Two Hand Independence

Hand independence is basically like splitting your brain, where the left hand is doing something rather different than the right. If you’re not used to doing it, it’s a challenging task to learn. For my part, my left hand technique is not really up to snuff, so even if I can split my brain to process two different parts at once, my hands sometimes get in my own way. Drummers are fairly used to this, having all four limbs doing different things at the same time, though I find many drummers are more “interdependent” (i.e., all four limbs interlock into a bigger pattern). Truly independent drumming would be polyrhythmic (multiple rhythms at once).

Hand independence is really as difficult as the parts each hand is playing. Ragtime or stride piano is one example of hand independence, where the left-hand plays bass notes and chords and the right hand plays melodies. Increasingly difficult is something like traditional jazz organ, or what Bruce does, where the left-hand is playing intricate bass lines and the right hand is soloing.

Bruce isn’t always improvising basslines like organ players usually do – stuff like “What a Time,” “Sad Moon,” or “King of the Hill” have set patterns or ostinati (plural of ostinato – repeated figure or pattern). What does make Bruce’s hand independence difficult is that he’s often doing polyrhythmic stuff. There’s instances in “King of the Hill” and “Sad Moon” where the left hand is playing eighth notes (two notes per beat) or sixteenth notes (four notes per beat) and the right hand is improvising in triplets. 3-over-4. But essentially, Bruce is only thinking about his right hand because the left-hand patterns are on autopilot. If you listen to the post-Spirit Trail versions of “White Wheeled Limousine,” for instance, the left hand patterns are usually very similar.

“What a Time” is really influenced by Keith Jarrett’s “The Windup” from the album Belonging. It’s a great tune, and that opening vamp/solo is more interdependent than independent, but still fantastic. Also, Brad Mehldau’s version of “Get Happy” from Anything Goes has this amazing solo piano break in the middle that many will find reminiscent of Bruce. But it’s in 7/4!

David

Sixteeneth notes aren’t really that difficult. It all depends on the speed or tempo. The transcription of the solo piano ending of “Sad Moon” is notated in sixteenth-notes (four notes per beat). I’ll try a very bad internet diagram here. Top line is the quarter notes, or beats. Second line is right hand in triplets (normally counted one-trip-let, two-trip-let, etc). Bottom line is left hand in sixteenths (one-ee-and-uh, two-ee-and-uh, etc).

David

Hey

I’ve been a pianist for about 16 years now…Currently studying music in college! Independence of the hands is something very special quality to have. I can do a little of it but it has taken some serious time to master….You basically start with your left hand, which is your “band”….You pick a chord cadence or structure and keep playing that over and over until your sick of it and it’s in your brain imprinted….

Then, in the key that your chords are in for the left hand, take one or two notes and dabble on just those two notes with your right hand over and over so u start with simple note phrases on top of what your doing on the left hand….After working on that for weeks you’ll begin to free your mind while you play it….

It takes a lot of practice to achieve but it’s worth it….

As for ostinato…It’s just another way of telling you how to play something, like adagio, rubato, allegro, etc….

Hope this helps some of you!

Kyle

This is a rhythmic diagram – has nothing to do with pitch or harmony. The beats and all their subdivisions (ees, ands, uhs, and triplets) can be different notes, or not. That’s not exactly the point here. “Spider Fingers” is hand independence in a way too, with the left hand playing sixteenth-notes all on one note, and the right hand playing that “Sex Machine”-inspired riff.

Both hands are in 4/4 – they just divide the beats differently. Here’s how to do it yourself:
– With your foot (or with a metronome, if you have one), tap out quarter notes (1, 2, 3, 4)
– With your hands, tap three equally-spaced times in the space of a quarter note. Those are triplets.
– With your hands, tap four equally-spaced times in the space of a quarter-note. Those are sixteenths.
– HAND INDEPENDENCE: left hand taps sixteenths, right hand taps triplets (and/or vice versa).

And just to clarify one of Kyle’s points, ostinato does not define or determine how one plays something. Allegro, rubato, etc. are all tempo markings. Ostinato are structural; “any clearly defined melodic or rhythmic pattern that is repeated persistently.”

Kyle’s suggestion on how to practice hand independence is the same way Bruce advises others to practice it.

David

Yes – 1 2 3 4 are the beats in a bar of four. Everything else are what are called subdivisions – units of rhythm that divide the beats (into 2, 3, 4, whatever).

As for how long it takes to learn hand independence… it depends on the amount of practice you put into it. Not many pianists are trained off the bat in such strict hand independence, and certainly not in improvising that way. For me, it’s something I consistently work at improving, though I haven’t sat down and specifically decided to perfect it since I bought Spirit Trail.

And if I may interpret what Kyle stated above again (don’t want to put words into your mouth), about freeing your mind – the way I perceive it and have practiced hand independence is that one hand (for me, the ostinato… usually the left hand) has to become second nature, that instead of thinking about both hands, I’m only thinking about the hand that is improvising the melody or solo. To clarify, say I’m soloing over that left-hand figure from “King of the Hill,” the way it works best is if my left-hand is on autopilot with that pattern, and I’m only really seriously thinking about my right hand.

David

Tell you what…Si how about I write a two handed independant song for the tribute CD and then people can understand what I’m talking about?

Kyle

Shop’s closed for the CD, I’m afraid, Kyle, but I’m more than happy to put it up as a dose!

I have to say, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this thread. It’s neat to read the perspective of other musicians on this subject. Two hand independence is one of my favorite techniques to practice–it’s challenging, but not the awful kind of challenging that makes you want to toss the baby grand out the window. Now–those full keyboard runs Dave R. mentioned…that’s another story (but man, when you finally get one all the way through–Woohoo!!!). I’m recovering from a bum right hand and wrist and working on those runs really helps with the strength and agility!