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How well can you lead with your non-dominant input finger?

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Total Posts
26
autoteleology
763 posts
Joined October 2014
Topic Starter
autoteleology
This thread primarily applies to people who use two mouse or keyboard buttons to input, or one mouse and one keyboard - I don't know anything about tap+x, but feel free to contribute if this is your playstyle.

Even as someone who tries to full alternate, I find leading with my secondary finger - my middle finger - to be very difficult. At one point, not too far in the past, I realized I couldn't intentionally do a triple as yxy instead of xyx. Since then, I've gotten a lot better at it by singletapping songs with my middle finger, but I found it to be quite surprising that I had failed to learn this naturally as an alternating player.

Most of you, regardless of whether you singletap or alternate, probably have a dominant finger you use more than the other during a map. How skilled are you if required to switch dominant fingers, and how important is this skill in general? (Most pros I've seen singletap and don't alternate even on stacked triples, so my guess is not very much).
Astrofiziks
192 posts
Joined April 2015
Astrofiziks
my dominant finger is my index finger, but when that one gets tired i'm able to switch over to my middle with no difficulty at all.
sottovoce
sottovoce
The more I play the more reliant on my dominant finger I become.
I used to fully alternate and could start a stream/burst/triple etc on either finger. Now I predominantly single-tap and I find it next to impossible not to lead with the dominant finger. In fact, it's reached such a point where even when my finger is tired after many hours of playing, so that I swap to using mostly the other finger (and sometimes even other fingers on my hand), I still return to the dominant just to lead the stream/triple and immediately stop using it again after the first note.

I would say the ability to swap fingers is useful theoretically - it's evidence of a greater degree of control over your tapping movements, and practically too in longer maps where stamina is an issue. However, at some point you have to give up 'control' for 'instinctual' playing to reach higher levels - that's probably the reason why you've developed the reliance on the dominant finger in the first place.


edit: For clarity, I can actually single tap with any finger on my hand, and even stream with different combinations (and often do, when I'm tired from playing too much)- but I always have to start with the dominant one!
Last edited by sottovoce , edited 1 time in total.
DeletedUser_3905941
DeletedUser_3905941
Since I fully alternate, I no longer have a dominant finger.
As from the last sentence, I used to, my index finger. Single tapping with my middle finger was not a problem at all, but even the simplest patterns such as triples wasn't possible starting from my middle finger. Since I don't take osu! seriously skill wise, I forced myself to learn how to do everything that I could do with my index on my middle finger. After 2 hours, I managed to do triples at the lowest possible accuracy. As time went on, I became as good with my middle finger. This allowed me to fully alternate, and alternating on triples feels extremely natural. It also passes on to your ring finger if interested.
As a general rule, I suck at osu! and play it when I'm bored out of my mind. I don't know if it would help overall, but if you kept playing maybe.
Mahogany
2,684 posts
Joined August 2014
Mahogany
I have same singletap speed with either finger but I can't do triples or streams starting on my middle
ZenithPhantasm
ZenithPhantasm
My index can singletap 120bpm streams max but my ring can do 130. I prefer my index more because I used it more when I started so I have higher acc with. Then again I full alt now so it doesnt really matter which finger I use.
Manysi
335 posts
Joined July 2014
Manysi
I play click+x and i can do pretty much everything i can normally until 160 bpm. Above that im much worse.
Endaris
5,282 posts
Joined June 2010
Endaris

RedPanda wrote:

Since I fully alternate, I no longer have a dominant finger.
I can even alternate ring+index and middle+index.
ZenithPhantasm
ZenithPhantasm

Endaris wrote:

RedPanda wrote:

Since I fully alternate, I no longer have a dominant finger.
I can even alternate ring+index and middle+index.
Cool. Me too. Are we special? :roll:
kleps
139 posts
Joined July 2013
kleps
Can lead equally as good with both fingers, it's just something that comes with experience. Alternating is a whole different story.
7ambda
2,560 posts
Joined January 2015
7ambda
My middle finger has better stamina and speed, but I tend to swap to my index finger once I feel my middle finger is starting to lose its stamina.
I Give Up
1,648 posts
Joined January 2014
I Give Up
I cannot start stream with non-dominant finger.
deletemyaccount
730 posts
Joined May 2013
deletemyaccount
Yeah, generally it is difficult to lead with your non-dominant finger (I'm going to assume majority of people don't tap/x) because your brain gets confused. I found however that forcing yourself to lead with your non dominant finger can help to alleviate the issue; but it is always still generally easier to start dubs and trips and streams with the dominant input.

