A DRUMMER’S ETHOS TEXT
Here’s my writing from José Medeles’ next book:
What advice would you give a young drummer?
Self worth and joy should be defined only by the individual. While one drummer may enjoy developing technical prowess, another may find their happiness playing simple beats along with their favorite songs. That’s okay. As long as we each find that place for ourselves, that’s enough.
Professional drumming aspirations are great, but they’re not everything. If you want to tend a field of sugar beets by day and enjoy playing the drums a few nights a week, that’s okay. Drumming needs to serve the right role for you, your goals, and your lifestyle.
Of all emotions, don’t let anger regularly drive your playing. Happiness can drive joyful drumming, and sadness may be cathartic. Though I think anger can be channeled into a release while drumming, if anger becomes the main force beyond your playing, it may steal some wonderful moments from your life. And without high highs to reminisce on, it makes the low lows much more difficult to navigate.
It’s really hard to break drums. They’re meant to be hit. Tune and re-tune your drumheads. Experiment with drum dampening techniques. The more you understand how to create different sounds, the better you’ll be able to musically express yourself in any situation. That’s worth more than any amount of technical ability.
What are the most important traits you admire in a drummer?
I admire drummers with empathy and compassion. If a drummer feels for those around them, only then can they adequately express something made to be emotionally consumed.
What should a drummer ask themselves before the music starts?
Am I ready to express from an emotionally still place?
Name one virtue a drummer should possess.
Patience. I’ve been playing music for over two decades. I’ve been sharpening my blade and building my career the entire time and I’m still nowhere near where my original aspirations had aimed. Illness set me back five years. A pandemic held me back after that. And through the entire course, I persisted. I continued to have the patience to know I will accomplish what I set out to accomplish. Coming from a place of patience ensures that I’ll enjoy the journey as much as I will the destination.
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