This video might bother some people— there’s nothing horrible in it, it’s just the drums, not played well, by an enthusiastic young beginner:
I’m always fascinated by people who have no idea of how to play the drums, and do it anyway— like in the earliest days of the site we had a Metal guy who unwittingly bridged the gap between Metal and Sunny Murray; and I always remember a kid in the 8th grade, Jimmy Velez— I had no idea he was a drummer, and neither did he, but he would flail at the drums in a little punk band with my friend Chris Higgins.
It’s usually not even a stage, most people never get past it, when they find out what’s involved in learning to play. The temperament to do that doesn’t always co-exist well with the first thing. But they’re important elements: the physical and emotional desire to express “something” on the instrument, and the willingness to go for it, without knowing how.
These guys’ mental state is where I want to be, when playing. I think music is supposed to happen instantly by magic, I don’t want to meticulously execute it. I always had that instinct, but I never had this stage in my actual playing— I had to do it on purpose, doing a lot of free playing. There are still times when things don’t fall the way I want, because I’m going on impulse, and not thinking how I’m going to execute something— God knows that’s not from lack of practicing.
So back to the video— another good thing he has done is that he’s not that far from a realistic playing technique, at least as far as moving around the instrument is concerned. It’s all arm at this point, but he’s covering the whole instrument fairly economically. I don’t feel like I’m seeing all the horrible things I might expect from people who’s playing is in this kind of state. This kind of fearlessness is good, I’m reasonably optimistic about him.
I am happy to help you with any of the materials on the site, and with anything else drumming related— contact me for private lessons, online world wide, or in person in Portland, Oregon. All levels of players, and all people, are welcome.
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