Lefties, Polyrhythms, and Science

[plutonic]

I'm guessing this may have been discussed when the post originally appeared, but I stumbled across this article about lefties and polyrhythms specifically mentioning SC:

http://scienceblogs.com/worldsfair/2007 ... like_s.php

It's interesting to me. I've been thinking about how SC is left handed, and his trad grip. I think it's a major contributor to his hi hat stuff. If you look at the way he leans over to work the hat, he's so precise it's like he's writing on it.

[Rusty James]

Very interesting article, thanks Pluto.
I am a drummer, I’m left handed and I could be wrong but I think I’m somewhat polyrhythmic.
(I’ll check with my wife on that one)
I am not a scientologist.

[policerule]

[quote="Rusty James"]
(I’ll check with my wife on that one)
[/quote]






I can see the next time any of us go for an MRI of the head:

"While you're at it, could you please check BA40 & BA47 to see if I'm polyrhythmic?

[plutonic]

Another random piece of trivia I picked up when thinking searching on this is that the term 'trap set' comes from 'contraption'. I did not previously know this.

http://tommendoladrums.com/wordpress/?p=7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_kit

It's most interesting to consider that the Drum Kit or Trap Set is basically about 100 years old. That's it. So the very idea of one person playing multiple polyrhythms all by themselves is less than 100 years old. (OK, ok, there's those pesky church organists and Bach freaks, too.... And they've been around for more than 100 years.)

Consider this idea, along with the idea in the article above that playing polyrhythms excites the brain in novel ways. (Actually those brain scans were just on folks LISTENING to polyrhythms. Imagine how haywire the scans would look if those brains were playing, rather than just listening.)

The brain had to adapt to be able to physically do this. So in the past 100 years, contraption set players have been adapting their brains in new ways.

So the question is: Did Stewart get good at polyrhythms 'cause he was smart, or did playing the polyrhythms actually make him smarter? Or both?

[njperry]

Thanks for posting. very interesting. I think Stewart being a south paw is a definate factor is his unique style.

[GinaSuperCat]

I think I'd posit it as a positive feedback loop, really. At least how it works for me.

I remember reading in some interview or somethin where Stewart was riding home from one of his lessons completely mentally obliterated at the thought of 3/4, if I remember it correctly. It's a comfort to know it once eluded the maestro, even <grin>

Understanding a rhythm and getting your body to cooperate to produce it are two different things, of course. If you start getting your hands towards independence, like triplets over eighth notes, or over sixteenth notes then you are in a position to actually produce the polyrhythm. Once you hear that particular rhythm you are producing, then you can 'comprehend' it in a way that goes beyond merely hearing it, which in turn allows you to do more and add on, then understand more, with increasing complexity.

[smudge]

I'm going out to find the maths/Mozart research. I may be some time.....

I guess the problem with any research on this stuff is you can't easily find either a control group, or a group that has a measurable intervention. Well, not ethically anyway. So the smart/polyrhythm question is possibly always akin to the chicken/egg scenario. You can prove that the two are connected, but not which came first.

[plutonic]

[quote="GinaSuperCat"]
I think I'd posit it as a positive feedback loop, really. At least how it works for me.
[/quote]

Survey says yeah. This is what I was thinking. I was kind of being a little cheeky when I posited it as an either/or. Such things rarely are.

I guess I just find it really interesting that drums, which are typically thought of as the 'dumb' instrument by snobby musicians (even the maestro himself if you remember his comments about erudite composer guy vs. drummer guy who 'ain't') are actually working your brain in a novel fashion if you do right.

Just interesting to me that Stewart even plays the drums smart.

[DirtyMartini]

My brain's too tired for science right now, but


[quote="plutonic"]If you look at the way he leans over to work the hat, he's so precise it's like he's writing on it.[/quote]

Nicely said.^

[Secret Journey]

I'm a left handed drummer so that was pretty interesting to me