Are We Just Being Silly?

I don;t see all the fuss either. This activity is surely better than ....hitting people with sticks... or hitting little white balls with clubs. People meditate, pray, whittle sticks, or read books for their own enjoyment. These activities make no sound, no music, and thus are of no enjoyment for nobody else either.

(ps. congrats to Todd B on a 4000th post.I've enjoyed many of them)
 
There's is also this critical part; hitting things with sticks, in time..
 
bermuda said:
So while drumming isn't silly, it's also not everything. Raise a family. Take a vacation. Start a business or a hobby. Don't sit behind the kit for a week or two. It's smart, healthy, and important to put life first.
Click to expand...

Well that's one great advice for life!! Plus I believe that any part of life
inspires the other parts, and growing in many aspects of life is kind of a
multiplicator, instead of "just" growing in the art form of drumming and
letting everything else wither away.

With that being said, it's not always that easy....!!
 
Well, are we? Ultimately we blow into things. Playing the trumpet is just such a childish act in itself, that sometimes while playing I can't help but think that there is something better I could be doing with my time, like blowing my nose instead.

All of the investment we have made to become trumpeters, both personally and financially, just to blow into stufff with our pie hole. The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems.

Will I stop? No. Do I find personal enjoyment in blowing into things? Absolutely. Will I find god or the meaning of life doing it? Probably never. Is it worth more to me than what it actually is, yes and no.

So again I ask, are we just being silly? All of this fussing just to blow into stuff.

A funnel from the dollar store should be good enough, right?




Well, are we. Ultimately we splash paint on overpriced canvas........................





On a more serious note.

You can say this about any activity or artform.

I'm very much a minimalist and I don't hoard gear. I don't see having quality stuff and caring about how I sound as being in conflict with that. Quite the contrary. These things are my work and my true passion.

I apply this to the few other hobbies I have. Not too much, nothing I don't need, but the absolutely best I can afford that's worth repairing, selling or passing on.




Now, if you truly feel this way you're free to quit. More gigs for me then. :)
 
People give me money, venues give me free drinks and food, people come to see my shows, I'm meeting people and having a wonderful time. I'd be silly not to do it.
 
I view drumming as one of the finest examples of mastery.

Nothing silly about it at all.

The only thing silly, is thinking it's silly.
 
Somehow this thread reminds me a little bit of the "Needless debate over drum construction...." thread.

Ymmv.

T.
 
We are not being any more silly than people putting a ball through a hoop with a net on it.
 
V-Four said:
Somehow this thread reminds me a little bit of the "Needless debate over drum construction...." thread.

Ymmv.

T.
Click to expand...

That's not what I intended at all. I was sitting there playing, feeling uninspired, just going through the motions. I started to think about things I needed to do vs what I was doing at the moment. I made the decision to keep going through the motions, even though it felt silly to do so, since I was just basically hitting stuff with sticks.

I make no money drumming. I stopped gigging in 2002. I don't jam with my friends due to location and work discrepancies. I just do this for me.

As for the other things I could be doing, since someone brought it up, I am 3 years into a whole house remodel, with at least another 3 to go. I have more storage to build for my wife's ever expanding movie collection. I have a dead car that runs but needs an electrical issue sorted. I have plenty of other more productive things to do.

But I suppose I am the only one who ever felt like this.

And Odd, I never once mentioned the word quit. Where you got that from I have no idea. This is a really long swim for you to take gigs I don't have.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
That's not what I intended at all. I was sitting there playing, feeling uninspired, just going through the motions. I started to think about things I needed to do vs what I was doing at the moment. I made the decision to keep going through the motions, even though it felt silly to do so, since I was just basically hitting stuff with sticks.

I make no money drumming. I stopped gigging in 2002. I don't jam with my friends due to location and work discrepancies. I just do this for me.

As for the other things I could be doing, since someone brought it up, I am 3 years into a whole house remodel, with at least another 3 to go. I have more storage to build for my wife's ever expanding movie collection. I have a dead car that runs but needs an electrical issue sorted. I have plenty of other more productive things to do.

But I suppose I am the only one who ever felt like this.

And Odd, I never once mentioned the word quit. Where you got that from I have no idea. This is a really long swim for you to take gigs I don't have.
Click to expand...

