I've always been happy being a beginner at something. So recently I took up the drums. In February I bought a sweet drum kit from a guy on craigslist, wedging it with some initial effort into our family space and routine. Since then I've practiced every day for an hour or more that flies by way too fast. In some imaginary life of leisure, it'd be half the day.
Overenthusiastic, I answered an ad for a drummer after three months of practice, and a guy came over to sort of audition me. I didn't make the gig. He said I slowed down "about one percent" on every song, and what a good thing that he had such a metronomic ear. I realized he was right, and that as an instrumentalist, I'd always played around the beat laid down by the rhythm section, pushing and pulling. He reminded me that the role of the drummer is first of all to lay down a rock-steady beat. Redoubling my efforts, I'm going over all my exercises, working for that locked-in crispness with newly critical ears. When I get that, then I can push/pull the tempo, and it'll be more conscious.
Looking for inspiration, I read practice tips on a website. Among the good advice about rudiments, warmups, and dynamics, my favorite is this: "Don't practice! Make each and every moment on the set a spiritual quest. The chops/techniques will come." Yeah, baby. I need to remember that, and avoid the sense of a frantic need to catch up to everyone who started when they were seven years old.
Drummer Michel Dorge:
Q: What profession most intrigues you?
A: The one I'm in.
Q: What is your greatest regret to date?
A: I wish I would have started to play squash at the age of 7 instead of 23.
From Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (regarding another kind of practice):
After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know your are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little.Practicing and not practicing. On little cat feet. June 02, 2004 10:32 PM