Normal?

[That Guy]

Is it normal to think that ones own drumming is INSANELY horrible when many others (drummers, normies, etc.) speak highly of your drumming abilities?

[Ironcobra]

welcome to the world low self esteem (regarding your drumming skills)

it happens to be all the time, ill just be playing on a beat that i think is poo and when i look up, my friends are like WTF :|

[Michael G]

Yup, just a big paradigm.

[dw D]

Is it normal to think that ones own drumming is INSANELY horrible when many others (drummers, normies, etc.) speak highly of your drumming abilities?

focus on your strengths and give yourself a break

[That Guy]

Self criticism at its best huh?

[Fur drummer]

Sometimes your hardest critic can be yourself. Like dw D said, give yourself a break.

[hawk9290]

Is it normal to think that ones own drumming is INSANELY horrible when many others (drummers, normies, etc.) speak highly of your drumming abilities?

short answer- yes

long answer-
I'm in the same boat, but so often people come up to me and say it was amazing. Its strange though, in practice I suppose by most people's standards my drumming is pretty good, but when gig time comes i kick it up 4 gears and press the nitro because I play tremendously better. I don't really notice it until afterwards and I feel like "wow that was really good drumming." Of course most people tell me I sound like a great drummer and mean it sincerely, but then I'm sitting there realizing how much farther I have to go to be a true great. Its all a big paradox. I am always cycling between thinking that I am nothing compared to Gadd or Peart, but then I go on an upswing to thinking I am a heck of a lot better than many drummers, so its a constant stage of learning and growth, as well as necessary self-realization of my own abilities. Sure there are times I get very down and talk about what I want to be able to play, but then I think about everything else I can play, and it helps me realize that I do have some sort of skill or else I would not be so highly regarded among some locals as I am. I wouldn't say that I think my drumming is "insanely horrible" though except for on very rare occasions in practice when I really lose it; you are being to hard on yourself if you regard yourself entirely as crap- try to think about the stuff you can play, and use that as motivatoin to become a better play. To me, the most rewarding thing is when the audience wants to get my autograph after a gig (those are fun nights) and there is a pro drummer in the crowd who tells me how good I sounded, but also gives me constructive criticism.

[hauk]

Yeah, it's normal and you should give yourself a break sometimes, but you should also remember that the reason you are your toughest critic is so that you can push yourself to always improve. If you give yourself too many breaks you may end up relaxing on other people's praise (who can never know you or your skill as well as you do - after all, you're the only one who sees you every time you practice) instead of realistically understanding your faults (without getting depressed or angry about it of course) and addressing them.

Phew. Gotta love long sentances. Well, semi long at least.

[jazzin']

Yes, I used to have low self esteem leaking out my eye balls. It's quite hard to not only gauge your skills properly but also to improve upon them in a focused manner when you're feeling like this.

It's really not so bad now. I think the key is learning to think realistically. Obviously easier said than done but if you can learn to get into this mode of thought you're drumming will start to progress much more smoothly and rapidly. When you learn to think abut your skills realistically, you can look at weaknesses and see them for what they are; something to simply work on so as to improve your overall skill set. You can also see your strengths in a much more positive light, instead of wondering whether they actually are a strength at all, and figure out how to use them to your advantage or more to the bands advantage. You can also see that your strengths are still never enough to cover your weaknesses completely. I think some drummers have a great strength or two and because of that overlook so much else that is missing from their playing. You see this quite a lot actually. Especially with the speed craze that is happening at the moment. A lot of guys are very very fast but lack general skill. This is not to say though that it is across the board with the fast guys. Some use their speed incredibly well. But, you know what I'm getting at.

You also start to enjoy practice for practice's sake. Going in to work on your weaknesses becomes an enjoyable experience instead of the frustrating, depressing choir it once used to feel like. Instead of practicing with the idea of impressing people or being so worried about all the things that are lacking and that you may be a bad drummer, you start practicing to improve exactly what needs to be improved.

Another great thing is you start to realise what are actually the useful, important things to practice. I remember when I was near finishing high school and wanting to get into Uni to do music I was obsessed with certain chops routines and a certain type of ultra impressive fill vocabulary, you know, the Weckl, Vinnie thing. Spending hours practicing this stuff that I would absolutely never use and I would wonder why I didn't progress to the amount of hours that I would put in.

Last but most certainly not least is that you start to understand that drumming and the practice that it takes to get proficient at it takes a long time. You have to go through slowly perfecting what you are working on before moving on to the next thing well before you are ready. A classic sign is here at drummerworld. The many, many people that are constantly asking about certain routines and exercises that will make their fingers better or getting their moeller chops up, their push pull, heel toe, etc etc, on and on. The thing you are suddenly happy to do is sit down with one exercise and do it. You can work on it without worrying yourself if it is the one that is going to make you into a superstar or if it's going to be the quickest route to lightning fast hands/feet.