No you're in good company. I often wonder how much of what this "naked ape", another mammal, conjures up and does is just silly bullshit and just our own delusions-and harms other species at the cost of our delusions. But then think so what-just the way things evolved.
Wow year 3 of 6-I love you dude-you apparently can procrastinate and drag out a job like I can-it's a master skill-and it assures the job is done correctly-where fools fear to tread and all. Nothing wrong with being silly even if it all is. I'm sort of semi-retired-I'm not working now since we moved-and was only working adjunct part-time jobs before. I am that point that money doesn't do it for me either-I am wondering why am I here? Even when I've worked hard to do something I thought would make a difference-the only endeavor that I see really make a difference has been in my family. My wife is in hospice-what an honor helping people with terminal illness to live longer and then, in time, die in comfort and dignity. I envy that kind of impact on people lives. I enjoyed education too-but really few I think appreciate it (I was probably a huge pain in the ass)-some did which is super great. I remember at puberty (actually I was 11 to be exact) going to this movie called "Alfie"-we left clueless. Now after a life of debauchery, then trying to make a difference, to now wondering is there a difference-that movie makes a lot of sense? Then I snap out of that silly crap and thankfully realize how good life is and so what if it doesn't matter. Cheer up it could be worse.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
That's not what I intended at all. I was sitting there playing, feeling uninspired, just going through the motions. I started to think about things I needed to do vs what I was doing at the moment. I made the decision to keep going through the motions, even though it felt silly to do so, since I was just basically hitting stuff with sticks.

I make no money drumming. I stopped gigging in 2002. I don't jam with my friends due to location and work discrepancies. I just do this for me.

As for the other things I could be doing, since someone brought it up, I am 3 years into a whole house remodel, with at least another 3 to go. I have more storage to build for my wife's ever expanding movie collection. I have a dead car that runs but needs an electrical issue sorted. I have plenty of other more productive things to do.

But I suppose I am the only one who ever felt like this.

And Odd, I never once mentioned the word quit. Where you got that from I have no idea. This is a really long swim for you to take gigs I don't have.
Click to expand...

Based on this post, I'd point the finger at the fact that you don't get to play with anyone else. You never get to really apply your work and skills and creativity in the face of other people making music.

I'd go crazy. To me, the drums are entirely dependent on other musicians to be both useful and interesting, to have a role and reason for playing.

Please, seek out a jam that you can drive to at least once or twice per month, and don't be shy. Get up and play!
 
To some, yes...to others, no.

Neither idea has validity except to the individual.(read some Kierkegaard or other existentialist writers if you really wanna get at it).

Besides, the most life changing event can be considered silly(slipping on a banana that causes major injury) but that does not change the aspects of getting hurt....so 'silly' might not really convey what the OP was trying to get at.
 
If music is silly, like Martin said, so is sports, racing, riding a bike, and just about anything else that doesn't have to do with survival and taking care of your children. Music is a great bond between adults and children, so you could say it is necessary or at least recommended. And for brain development, what tops it? Also, let's not underestimate the joy in playing, especially on stage! Group entrainment is pretty heady stuff and guess who swings the biggest bat when it comes to group entrainment? We do.

I don't know how true this is but I read somewhere that organized music is one of the few things that separate humans from every other mammal. So if we don't hit things with sticks...boom. One day we'll all wake up as chimpanzees :)

This thread is all about second guessing ourselves. It's happening, it's taking place, so it must be meant to be that way. Let's just roll with it. Playing music with others, for others, is pretty much the exact opposite of almost every other thing we encounter. In it's purest form, music is not competitive by nature. The rest of the world can be described as mostly competitive IMO. Which is to say music helps keep the balance, again necessary. Don't take the creative process for granted either. It really is a special ability that has real worth and is worth cultivating if you have it. Anything creative, not just music.
 
I'm not a pro and play purely because I like it. That's enough for me. Sure, there are arguably more productive uses of time, but I don't want to live a life in which everything I do needs to be productive or meaningful. As long as you're not completely blowing off serious responsibilities, wasting time is good for the soul!



We don't know each other but it sounds like it might be time for a break to get some perspective and rediscover the joy of playing for its own sake.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top