Plateaus, frustrations & re-invention

[CycleDude]

I first held drumsticks almost 30 years ago. If you ask me, I'll say that I've been drumming since I was a kid, but the truth of the matter is that it's been an off & on journey with long gaps of dusty, untouched drums, the longest was about an 8-10 year hiatus.

While I enjoy playing, I get frustrated because when I do get the chance to play, I don't know what to do. I dink around the same old grooves and stumble in the same places. I think back to when I was younger and played original material creatively in a band, get annoyed at myself, and go watch tv or something.

I started looking at instructional videos, and found one that really struck me. Chad Wackerman did a video describing his stick holding technique that he was taught by Murray Spivak. Could I have been holding my sticks WRONG for all these years? I got my practice pad, metronome and just did single strokes slowly for a while and was oddly relaxed, comfortable & inspired.

It's going to be interesting to start-over from scratch and see where I go with this.

[Vhyle]

I know the feeling. I took a 4-year break from playing while I was in the Army, and I incurred quite a bit of rust in that time. I'm essentially reinventing my feet/double bass techniques. Back before the Army, my feet chops were pretty solid and refined. Almost ALL of that went away during my break. Sustaining a really bad ankle injury during that time certainly doesn't help. But I've been slowly getting my feet back up to par. It's important for me because I play in a death metal band, so solid double bass is practically essential.

I've also somewhat overhauled my sticking techniques as well, but they have developed very nicely. My strokes at blazing tempos are feeling more and more natural every time I play. I've been focusing on utilizing more finger action for rebound, rather than more wrist, and it's helped tremendously.

Now if only my feet would cooperate as easily, I'd be golden! My feet are still way behind the curve, it feels like, and it's kinda frustrating. But, I just need to maintain patience (pretty hard for me), and just keep working on it.

[CycleDude]

Thanks for sharing,Vhyle. It's good to know that there's other guys in the same boat.

Thanks for serving, too!

[signia fan]

You described it very well. I am 52, been playing since I was a kid, was full time for much of my life but never became the drummer I always thought I would be. I still work hard at learning and trying to achieve goals but sometimes I just sit there and noodle and it seems like there is zero creativity or maybe it is boredom of my own limitations. I can do some really cool stuff, but I guess it is stuff coming out of me and I want to play stuff that is new and exciting, stuff I don't know how to play but wish I could and I realize I have so much more work and time to put in and the cycle continues.

[signia fan]

A lot depends on how much of your life you want to sacrifice. A guy like Virgil Donati, a dedicated drummer approaching his 60's, and he still practices many hours a day, he is committed as much as any drummer I have seen, but think of the stuff in his life he has missed, the family vacations, BBQ's, learning to fly a plane or building a custom or a classic car, weekend motorcycle trips, building drums, making my own furniture, that sometimes makes my shortcomings on the drums feel a little less hurtful when I think of all the other stuff I have learned to do and accomplished.

[Vhyle]

A lot depends on how much of your life you want to sacrifice. A guy like Virgil Donati, a dedicated drummer approaching his 60's, and he still practices many hours a day, he is committed as much as any drummer I have seen, but think of the stuff in his life he has missed, the family vacations, BBQ's, learning to fly a plane or building a custom or a classic car, weekend motorcycle trips, building drums, making my own furniture, that sometimes makes my shortcomings on the drums feel a little less hurtful when I think of all the other stuff I have learned to do and accomplished.

That's where a lot of my problems lie. I want to dedicate so much more to playing, but I just can't. I work almost 60 hours every week at a strenuous job, so most weeknights when I come home, it's really difficult to conjure up the energy to get a good hearty practice in on a regular basis. I would love to sit at home and just play drums all day, but I have so many other responsibilities. Granted, I do play in two active bands, so I go to band practice twice a week, but as far as advancing my skills, it's not enough. I'm almost 33 now, and I've been working physically laborous jobs for most of my life, so I'm not the spring chicken with endless energy that I used to be. It's tough to find a good balance.

During the day while I'm at work, I will think about practice. I'll think about different exercises and songs to hone my chops with, and I'll have good motivation to do it. The only problem is - I'm at work for 10 hours a day. By the time I come home after slaving away in a 80+ degree shop, that motivation is long gone. Most nights I'll just get lazy and plant my tired self in front of my computer and play guitar instead (I'm also a guitarist), and honestly I feel like I get more guitar practice in, than drums. And the drums is my main instrument, and drums is what I play in both of my bands.

Eeeuuuggh. If I didn't have to work so hard just to pay my bills and stay alive, I'd just work part-time somewhere, and save my energy for DRUMS.

[CycleDude]

That's where a lot of my problems lie. I want to dedicate so much more to playing, but I just can't. I work almost 60 hours every week at a strenuous job, so most weeknights when I come home, it's really difficult to conjure up the energy to get a good hearty practice in on a regular basis. I would love to sit at home and just play drums all day, but I have so many other responsibilities.

You said it, dude. With 2 jobs, & 3 kids I totally get the lack of energy and enthusiasm at the end of the day. I don't have a band, but I do play weekly at our church and we have a great time. The head of our music ministry has said many times that he prefers when I'm available to play as having the drums in the mix really wakes the music up.

[N2Bluz]

I'm the same way. Been playing for 25yrs, but if you were to add up all my time behind the kit it would probably be less than someone who's been dedicated to playing for only about 2 years. I've basically been a newbie for 23yrs, LOL. I know guys that have only been playing for 1-2 years that are much better than me from a technical aspect. BUT....there's way more to drumming than playing fast and having "chops"....especially playing with others in a band. There are things about being a musician that took me all 25yrs to learn. I've played more in the last 2-3yrs than the previous 23yrs combined, and I STILL continue to learn and become a better drummer each year. I'm old enough now that I don't care if I'm ever great or awesome. I just love playing music with my friends and performing on stage. Taking the audience on a musical journey for 4hrs and hopefully helping them forget about the problems in their lives.