Not having fun playing

Hollywood Jim said:
Right on Phil.
> From 3 to 14 years old I had loads of fun playing drums along with my favorite songs. Pretending I was up on stage with the band.
>From 14 to 20 years old I played with a band and had even MORE fun playing live shows.
>From 20 to 60 years old I went through horrible unbearable withdrawals from not playing the drums.
>From 60 to 68 years old I am having loads of fun playing in bands at live shows.
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I think I should add something to my previous post.
My father was a drum teacher. And during the first 20 years of my playing he helped me with my technique.
I practiced rudiments and reading music for at least 30 minutes a day before I had fun playing along with music.

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I have always had fun playing as I only do what I like :) If there is a part that you are not enjoying then simply don't do it :)
Play along to the songs you like & add your own bits if you want. Drumming should be fun, not a bind :)
 
To the OP,

Have you thought about making music with software on your computer and then playing along to it? You may find that more rewarding if simply playing drums isn't enough for you.
 
If ur not happy then forget the rudiments and put ur favourite tunes through a headset and play along to them.
Dont worry bout fills just play the grooves straight ...you'll soon get it and you'll have fun doing it too.
 
Erberderber said:
To the OP,

Have you thought about making music with software on your computer and then playing along to it? You may find that more rewarding if simply playing drums isn't enough for you.
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Hey, I actually got a Machine Mikro a while back and I was gonna try this but totally forgot about it.
 
Hollywood Jim said:
Right on Phil.

From 3 to 14 years old I had loads of fun playing drums along with my favorite songs. Pretending I was up on stage with the band.

From 14 to 20 years old I played with a band and had even MORE fun playing live shows.

From 20 to 60 years old I went through horrible unbearable withdrawals from not playing the drums.

From 60 to 68 years old I am having loads of fun playing in bands at live shows.

Where I live there are lots and lots of drummers playing in bands.
There are so many drummers around here I can hardly get a gig. They must be having fun too.


.
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This is nothing short of inspiring. And you did it with considerably fewer words than I did, Jim. Thank you.
 
Odd-Arne Oseberg said:
What's next? Embrace the suck?!?
QUOTE]


Yes.

No matter what you do you will get bored/irritated/'flight'-oriented with it....it is the human condition.

How well you deal with that ...be it due to a 9-5 job, music, marriage, exercise, etc...will determine the quality of your life.

Learn to endure...and not just endure, flourish...when things seem less than easy in all different ways...not just because of boredom...and nothing will stop you.

Let the idea of 'success' drop away and learn to love the difficulties as much as the easy things...then nothing will stop you as your 'success' will be the product itself...not the $ nor the adulation....but always protect your product zealously, of course!

Easy to say...VERY difficult to implement....but it is the only way to really approach boredom - accept it and work through it with enthusiasm, vigor and focus...your will is like a muscle in that it WILL improve with practice...but teach yourself about burnout and how far you can push yourself...which will get longer and longer with practice....all leading to that joyous moment where you make something that makes you alright with your impending future death - something money and praise will not do.

If you want money, find a more reliable way to make it...if you want music, get used to difficulties that outweigh the difficulties of other choices and learn to love and chase after those difficulties.

...and, for what its worth, I suggest not pretending to love everything just to get a job....no matter the industry. Leave those disingenuous projects and people to the others that want to learn the hard way.

Here's hoping you get lucky and find a great path!...otherwise, you will need to develop extraordinary tolerance for irritation if you want to make a living playing drums alone.
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larryace said:
Attitude adjustment all the way.

I say this with the best of intentions for you. So get ready for some truth.

You could be a little more grateful. You have all your human needs taken care of and you also have a lot beyond that because you have drums and a place and time to practice, but yet you get bored. With all due respect, this is your problem totally, and a hallmark of your generation, from what I can tell. Drums are not supposed to be easy, that's what makes them great. Forget easy. Instead, think challenge. Constant challenge. Like you can do this. Push yourself. Mistakes are completely fine. No one gets hurt in music.

You have to get used to the fact that the things in life that bring honest to goodness rewards, take a crap ton of effort. Mental effort mostly.

If there's no effort there's no reward. Can't have one without the other. There's no shortcuts. Bored people don't deserve rewards. You're not hungry enough. There's guys out there that would KILL for what you have. Know that. Be grateful.

If you could turn your attitude around 180 degrees, and find humor in the fact that you are trying to do something, but your mind and body is preventing that, practice can be really great. The only thing that has ever truly made me satisfied...were my own accomplishments. Scaling mental walls. You won't accomplish anything if you allow boredom to take over your mind.

Forget instant gratification, it doesn't exist in the drumming world. The opposite of that is really what needs to be embraced, not avoided. Delayed gratification...is where it's at when it comes to drumming. Learn to love, and strive for, delayed gratification. It's SO much sweeter, it's very much worth it.

On the other hand it's good that you are honest and admitting how you feel. Good for you there. And I am on your side. I'm just trying to help you see things clearer. I hope you take this in the way I intended it.
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I love your attitude and it puts me totally in mind of a great friend of mine who sings in a metal band up here in the North called CAIN. We do a lot of gig swapping. Bring some metal to the punk audience and vice versa. We both bands have a great time.

Our Christmas gig last year. A couple of young women got very drunk and wanted to get up to dance with CAIN on stage. They were making a slight fool of themselves. The response from Mark. "For an hour or two this stage belongs to the bands. We work very hard for this stage. So no. You're not getting up here with us".

Most people in the audience thought he was a bit of a miserable swine. Me...I totally get it.
 
Alex Sanguinetti said:
Don¨t worry, most drummers and musicians have NO fun playing at all ´though they will never confess it...

The only chance you have is to study seriously and then you MIGHT enjoy playing. It is a very long process...
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Are you kidding? Gigs are the highlight of my life. I look forward to nothing more than playing out in the band.
 
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