Your body knows what to do...?

Sitting here listening to music on the radio, drinking a few beers, and thinking about the past 40+ years of playing drums when all of a sudden something occured to me and I'd like to hear the thoughts of drummers from beginners to pros; Our arms and legs know what to do without thinking about it a lot. Here's where it comes from:

I have a lot of friends, colleagues and fans of our gigs ask, "How do you do it and can you teach me?" Simple answer is, "I don't let my arms and legs talk to each other. There is no mystic secret handshake to learning to drum. You were born with rythym, but something else got in the way." This afternoon, it occurs to me that it is simply a matter of freeing yourself of the right-handed, left-handed handicaps we learn early on and just doing what your body already knows how to do. That said, I add the caveat that technique is essential and must be learned and practiced. But the basic rythym of music is something that comes naturally and perhaps we are our own worst enemies when it comes to drumming. Your thoughts, please!

Phil
 
I'm pretty happy with my drumming lately. I feel I am on top of my game, for the first time in my life. It took so much work to get here. I was not born with the groove. I actually learned that, so I'm living proof that you don't have to have a sense of groove from the get go. In my case, my drumming needed to be developed, in a huge and massive way. Luckily the desire was there from jump street. The ability was another matter. Shaping my drumming ability...(analogy alert!) I liken it to carving a statue out of solid rock. It's going to be shapeless for a long time. But if you just keep chipping away, the image of what you have inside will eventually emerge.

I can't tell you how great I feel after playing the drums. The feeling lasts me about a day and a half, then fades. Every night is friggin awesome, when you feel on top of your game.
 
larryace;1021798 I can't tell you how great I feel after playing the drums. The feeling lasts me about a day and a half said:
Well said! I know exactly how you feel. Even after playing for many years, the thrill ain't gone.
 
....perhaps we are our own worst enemies when it comes to drumming. Your thoughts, please!

Phil

Yes, I believe that. Just like it is to be influenced in a positive way by another drummer, I think it's just as possible to see some guy pull off some sick move and think, "I'll never be able to do that." I think it's a bit natural as humans for us to have some self-limitations, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't believe that most things that humans do [with exceptions] can be more or less done by anybody [with exceptions], provided they went after it with the intent, training, etc., needed to be as good as the person you are attempting to compare to. I hope I'm making sense.....
For example, if I see a guy do something on the drums, instead of thinking, "I'll never be able to do that," I think instead, "He's a drummer. I'm a drummer. I could probably do that," or, even better, "That was cool, I'm gonna try that."
Our internal enemy tries to tell us what we can't do all the time. It's up to us to not listen to him.
 
Sitting here listening to music on the radio, drinking a few beers, and thinking about the past 40+ years of playing drums when all of a sudden something occured to me and I'd like to hear the thoughts of drummers from beginners to pros; Our arms and legs know what to do without thinking about it a lot.

I have this theory, which is far too hard to explain fully in my tired state. Basically I think that the part of the brain that turns inner thoughts and things we want to express into speech, can also be trained and used to speak on an instrument. And a good drummer is able to make that part of the brain talk to the other part (motor cortex?) which makes the body do things.

Speaking involves a big list of different coordinated muscular actions, but all we think about is the words we want to say.

I know from my own work on improvising and soloing/"freestyling", that the more training I do, the better I get at not having to think about what my hands and feet are doing. Anyone who can do a few mixed up rolls/paradiddles/paradiddle inversions around the drums without really thinking about it knows how it feels. I focus on the pattern and melody of accents I want to play, and my hands somehow (miraculously) fill in the gaps with rolls/paradiddles without having to think about every single note.

I know a lot of people find singing what they are trying to learn to be very helpful. And singing while trying to improvise is also good.

I guess this is all pretty much common knowledge, but I don't often see it talked about. And I certainly don't see the psychological/brain side mentioned often in any learning material.

I hope anyone who knows more about brains can chime in, I'd really like to know more about this stuff!

As far as rhythm & coming naturally, I really do think anyone can improve their rhythm. Those who think they can't, may have just never tried tapping their foot, singing along, or dancing, ever.
 
....Our arms and legs know what to do without thinking about it a lot.....
Phil

Then I sure wish they'd get to heck doing it...... :)

I think to some degree this is true once we've conditioned them to do it through repetition.

It's the new stuff that we are trying to execute that is the challenge as the amount of repetition isn't there (hence being new) yet.

This assumes no technical hangups...
 
I am new to drumming Phil,but I think I can relate.A simple thing like hitting the cymbal in exactly the right place in a song is a feeling from inside the body. It simply feels good, and sounds good.My fans and critics [wife, kids,grand kids a few neighbors] will let know when I do that or don't do that.Interesting thread thanks.
 
It occurs to me that my original post may have sounded too simple-minded. I'll put that down to the beer and the fact that I am simple-minded. I absolutely don't mean to imply that learned and practiced technique is unnecessary. I just find that when I don't concentrate so hard on a particular groove or fill, I tend to play better . Call it a Zen experience or something. That is not to say that I don't learn the songs we play. But I am often called upon to play something I've never heard before, or perhaps play a song I already know in a different style. That's when I just stop thinking about it. Maybe it's experience, however I still feel as if it's just an innate feel for rythym which I suspect most of us have. Please continue to comment.
 
It occurs to me that my original post may have sounded too simple-minded. I'll put that down to the beer and the fact that I am simple-minded. I absolutely don't mean to imply that learned and practiced technique is unnecessary. I just find that when I don't concentrate so hard on a particular groove or fill, I tend to play better . Call it a Zen experience or something. That is not to say that I don't learn the songs we play. But I am often called upon to play something I've never heard before, or perhaps play a song I already know in a different style. That's when I just stop thinking about it. Maybe it's experience, however I still feel as if it's just an innate feel for rythym which I suspect most of us have. Please continue to comment.

I completely concur. Though I am not even a decent drummer (by my standards), my drumming is the cleanest and most creative when I'm not trying and just relaxed. When I start trying to get too fancy, too far outside my skill level, or focusing too much on one particular thing (ie, I have a tendency to not pay attention to where my hands are but rather where I want them to be shortly, and not the path to get them there) it all gets sloppy and nasty.

But, I also totally agree you have to practice and learn things for you to be your best at them.

In regards to the brain barrier you mentioned earlier, I view that more as a laziness than a barrier, at least for myself. For example, there's a song I love that has a fast-paced snare/double bass intro. Looking back now, it's not that difficult, but when I first heard it I said, "Oh, I could never do that!" even though I knew that if I practiced it I could easily nail it. Finally I got over my laziness and gave it a whirl, slowing it way down & listening to all the nuances. 3 days later I was playing it full speed along with the track.

It's all about setting reachable goals and striving for them ;)
 
I have this theory, which is far too hard to explain fully in my tired state. Basically I think that the part of the brain that turns inner thoughts and things we want to express into speech, can also be trained and used to speak on an instrument. And a good drummer is able to make that part of the brain talk to the other part (motor cortex?) which makes the body do things.

Good explanation. I agree. I was at a show this weekend where a guy with an obvious physical and mental handicap was playing some smokin' keyboard. If you saw this person on a sidewalk you'd feel sorry for him but somehow the musical side of his brain is alive and well. Amazing.
 
That's body language flowing naturally with the rhythm.

In certain way, I have to agree that sometimes or most of the times We limit ourselves (tunnel vision) in following drumming structures, square rules and a said-so by a well-known drummer. Drumming must be beautiful and totally free.

But the basic rythym of music is something that comes naturally and perhaps we are our own worst enemies when it comes to drumming. Your thoughts, please!

Phil
 
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