1 The lack of music around here
2 Laziness
all the best...
Dear drummers,
I'm doing some research for a school project (University of Amsterdam, NL), about problems that drummers experience. What keeps you from getting them to another level, being able to play more freely and understand more complex parts?
What frustrates you? What keeps you from getting better?
1 The lack of music around here
2 Laziness
all the best...
Lazyness, alcohol, chicks
Absolutely nothing. You just have to do it.
I gig a lot and don't have much energy for practice.
What frustrates me: Tinnitus, I've had it since I was 14 when I had lyme disease that was misdiagnosed so much that the infection reached my brain and I began to experience the neurologic symptoms of lyme disease which is finally what tipped them off, I received permanent hearing damage for my doctors stupidity. I was always careful about wearing hearing protection and it ticks me off that through no fault of my own I have hearing damage. This is related to drumming because sometimes even with hearing protection I have to stop practicing because the repetitive noise hurts my ears. I know many drummers experience this from not wearing proper hearing protection, I just managed to get mine a little young.
What keeps me from getting better? Time, I never have enough of it I haven't touched my full kit for about 7 months now and thats not conducive to improvement. That's really it, if I had time I would be getting better but since I don't have time my abilities are stagnant.
Wear hearing protection.
Lack of talent and being married....
Honestly, IMO, it's just a matter of practice and playing time. Raw talent will get you a little way, but it's never a substitute for hard work, dedication & persistence. I believe that to be true in almost everything in life. Of course, SOME talent and natural ability always helps!
-Brian
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Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!
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What keeps you from getting them to another level, being able to play more freely and understand more complex parts?
What frustrates you? What keeps you from getting better?
The biggest factor is time. It's no coincidence that the greatest drummer ever started playing at 18 months, yet couldn't read music. Work, personal commitments, sex drugs and rock and roll also eat into time. I'm looking to change jobs, make less money and have more time for music precisely because of lack of time.
In terms of getting to another level, that is a difficult question to answer as it is connected to goals. One drummer might be satisfied with their level and instead focus on coming up with more creative parts for their songs, in this regard you won't see much improvement in playing abilities. All in all however, it seems your question is connected to technique, which is simply about practicing the right exercises until you have internalized them and are able to produce them effortlessly. So the impediment here is either not practicing optimally (i.e. not practicing the best exercise for a given ability or not practicing it at all), or again, not having enough time to practice (which in my case recently was due to a change in focus towards playing songs better and having band practices).
As a drummer, what frustrates me is that even the band almost always doesn't realize the amount of time spent around a gig: packing, unpacking, setting up, breaking down, packing, unpacking, and setting up back up at home. In terms of getting better, my issue, and im sure it's shared by many here, is the law of diminishing returns, i.e. the better you get at something, the more difficult it is to make progress. Also, it can be hard to identify areas for improvement.
As a language instructor, I have to say I see very little difference between drums and learning any other skill: it comes down to time and the right practice. The only real drum specific issue I can identify is the one Slinglander did: age.
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Other band members not being prepared for band practice, or on time.
Tex
For me...a lot of it is just plain inspiration, or lack thereof. I live in a place that just has no vibrant music scene. I can't just walk into various clubs and see drummers playing on any night like I could back home. When there is live music, it's of an ethic style that doesn't carry much clout outside of these islands.
I do meet an jam with people a lot but the guys I hang with are very transient. Sailing type folks. Here today, gone tomorrow so I hold out no hopes of having that dream band that I've always wanted to be a part of. When "hope" is gone, I tend to lose interest in self improvement.
all the best...
Thanks for your honest answer. I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering from tinnitus as well. I didn't consider tinnitus as a drummer struggle before, but I'm actually suffering from it myself as well. Lack of time is also an answer that I've been hearing frequently. If I may ask;
Do you really don't have time to play or could you, but something is holding you back?
I sometimes experienced that I had motivational problems because it never seemed like I was getting any better anymore.
1) The amount of $$$$$$$ that goes into being a drummer. Sure, a guitarist needs to buy stings and the occasional new petal, but we need to buy sticks, heads, cymbals, tambourines, drum pads, triggers, cases, bags...the list goes on.
2) It is also not a very convenient instrument to practice without bothering others. A guitarist can just pick up an acoustic and work on stuff. We need to play-play and sometimes that's just not feasible. You often need more than 1 kit - 1 to keep at home and 1 to leave at the studio/rehearsal space.
3) Lugging your drums around is a major pain in the arse. I'm always the first to show up at a gig and the last to leave because I have to load the car, load in, load out...by the time I set my kit up I'm already exhausted. And, I often don't get much help from the rest of the band. My back is destroyed!
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