TigerBill's DrumBeat Community Forums for Free Expert Advice on Drums and Percussion.

When I started playing for a living at 14 on the road in the 50s I had to rely on the experience of older cats playing the same town as I was. They never let me down. As a matter of fact they got to know when I was in their town or playing through the same area and would come and look me up to talk drumming and show me stuff.
Although things have changed a bit these days because some cats who have "careers" going in the business are pretty crusty and full of ego, there are still cats out there who will just rap about drumming and how to handle yourself in the Music. When I started teaching back a few decades ago I made sure I handled the distinction between cats that studied with me and those who needed to know something but weren't coming to me. So many cats who teach drumming today cannot make that distinction and won't take the time to just rap about drumming for drumming's sake. I guess they feel that they should always be making a buck off their knowledge or something. It doesn't work like that. Not in the real World. All people who sit behind a kit or play on something percussively are drummers. It's just that some of us have been doing it longer and can pass on what we know that works to other fellow drummers and drumettes. I've always kept in mind how I was treated by a load of very kind and patient older drum brothers and sisters and made sure I do the same thing now to others. That is what drumming is really all about and the right use of the Internet is just part of all that. That's the real heart of drums and drumming. Not the how great thou art stuff. What goes around, comes around and how we treat each other as sibling players will always come back to us good or bad. Any who put down the ideology of a brother/sister hood of drumming are in my books dogs in the manger. We have to share what we know to keep this young craft of drum set playing evolving. After all the drum set per se didn't really happen until 1936 and the instrument and those who play it are still basically all in an infancy when compared to other instruments around. We are still a very fluid and growing craft here and for anyone to hold stuff to themselves as far as helping fellow players is really a sad thing. I always think back to those fine players that took the time to help me out as a kid and realize that they were and are the core of the Spirit of the drum. They helped me by honing a precious skill and gift and by doing so became precious gifts themselves.
After all, you use many less facial muscles to smile than to scowl. So I smile, hand stuff on and see that there are still many others who think the same way as I do. When they say the Joy of Drumming they know they are saying.

Edited by roger strange (Wed Jul 09 2008 01:47 PM)