I remember.....
At 15 I was picked for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.
Serious reading skills required.
At 16 I left school and attended music college full time, hundreds of miles away from home.
We were thrown in at the deep end with more orchestral work, plus big band and small ensemble work. This was the days of fusion and that's what everyone wanted to play.
I met Gary Husband (younger than me) and thought...... jeez, I'm never going to get work as a drummer with guys like this competing for the same gigs.
At 17 I was gigging with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (percussion) and I spent 8 weeks over the summer entertaining US troops in southern Spain (in a cover band).
I was the boss of no one.
I was just hoping to keep up with the talented and ambitious kids around me.
It was fun, but I've no doubt most of what I have now, whether that be ability or relative success, is as a direct result of the efforts I put in between 13 and 19 years old.

As you might have noticed, Hannah Ford is 17, is already touring, doing clinics and endorsing professional drum products.

I think that growing and improving is an ongoing process that has little to do with age.

You have a player such as Virgil Donati who is in his 40s and is still practicing (according to him) 4-5 hours a day, schedule permitting. I remember reading in MD that when Dave Weckl was in his 20s and living in NYC, he was practicing up to 8 hours a day.

I just don't think that anyone should have the belief that the teen years are the most critical stage of development... in fact, many of the top players seem to go from good to great when they hit their adult years. You just have a different kind of commitment and focus to practice when you're out in the "real world" of trying to make this a career.

At least in a "First World" point of view, you'll never have more time in your life to lay the foundation. The great ones didn't think of drumming as imposing on their free time. They practiced endlessly and never thought of it in terms of hours put in because it was an obsession. I've met very, very few pro drummers who didn't obsess over drumming every free moment of their teenage years.

But, hey, not everyone's meant to be a professional drummer. If that's not your goal, by all means, enjoy your hobby and don't sweat the time you don't put in.

Sadly, it requires that you read music.

It's all a matter of conditioning. 

Lol is that a sort of mockery to me? I don't despise all sorts of reading, just songs.  Rhythm music is awsome, couldn't live without it. 

As for the book source, thanks for that, I'll look it up and look for a couple of little sneak peaks into to it to see what it's like before I have the intent of purchase.

As for the teenage development, I would think that it depends on what type of development you would be speaking of that makes that statement true.  Psychologist as well as neural brain scientist theorize and I guess state it as a fact that individuals during teenage years usually is the one time to "mature" or learn about the morals of life, whether it be from a wise older adult or by personal experience.  And I guess in some cases such as mine this could be fit in.  Though it is true that you never stop learning until you die.  Maybe even still learn up in Heavon, from asking those questions you've been wondering about your whole life like who killed the dinosaurs or are aliens real... But in any case, knowledge never stops, you learn something everyday, and it's not just one little thing, it's just like how many times you blink in a single day.  The amount of knowledge you gain in a day is just massive. 

Though that still doesn't count in for adults still wanting to act like a child... Some people just don't want to give up their childhood behaviors.

And I do try and spend at least 30 min everyday to try and squeeze in some drumming. Though my parents always nag at me and keep telling me to limit it and think about school first.  Which is very true in a lot of ways.  It's just... like Chris Whitten said, it's al about committment.

I don't want to give up drumming, I've come so far into it, even if it's just a couple of years...  It'd be a waste of a part of my life that I could've used for something worthwhile. 

But it saddens me in a way how friends of mine would give up drumming or any other musical talent because they are too busy with something else... Though I don't blame them...

I think it's about time to end this thread, if you don't mind me saying.

Thanks for that... though... I'm not doin oo so hot in school right now... but not really bad either... but that's all cuz I'm real slack which I'm trying to clear up

And that sig. is pretty hilarious, you really do make some good laughs man I love it.. XD


Heheheh no no problem... I actually found it kinda funny.



yeah I agree this thread is starting to go off and mostly cause of me SORRY >< It's just that I was inspired by all the opinions on here, and that means I've taken in a good moral here.

 

Great tag - great way to end it!!

The balance between school work, family, friends and drumming (or what ever your passion is) can be hard to find.  

I can tell you from experience that trying to balance my life is probably the biggest challenge I face.

Since I was old enough to understand english I've heard my Dad say "work at keeping your priorities right."  God first, family second and work at whatever you love and would like to succeed at with ever fiber left in your body.

I travel all around the country with my band and with my Peace Love & Drums show.  The one question I get asked most by both parents and kids alike is..."How do you find time to practice, perform and get school work done?"  Not to mention fun time.

From a time management stand point nothing can take presidence over my school work.  I understand that's just the way it is.  I'm an honors student and will work however hard I need to so that it stays that way. I LOVE DRUMMING TO MUCH TO LET IT BE A REASON TO FAIL AT SCHOOL.

If you sit down and add up all the hours in a week, then day by day start going through the week and determining the things (like school or work) that you must do every day and back those hours out you'll begin to see you have more time than you may think to do things that are important to you.  I go to school about 7 hours a day and sleep about 7 or so hours a day.  That leaves 10 hours of free time to manage.  10 hours!!  Let's say I totally blow 2 or 3 hours fooling around on the phone, with friends or whatever...that still leaves 7 hours.  If I practice 2-3 hours that still leaves another 4 hours for me or family or whatever I decide I need to spend it on.  You sit down and do the math on your personal time with 24 hours a day and I think, like I was, you'll be surprised how much time you have.

Reading a book, reading music, practicing drums or anything else "worthwhile" takes time and dedication to improve.  However you spend those extra 10 hours a day is what you will become good at.  Want to learn to read?  Spend the time.  Want to improve your independence?  Spend the time.  Want to become a couch potato?  Spend the time.

I did read earlier here someone said it's ok if you just want to drum for fun and have no desire to become a pro.  For me, it's all I've ever wanted to do...be a professional musician/drummer, so naturally my mindset needs to be a bit more intense.

Ninja I'm not sure what your goals with drumming are and whatever they are does not make you right or wrong.  They are your goals and if you're happy with them, congrats.

IMHO,reading music is important.  As a musician in an ensemble, following the direction set forth by a conductor is your job.  Between the notation on paper and the leadership of the conductor an ensemble comes together to make beautiful music.  How many hundreds of years has it been done that way?  It's kind of hard to make an "intelligent" argument otherwise.

I think it's great that you've opened up to everyone here at the DC and you've taken some very critical responses to your thread quite well. Although I don't any of the professionals here have swayed your thinking I applaude your ability to take constructive criticism with regards to your views on reading.

Just remember...your mind is like a parachute.  If it's not open....well, I think you know what happens.

Good Luck,

Hannah