Thats a mouthful, but I was just trying a simple exercise I made up to do with hand independence.
Left hand playing a simple 1, 5 ,3 D chord as an arpeggio 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Only played on the red counts with the notes D, F#, A, F#. last note bit staccato, simple little groove.
As it happened I try to tap my right hand just 1, 2, 3, 4. on my leg, Arghh, not so easy , the off the beat left hand note is stuffing up my even time right hand.

Anyway, what on paper seems simple took me a while to lock onto. Oddly enough had no problem tapping out 1,2,3,4 with my left foot!

I got it eventually , and began to play just a single right hand note on the beat and then mix it up.
Point of all this is I think it might help with me left hand going into autopilot and though I'm progressing ( I think ) my hands are still subconsciously locked together often, whilst maybe not sounding like to the casual listener. not sure if that makes sense , piece of cake for some of you I guess. Over & out.

Remind me at next rendezvous to approach rhythm

I like your independence exercise - I think it's a good way to work your hands on the Stick.

However, for what it's worth, I see a lot of merit sometimes in thinking of inter-dependently. I come from a bass and guitar background, so I am very used to connecting my hands, and, rather than try to reinvent the wheel, when I tap, I take full advantage of that connection.

To better explain myself, look at the example I've attached. This is a classic "Travis Picking" example. There are clearly two lines in the sheet music (stem down for bass/stem up for melody), but to execute them properly, you need to think both horizontally (melody) and vertically (harmonically). Once I can lock these two items together in my mind, I find that I can execute patterns like this pretty well.

Truth be told, I'm not sure how well this translates to tapping for some people. I tend to play two-handed bass lines, so I am really only thinking "up-stem/down-stem" for left and right hands a lot of the time. That said, it's some food for thought.

Best,
~Nick "Klaus" G.

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Thanks , its turning into a good little project experimenting with the idea.
I think my hands are still more interdependent , not that its bad or anything I just really like what I hear in my head and the concept of have the right hand soloing freely over a groove. My ultimate aim I guess.
If you have time I've sorted out my Youtube page, to see where I've got to so far. Cheers <Bruce

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrPiratebruce/videos

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Oh Arrrrgh..! PirateBruce me old, good to see you on this interface thingy.

Mate, I did a gig last night, so maybe I can talk a little more from the real side (for me).

I think you're onto it with regards to independence. The feet are just bigger and more inclined to be in time, but as you say it all depends on which side of your body. Training the other side to do what you want has gotta help, like some of Greg's ideas on this subject.

I think k.Graz is on to it as well when he talks about starting with interdependence. For me, practicing both independence and interdependence are essential. You can reduce it down to playing on and off beats, but it feels to me like when I go from on to off, or independence and interdependence, that my hands just breath and say "thank you".

I think learning to occupy the off beat, by hearing the space between the on and off beat is key. From there, really learning how best for me to play the Stick, with that touch and confidence is what makes the timing easier.

Foot as metronome and play the game of off beats perhaps....

It's like Emmett says .. start a gig with our left hand gaffer tapped into one big finger and start from there.. I'm still getting wildly infuriated by how much I can't do on this instrument, but on the real side I'm enjoying the work more than complaining about it.

Sounds like you're enjoying the journey and getting something back for your practice diligence on the ship.! Oh Arrrrgh..!

Sorry for late reply guys, work is interfering With Stick Business!
Good Point K.graz, also a guitar player and mostly into fingerpicking so I really get the interdependence thing you mention .
Mr Rad, thoughtful comments as always . I reckon your excellent drumming background gives a pretty useful Insight into Independence generally. B

i wish i could just take brilliant pills and get it over with...