DRUMMER CAFE

Nice topic SIDE........

Theres a few answers to this in my opinion so here goes....my pretty pennies worth(and before anybodys says it....I aint got all the answers, far from it )

To become better I think you have to realise that there are better. Simple and to the point.

We can all become a Big Fish in a Small pond from time to time and thats not good for us.......We must be open to new ways of doing things and be prepared to examine our technique and realise that we all have weaknesses in our chops/feel and time.

We have to benchmark ourselves beonde the four walls of our own little musical worlds.

To be honest with yourself is another way we can become a more mature musician.....If the Bassist says we dropped a 16th....well he may be right.
If we have a problem with a limb/reading or execution, to be true is the only way to break down the DENIAL barrier so that we can learn.

Its also bad to get hung up on the history and experience of our playing......no one person knows everything. Regardless of training OR background there will be some techniques that can be applied better by others that may not have your background.

Humility is a wonderful tool for learning.

Try playing with musicians that are playing at a higher level than you.......If you want to play futher with these guys you gotta get some woodshead time in.

Understanding that the more we learn the less we know and that learning never stops, learning is for life. No one has ever learnt the drums but every one is learning to learn them.

Also setting yourself realistic targets and trying to stick by them....dont look at the mountain in the distance but look at the small step......you will reach the mountain but if you dont you will at least get a better view of it and you may feel thats enough(unless its Area 51 of coarse).

Listerning to drummers that are playing stuff thats out of your musical tastes. There is no law that says you cant bring what you learn back into your musical world.

Listerning to music that has no drums atall.......it can help your drumming in more ways than you could realise.

And finally (though there are many other reasons) learning another instrument aswell can bring some creativity to your drumming table.

I agree.

I often find that I work well under pressure(well to a certain extent anyway...).  I have a tendency to drop myself in at the deep end of things.  Like was previously said, working with people who are better than you is a good way to get better I've found.  

This means that when you first work with these people, the cocky young drummer that walked into the practice room thinking he's the dude- walks out a few hours later realising he's got a lot of work to do.  This has been a key part in my learning process recently.

Apart from that I have found that getting my hands in as many cookie jars as possible in as many different styles as possible has also helped me a lot.

Cool idea for a discussion mate! Tar


  

Listen to as much music as you can. By 'music' I mean every kind of music (with the possible exception of Barbara Streisand). Good music will inspire you, bad music will teach you what not to do. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, System of a Down, Tchaikovsky, Shawn Colvin, Craig Armstrong, Led Zeppelin, Duke Ellington, Wagner, Frank Sinatra, Danny Elfman - there is so much beautiful stuff out there and it will ALL rub off on you. Listen to how the drummer fits into the various pictures and how everything slots together (or not) then listen to recordings of your own band and see if you can say the same. Be self critical. Swear at yourself when you play (I do - note: be careful when wearing a head mike!) and push yourself to do better / be more solid / play less but more. Make sure what you are doing compliments the track and doesn't sound like a drum solo.

Fame should be a by-product and not a goal. Talent has its own rewards, and know that whoever or whatever you are, you are always learning.

Felix,

I would think that most of the people here have lots of talent, and talent is all very well and good, but you can have talent and still not be that great, if you don't use it! I like to think I have talent (at least, thats what people keep telling me) but I feel I am not as good as I could be, because for a long time, I just didn't actually study the drums, I just jammed, and got better, but slower than I could have done, and I still can't read music very well, and some of my basic techniques could be a lot better. What I'm trying to say here is that talent is good, but that doesnt mean you are going to be instantly good. You still need to want to become a better player, it just might come easier to you.

Misenko.

After drumming for a few years I decided I would try role playing.  I created a fictional character who was a really good drummer and then played that character during rehearsal and on stage.
It's a bit like being a waiter.  If you pretend to be a good waiter long enough, and you play the role well enough, you become a good waiter.  You may still be a disorganized clutz at home, and in your heart of hearts, but on the job you're a good waiter.
You become what you pretend to be.  

I agree felix that talent is a word used a lot, but I do honestly think a lot of people here are talented. I think Bartman is talented, I think you are probably taleneted, I mean anyone who can master an instrument HAS to have some form of talent to be able to do it! Now, I say from experience that you need to have some form of talent to be able to play drums. There was a guy I knew, played the drums for over a year. Still could barely string a straight, simple (I mean REALLY simple) rock beat together..he just couldn't do it! That may be described as something else other than lack of talent, but I'm just saying that many people here are talented individuals. If you don't want to think that, then thats cool, thats just what I beleive.

Misenko.

I don't know where I really stand on the word talent.

I think most people use it as a means to describe someone who is good at what they do ... when in actuality, talent may have little or nothing to do with it.

I don't consider myself talented. When I first started playing drums/percussion, I was LAST CHAIR in the school band. After a few years, I decided that I needed to start practicing; by the time I reached high school I was in the first chair slot. All of that is relative anyway and doesn't mean anything. It could just be that no one else was practicing!  

I've had to work VERY hard to get where I am ... so to me, talent is something I don't have. I have such a LONG way to go; I'm an average player at best.

The only people on this planet that really think I'm talented ... is the women in my family; grandmother, mother and sister!  

  For me it's always just been a matter of desire . Talent
has never been part of the formula . I always wanted to play and I've always had to put forth great efforts toward my goals . Is it talent if the first time you jump on a set you can stay in the pocket and ride ? That was about the only leg up I had in the game . Everything after that was solid effort . And you need that burning desire to keep you moving forward .
     I never hoped to be the best drummer in the world .
There is a quote by Travis Barker I think , " I never want someone to see me play and think I suck . "  That's all I ever hoped , " hey , he's a pretty good drummer !"
 
PS , I just hit the spell check and for the first time I got
     " NO MISSPELLED WORDS "   is misspelled 1 s or 2  

I can't speak for anyone else, but I wasn't knocking your opinion when I was stating my own opinion. It has nothing to do with "knowing better" about talent; it's just my take on what it means and what it is. I'm flattered that you think I'm talented.

I don't think anyone should be saying that they ARE talented; that label should be determined by a third party ... IMO.  

Getting better is easy, you have to do only one thing --- NOT QUIT!  If you stick with it (sorry for the pun), you can only go in one direction, UP!!! (even if you have no "talent")