Anyone who plays can be called a player. Not everyone who drums
is a drummer. I have met players who play drums, and
even some with great chops and technique, who just don’t play with their heart.
Conversely, I have spent periods in my life without playing drums for months, or
even years - but I will always be a drummer. The difference is very
subtle, but very significant.
There is always some kind of rhythym in my head. If my fingers aren’t taping
on a desk, or my foot isn’t taping on the floor, then my teeth are likely
chattering some kind of pattern just to keep the energy flowing. As a kid, I
was always told to sit still, stop figiting, knock off the tapping, etc., and I
have played drums since I was very young. I didn’t learn what an integral part
drumming was in my personality, until - for the first time in my life - I
stopped playing for several years. Even when my kit was stacked up in cases in
the garage, and I hadn’t held a pair of sticks for years, I still thought and
behaved rhythmically. Sometimes the rhythms are slow and easy, and roll like a
wave. Other times they’re quick and snappy, and keep me hoping when I need to
keep an up-tempo activity moving. There is always some kind of a beat, a
pattern, or a pulse pumping through me, and from me.
For many years, I did not realize that everyone else does not have this same
constant, or at least consistent rhythm in their head, and in their life, that
I do. Just about all of the friends through much of my life were players of
some kind, and so there was always some kind of music either playing, or being
sung, hummed, or tapped. I just assumed that everyone heard or felt some kind
of rhythm the same way I do. After talking with friends and acquaintances, I
eventually learned that some people just don’t hear anything, unless there’s
something playing in the background. Wow!
I couldn’t stop the tunes in my head, any more than I could stop the pulse
in my veins or the breathing in chest. My life is a counterpoint of syncopated
beats with accents and grace notes embelishing the fringe. Playing drums is the
best way to focus my energy, and let the rhythms flow through me as smoothly as
possible. Sometimes playing drums even has meditative qualities that seem to
improve my attitude and my sanity! Normally, I am just driven to drum.
So, what drives you to drum? Is there
something in particular that pushes you to play? Does anyone else hear
the rhythms and tunes like I do, or is this my self-made sanitarium? Do you
just play, or are you a drummer?
is a drummer. I have met players who play drums, and
even some with great chops and technique, who just don’t play with their heart.
Conversely, I have spent periods in my life without playing drums for months, or
even years - but I will always be a drummer. The difference is very
subtle, but very significant.
There is always some kind of rhythym in my head. If my fingers aren’t taping
on a desk, or my foot isn’t taping on the floor, then my teeth are likely
chattering some kind of pattern just to keep the energy flowing. As a kid, I
was always told to sit still, stop figiting, knock off the tapping, etc., and I
have played drums since I was very young. I didn’t learn what an integral part
drumming was in my personality, until - for the first time in my life - I
stopped playing for several years. Even when my kit was stacked up in cases in
the garage, and I hadn’t held a pair of sticks for years, I still thought and
behaved rhythmically. Sometimes the rhythms are slow and easy, and roll like a
wave. Other times they’re quick and snappy, and keep me hoping when I need to
keep an up-tempo activity moving. There is always some kind of a beat, a
pattern, or a pulse pumping through me, and from me.
For many years, I did not realize that everyone else does not have this same
constant, or at least consistent rhythm in their head, and in their life, that
I do. Just about all of the friends through much of my life were players of
some kind, and so there was always some kind of music either playing, or being
sung, hummed, or tapped. I just assumed that everyone heard or felt some kind
of rhythm the same way I do. After talking with friends and acquaintances, I
eventually learned that some people just don’t hear anything, unless there’s
something playing in the background. Wow!
I couldn’t stop the tunes in my head, any more than I could stop the pulse
in my veins or the breathing in chest. My life is a counterpoint of syncopated
beats with accents and grace notes embelishing the fringe. Playing drums is the
best way to focus my energy, and let the rhythms flow through me as smoothly as
possible. Sometimes playing drums even has meditative qualities that seem to
improve my attitude and my sanity! Normally, I am just driven to drum.
So, what drives you to drum? Is there
something in particular that pushes you to play? Does anyone else hear
the rhythms and tunes like I do, or is this my self-made sanitarium? Do you
just play, or are you a drummer?
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