm learning to walk with a walker and hopefully get beck to playing again soon. Do you have any advice to help with my spirits as this was not a planned outcome for me or my family. You have no idea ho many videos of yours that I watch everyday only to find myself praying to be able to be behind a drum set

[@amansingh-lj3tg]

Daryll Jefferson get well mate. And all the very best to you. You'll be able to play drums.

[@Rigge64]

Great vids and great playing Louie👌🎶

[@tdrum21]

Great to see more Louie on here!;)

[@30rusher]

Really cool

[@mspinrad]

Very useful. Thanks!

[@Ranger1216]

Why do I feel like I want to play now only with my left hand….because it sounds so good! Can’t wait to practice for hours….thanks!

[@kingsweetfly7711]

Great exercises ... Regarding pad / pillow work . Use these only if it is impossible to use a real drum . If you go pad heavy you will get used to an artificial rebound that you likely won't get from a real drum . If you go pillow heavy you will end up heavy handed with almost no control of rebounds . The goal is to improve on drums . Not on pads and pillows .

[@diogoesilva6214]

Yes, but these are endurance exercises, you build the same muscle memory, either you play in drums, pads or pillows

[@kingsweetfly7711]

I disagree ... I think you use different muscle memory for each of those individual surfaces . On pillow you have to work way harder . On a pad you barely have to work at all . On a drum you have to maybe do both AND you have to be aware of dynamics . I say play on a drum if you can . I don't know why you wouldn't .

[@abacgnu1]

I agree with king sweetfly. I used to work a lot on pillows in my first years of drumming because I used to have the possibility to play a real drum only once a week. I remember me having a lot of problems to control the rebound on the real drum. Pillows make your arm, hand and muscles work in a way that is no-functional on a real drum and if you incorporate that you will end up having heavy hands with no control on accents. drumming is not armwrestling, you get faster learning how to control the stick and the rebound and to get that you need ONLY a real drum.

[@ofdrumsandchords]

The sound is the musician, so... And the problem with training pads and bad electronic drums is that you can developp some serious pathology. But if you can't play five hours a day because of your neighbours, you can build a training kit with a very similar rebound to real drums. My teacher in Paris made me buy some caoutchouc surfaces to work tympani, that you don't have at home. It was also very nice to play with wooden sticks, silent and good for the wrists. Very close to the sensations you get with a real head not too tight.

[@adityatyagi4009]

Practicing on pillows develops wrist and arm endurance. Practicing on pads/drums develops finger control. End of story.

[@aledrum81]

thank you Louie! very usefull!!

[@jaystiiks]

Thanks you, this are great exercises

[@zelmastrachan6048]

thanks so much!!!! really works!!!

[@bbradleyish]

Very impressive

[@graememcdonald1547]

Just found this. Very powerful (as opposed to loud) Is it mainly wrist rotation you're using? Lovely clean playing mate.👍👍🥁I've tried doing a left hand Bossa Nova....continuous 1/8ths with the 'Bossa' accents. I Usually play some rhythm against the 'Bossa' with my right hand. My progress has been very limited since having to switch to matched grip.

[@tdrum21]

Very nice. Thanks for these. Look forward to the next material from ya;)

[@MattGarwood777]

Great video! I'm trying to improve my traditional technique on the kit - mind sharing what type sticks you're using here? This exercise will help a ton I'm sure

[@JulianFernandez]

Around that tempo (95bpm), 1000 quarter notes equals 10.5 mins of doing that exercise... Gotta try it out! :D

[@Ranger1216]

Great lesson….Seems like Moeller 4….thanks

[@buddylove3640]

Can you please demonstrate finger control? Thank you.

[@theloghouse8]

Hey man very usefull stuff. Are those the yamaha hybrid maple customs?

[@JulianFernandez]

btw, killer tips!

[@christianaponte3829]

Quick question : For how long do you recommend doing this? from 5 to 10 min. daily?

[@buddylove3640]

Louie, what sticks do use and what drums

[@rusamene]

My left hand is a disaster...I mean it's not a complete fuck up, there s no problem with quite a solid beat or a half time shuffle and I love to rimshoot top but in terms of precision and accuracy in developing for example a ride pattern with my left hand and back beating it with the right one, it's a travesty. I figure that reversing the drumset or practice pads it's a trick to work with for some time.

[@joeldanganan]

Nice. Where's the Gretsch kit?

[@louiepalmerdrums]

This is a video from the members area at playbetterdrums.com filmed just before the new Gretsch came.

[@nunnayuhbitness6708]

I can tell from a mile away that this guy is a total Dave Weckl fan, not that I bIame him -- I'm just saying I can tell.

[@steldrums87]

i ve been trying years to do this with moeller bounces (trad grip) but rim absorbs power..I think it s not possible..anyone..??

[@rjsal246]

Your title should mention which grip you are using

[@ashrasmun1]

Why? it's exactly the same with other grips

[@rjsal246]

burbon ­ yeah of course it is, but I rather click on a video with matched grip which is what I use, there’s often more than just the exercise they also give you tips on finger control or techniques while practicing the exercise with the specific grip they are demonstrating with.

[@barringtonjohnson6569]

Rjsal 24 I want to learn drums, is there anywhere you know of that I can go to learn how to hold the sticks ?

[@facudemario3825]

how important are rimshots?

[@mikesdakota2289]

Not super important if you really wanted instead putting the accent on the rim you could just do a regular accent on the snare.

[@EsaelPaggin024]

Rimshots are extremely important !

[@ivankaspeadsforquincyjones9273]

Just doing more daily chores with your left hand helps such as brushing your teeth or waxing your car, I got more power out of my left hand after hammering 16 penny nails with a framing hammer into a block of wood which would be easy with my right hand but takes a lot of getting used to with your left.

[@markzek7236]

my weakness

[@CCMDrummer]

If you really want to improve your left hand, learn how to play open-handed.

[@tootallforbaseball]

That's a tough thing to do. Most guys are wired to lead with their right hand, but yes, you are right!

[@ambroulard]

I’m totally not even down with rim shots on every backbeat--. I’m lost in the hip generation.