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Ambidextrous Weirdness
Apr. 16th, 2014 12:04 pmI thought I'd share something a bit bizarre that I discovered recently. I think I've mentioned before that I'm ambidextrous (or, as I used to say, ambisinistrous... equally bad with both hands). It's something that can definitely be an advantage, but also has its downsides. When you injure one hand or arm, you've got the other hand/arm to take up the slack as the dominant hand... except that no matter which one is out of commission, it's *also* the dominant hand and, at least in my case, my brain has a hard time telling the difference between the two. I've got some programmed behaviors that I've worked on over the years so I'm more likely to use the correct hand (such as for shaking hands) and even though I can't write with my left hand anymore (I had some nerve damage during the shoulder surgery and had to retrain my left hand to do a lot of stuff, but I've never gotten around to relearning to write... I might work on it some day, but it's not a huge priority since I almost never write anything by hand anymore), I'm still just as likely to grab a pen or pencil with that hand and start in on things before I realize I don't have that function anymore.
Anyway, as a result, I've always had a VERY difficult time telling my left from my right. When your brain doesn't see a difference between sides, it tends to get pretty confused by the left/right concept (and it didn't help that my dad would just say things like "No, your other right!" or "your other left!" when I'd pick the wrong hand for something). This has caused some difficulties while trying to learn to play piano... especially in the beginning, but it still lingers even a few years in. The biggest thing? Switching which hand is playing which clef... My hands don't actually change position, but it used to be that I'd be playing along and suddenly the left hand is playing the treble line (down in the lower notes) and the right hand is playing the bass (up in the higher notes). And it would sometimes take a bit for me to realize something was wrong! I've gotten MUCH better about it as time has gone on and I've played more... but I still occasionally catch myself about to swap and it's really disconcerting (my goal is to someday beat that urge into submission and then train myself to do it on purpose... just as a stupid trick to show off for fun).
Anyway, recently I've noticed that it's become much easier to tell my left from my right, just in general, and I was pretty sure it was the piano playing that was doing it. Having a structured activity that requires separation and identification of the sides seemed to have been bleeding over into everyday life. Yay!! And then... I had a few weeks of lessons where I was constantly having to stop myself from swapping and it was like my fingers were getting hopelessly tangled. My teacher would try to talk me through it ("Move two on your left" that sort of thing), except that it was about even odds that I'd choose the correct hand. I even noticed some days when I practiced I would have that same problem and other days I wouldn't.
And then it hit me what had changed. Those lessons where I was stumbling? The practice days when I felt like I was fighting my own hands? Those were days when I had left my wedding ring sitting on the bathroom counter.
Yes, folks... I hadn't been teaching my brain left and right. I'd been teaching my brain "The ring hand plays the bass clef!"
Crossposted from my Livejournal.
Anyway, as a result, I've always had a VERY difficult time telling my left from my right. When your brain doesn't see a difference between sides, it tends to get pretty confused by the left/right concept (and it didn't help that my dad would just say things like "No, your other right!" or "your other left!" when I'd pick the wrong hand for something). This has caused some difficulties while trying to learn to play piano... especially in the beginning, but it still lingers even a few years in. The biggest thing? Switching which hand is playing which clef... My hands don't actually change position, but it used to be that I'd be playing along and suddenly the left hand is playing the treble line (down in the lower notes) and the right hand is playing the bass (up in the higher notes). And it would sometimes take a bit for me to realize something was wrong! I've gotten MUCH better about it as time has gone on and I've played more... but I still occasionally catch myself about to swap and it's really disconcerting (my goal is to someday beat that urge into submission and then train myself to do it on purpose... just as a stupid trick to show off for fun).
Anyway, recently I've noticed that it's become much easier to tell my left from my right, just in general, and I was pretty sure it was the piano playing that was doing it. Having a structured activity that requires separation and identification of the sides seemed to have been bleeding over into everyday life. Yay!! And then... I had a few weeks of lessons where I was constantly having to stop myself from swapping and it was like my fingers were getting hopelessly tangled. My teacher would try to talk me through it ("Move two on your left" that sort of thing), except that it was about even odds that I'd choose the correct hand. I even noticed some days when I practiced I would have that same problem and other days I wouldn't.
And then it hit me what had changed. Those lessons where I was stumbling? The practice days when I felt like I was fighting my own hands? Those were days when I had left my wedding ring sitting on the bathroom counter.
Yes, folks... I hadn't been teaching my brain left and right. I'd been teaching my brain "The ring hand plays the bass clef!"
Crossposted from my Livejournal.