It's a good feeling when you can practice without fear of everything. Check out Kenny Werner's book 'Effortless Mastery' for more detailed information on this type of thought process. It should hopefully open your eyes to the small things we slow our progress down with due to bad thought habits. Good reading.

[ermghoti]

It's certainly normal for me (in numerous ventures, not just drums). I tend to compare myself to professionals (golf. lol), and the gap between where I am and where I'd like to be is huge. Also, anything I play that sounds good is either part of a narrow band of strength, or some sort of cheat or gimmick. The listener generally won't know that.

[k3ng]

It usually happens to me whenever I watch an extremely awesome video on this site.

I then enter the 'damn I suck. I've got a long way more to go...' stage

and then the 'I really should practice more' stage

and after the practice the 'Hey I'm not too bad' stage

and then watch another awesome video and then go back to stage 1.

[MoeDrummer]

I'm with you there K3ng... haha, describes my routine quite well.

Moe

[MissWorld1952]

Is it normal to think that ones own drumming is INSANELY awesome when many others (drummers, normies, etc.) says the worst of your drumming abilities?

[fixxxer]

It usually happens to me whenever I watch an extremely awesome video on this site.

I then enter the 'damn I suck. I've got a long way more to go...' stage

and then the 'I really should practice more' stage

and after the practice the 'Hey I'm not too bad' stage

and then watch another awesome video and then go back to stage 1.

I can TOTALLY relate to k3ng's statement!

[Muckster]

Completely normal, it's called staying humble and realizing there's always room for improvement.

Remember if someone compliments you, that means they were impressed and enjoyed the performance. Don't ruin the moment by ranting on about how much better you could have played. All it takes is a simple "thank you".

[cjl71178]

Definately normal...we all feel the same. I remember going to a Modern Drummer festival years ago when Tony Royster Jr. played (I believe he was 12 at the time). After seeing him play, I almost quit!

[fixxxer]

Funny, though, sometimes you can watch a performance (on video) that makes you feel like quiting (like your not worthy to even be holding sticks). And then 6 months later you can watch the same performance and go, "I can do that!" It's great when you can "see" your own growth! Let's you know that you are, at least, progressing.

[That Guy]

Thanks for your kind expressions everyone. I appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

For the most part, I think my problem really lies within the fact that I have been playing off and on for about 25 years and I have only taken 3 drum lessons, and I can't read a lick of drum music. (I have created a post about it) -----> http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28275

Its just too expensive for me to pay for lessons. But, I'm almost positive that without professional lessons its pretty hard to advance in ones playing abilities. #1.. because you don't have a professional critiquing your playing and giving your feedback on what and where you are lacking and helping you to correct it. #2... Your not able to really push yourself and learn how to play drum music. Of course I might be wrong.

I'm not really overly down on myself and my abilities. It can just be discouraging sometimes after seeing people like Carter Beauford blow your mind.

Thanks again everyone for your feedback.

[beefythedrummer]

Totally normal, I would say. Because us being drummers, we know who the "really good" drummers are lol. But when people genuinely say that you did a good job, it means you really did, so don't be too hard on yourself. I do the same thing, somebody will say that they think i'm good, and I'll just be like "nawww" lol.

[kung_f00]

You should use the lack of self confidence to keep on practicing so you can get to that point, and along the way you'll hear drummers that are much better than you, but that's only more inspiration to keep practicing and aspire to greater levels of drumming.

And in regards to drum lessons.. the net is a really good resource for visual and auditory learning, and there are books and online resources that can help you learn drum notation so that you can better teach yourself.

[That Guy]

And in regards to drum lessons.. the net is a really good resource for visual and auditory learning, and there are books and online resources that can help you learn drum notation so that you can better teach yourself.

Any recommendations?

[k3ng]

Definately normal...we all feel the same. I remember going to a Modern Drummer festival years ago when Tony Royster Jr. played (I believe he was 12 at the time). After seeing him play, I almost quit!

Funny, though, sometimes you can watch a performance (on video) that makes you feel like quiting (like your not worthy to even be holding sticks). And then 6 months later you can watch the same performance and go, "I can do that!" It's great when you can "see" your own growth! Let's you know that you are, at least, progressing.

Cool, I relate to both these statements. I watched the same thing on video and a couple of YEARS later I tried some of his fills and some stuff out of that solo and went 'hey... it's not that hard after all...'