When did you become a musician and not just a drummer?
We’ve all been asked the question, How long have you been playing? We wear the answer to this question as a badge of honor. You remember the moment in time when you began to play drums. But can you remember when you became amusician and not just a drummer?
For me it didn’t happen until later in life. Somewhere in my 20’s I suppose. It took years for me to “get it”, developing the skill of listening and playing for the music. Being a musician, not just a drummer. Listening, listening, listening! Did I say Listening?
It didn’t happen overnight. A tough lesson to learn. It took countless of failed band audition attempts to really “get it”. It’s hard for us as drummers to believe we are not the most important instrument in the room. I know, we should be right?! But, we aren’t. In fact it’s NOT about one individual, it’s about creating something collectively. That’s part of what being a musician is.
Growing up like most drummers I literally wanted to play everything I could in the first minute of every song. Playing fast and loud as often as I could. No dynamics. Fills after every bar, Groove? What’s that?
Maybe it’s a maturity thing but it all started to make sense to me in my early 20’s. I started listening and paying attention to what was going on around me. It took time, but that’s when I got it. I started becoming a musician and not just a drummer. Realizing when to be quiet, when to build, when to crash, when to fill, keeping things simple, using rests, etc. all parts of being a musician. It wasn’t until learning these valuable lessons that I started getting the right gigs.
When did you become a musician and not just a drummer?
Photo by: VBK Photo
