Obzen
Member
Hey guys,
I've decided I'm finally going to study music after 9 years of self-taught drumming. Although I've always been totally obsessed with drumming and music, I've never allowed myself to invest any full time study/student-loan into music because "it's not a real career" and doesn't promise a stable future income.
Now at age 27, after years of exploring other career avenues but really wanting to be in a musical environment music full time, I've decided I need to follow my true calling and really set myself up to be a professional in the music industry and an 'expert' with my instrument, (even if 'professional' means working in instrument retail and giving drum lessons).
Most of the best drummers I know (and all of the ones who are doing music for a living) have been through Jazz school, even though most of them don't play in Jazz bands as far as I know. But those guys are my benchmark for how good I want to be and what I want to be doing... whereas I never really associate 'cream of the crop' musicians coming out of courses like "Contemporary Rock" or "Modern Music degrees" or whatever.
Personally I don't listen to alot of Jazz, I listen to some Jazz fusion, and heaps of the music I listen to has a heavy Jazz influence, but as far as traditional Jazz goes, I've never picked it up as one of 'my chosen genres', although I've always thought Jazz drumming is fantastic and I like (and in some cases love) a lot of the traditional Jazz I hear around.
As a self-taught drummer, when I started out I went straight into the 'fun stuff' (i.e. playing beats) and only over the past few years have I been putting a decent amount of effort into my technique, rudiments, accents, ghost notes, separation exercises etc. I'm confident that Jazz drumming foundation and technique is definitely where my drumming needs to go to transform me into an expert and well rounded drummer who really 'knows his shit'.
My question is: Is studying Jazz drumming the right way (or the only way?) to become a true drumming expert, even for people who don't have much of a Jazz listening background?
I've decided I'm finally going to study music after 9 years of self-taught drumming. Although I've always been totally obsessed with drumming and music, I've never allowed myself to invest any full time study/student-loan into music because "it's not a real career" and doesn't promise a stable future income.
Now at age 27, after years of exploring other career avenues but really wanting to be in a musical environment music full time, I've decided I need to follow my true calling and really set myself up to be a professional in the music industry and an 'expert' with my instrument, (even if 'professional' means working in instrument retail and giving drum lessons).
Most of the best drummers I know (and all of the ones who are doing music for a living) have been through Jazz school, even though most of them don't play in Jazz bands as far as I know. But those guys are my benchmark for how good I want to be and what I want to be doing... whereas I never really associate 'cream of the crop' musicians coming out of courses like "Contemporary Rock" or "Modern Music degrees" or whatever.
Personally I don't listen to alot of Jazz, I listen to some Jazz fusion, and heaps of the music I listen to has a heavy Jazz influence, but as far as traditional Jazz goes, I've never picked it up as one of 'my chosen genres', although I've always thought Jazz drumming is fantastic and I like (and in some cases love) a lot of the traditional Jazz I hear around.
As a self-taught drummer, when I started out I went straight into the 'fun stuff' (i.e. playing beats) and only over the past few years have I been putting a decent amount of effort into my technique, rudiments, accents, ghost notes, separation exercises etc. I'm confident that Jazz drumming foundation and technique is definitely where my drumming needs to go to transform me into an expert and well rounded drummer who really 'knows his shit'.
My question is: Is studying Jazz drumming the right way (or the only way?) to become a true drumming expert, even for people who don't have much of a Jazz listening background?
Last edited: