There’s Always Something To Do In Retail

I paid my way through university by playing, teaching and working at a friend’s music store. We had a great time every day as the music business in those days was pretty healthy. We had a daily stream of regulars getting ready for that week’s gigs, repairs for whatever need repairing (mostly by me), youngsters getting their first taste of the music scene, and occasionally someone who needed a drummer for that weekend and another who was looking for a teacher.

We thankfully didn’t ship much in those days, but sales were good and there were always new products coming through the door. Unpacking, organizing, dusting … lots to do and all day to do it.

So where am I going with this?

When I was first learning to play, I was eager to improve and, as I’m sure many others have done, I searched for the path of learning that would open all the doors. Turns out it didn’t exist. Not that there aren’t gobs of great reference material to be had. Rather there was -- and is -- no ‘one true path’ for becoming a terrific drummer. No one teacher, no one book or web-site has the magic formula. And so I ended up creating my own.

Despite being around for more than a century, what we call the drum set is constantly changing, constantly evolving. Music too has evolved and the styles being played today probably can’t be counted. We need to recognize that both the instrument and ways it’s used are major factors in what a drum set education curriculum would include. And music is the original source of all ideas.

When I’m at the drum set, I find that there’s always something to do, something to work on (see my Top 10 post).  I use music for inspiration in two ways: to accompany material I’m working on and to provide ideas for things to work on. I like to find tunes that fit the exercises I’m working on. I’ll then pick an exercise that works with the tune. One tune might suggest working with Stick Control. Another might inspire me to get out my Jim Blackley book.  Or I’ll look for a tune that works with a particular exercise I want to tackle.

As I’m listening to tunes, I keep my ears open for something in my playing that needs to be refreshed, things that I might need to work on, and things I want to explore. And sometimes a tune will spark an idea to add to the tune only to discover that it’s a lot harder than I expected. Perfect! Here’s something I can work on and also use to develop other ideas. Maybe I want to play a pattern between the snare and bass against a ride pattern, but when I try to do it, it’s a non-starter.  So I’ll break down the pattern into simple exercises that will help me master the idea. I have a lot of exercise sheets that came completely from this process.

So if you're having trouble deciding what to practice, start by listening.  The rhythms and ideas are there, in the music, and you can use that to develop your own interpretations and practice ideas. Because there’s always something to do.