It's probably best to lead with your dominant finger anyway; it makes it the most sense being that the main tapping finger is stronger stamina wise. If you can lead with either inputs seamlessly, more power to you (I'm looking at you full alternaters).
Bauxe
1,624 posts
Joined August 2012
Bauxe
I spent a week using my non-dominant finger and my main input, and can now single tap with both, and do any kind of streaming with both. It really does make the game a lot easier.
otoed1
639 posts
Joined May 2014
otoed1
I can lead relatively well with certain patterns with my alternate finger, although mainly streams. I alternate some sliders which occasionally leaves me to use my middle finger( my alternate finger) to start whatever comes next. After doing this for a while, its become more intuitive and isn't that hard. Single tapping with my middle finger is a pain though, as my stamina with it is low compared to my index.
pandaBee
2,004 posts
Joined December 2014
pandaBee
I used to be bad at it too, but then I just started practicing perfect alternating for every single map I played using a program that alerted me whenever i double tapped a key (i.e. zz or xx instead of zxzxz). Since then I've become almost as good at starting patterns and streams with my non dominant finger as with my dominant one.

If you want to develop near-perfect alternating you have to play easier maps for a while and then work your way back up just like with anything else. It's really hard to fix habits when you're playing hard maps.

Also, if you're retrying a map a lot of times it's fun to switch up your starting finger.
Endaris
5,282 posts
Joined June 2010
Endaris

pandaBee wrote:

Also, if you're retrying a map a lot of times it's fun to switch up your starting finger.
This can have very weird effects lol.
I prefer starting the map with my ring most of the time.
pandaBee
2,004 posts
Joined December 2014
pandaBee
Well sure, but when it comes to training your non-dominant finger, it's a nice thing to do. This is, of course, under the assumption that you're not messing up your alternate all the time within the course of the map, otherwise you're basically switching back into a set of finger presses which favors your dominant finger. To train them both equally all the time you'd have to perfectly alternate a map, and then switch fingers and do it again, etc. etc.
autoteleology
763 posts
Joined October 2014
Topic Starter
autoteleology

pandaBee wrote:

I used to be bad at it too, but then I just started practicing perfect alternating for every single map I played using a program that alerted me whenever i double tapped a key (i.e. zz or xx instead of zxzxz).
plz share
ZenithPhantasm
ZenithPhantasm

Philosofikal wrote:

pandaBee wrote:

I used to be bad at it too, but then I just started practicing perfect alternating for every single map I played using a program that alerted me whenever i double tapped a key (i.e. zz or xx instead of zxzxz).
plz share
^
pandaBee
2,004 posts
Joined December 2014
pandaBee
Would people actually want it?

SPOILER

SPOILER
deletemyaccount
730 posts
Joined May 2013
deletemyaccount
Hypothetically speaking, would it be better to lead with your dominant or non-dominant finger?
ZenithPhantasm
ZenithPhantasm

Philantropist wrote:

Hypothetically speaking, would it be better to lead with your dominant or non-dominant finger?
Pretty sure non dominate makes starting triplets and streams earlier but makes single tapping harder.
dung eater
2,395 posts
Joined December 2013
dung eater
Better than my main finger, but i'm worse at having my main finger as the secondary finger.
Ictogan
16 posts
Joined May 2015
Ictogan
I fully alternate and don't have a dominant finger.
Clappy
373 posts
Joined May 2013
Clappy
Coming from someone who single tapped with both fingers, I have an alright time of using my non dominant (index) finger to lead. I guess it's a bit different for me because I used both fingers and emphasize the importance of alternating. Whenever I'm not playing 100% percent seriously, I switch my other finger when coming off of sliders with a 1/4th note behind them to get both fingers involved.
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