"Intuition"

Let's see: How do I put this mess all together? Hmm... Some parts of drumming are subjective and it is sometimes a mystery as to how one drummer is favored over another. For one band, one drummer is the best. For another, well, they will get by with or without him/her.

I was talking with a music friend yesterday about this issue. He brought up the term "intuition." He defined it as "just being able to hear a suggestion, and then giving something back." Sort of like a music conversation.

For example, the worship leader, thoroughly a fine musician but never a drummer, turns around and tells you, "I really want more of a driving beat." Now, at that point, us drummers have the opportunity to reach into our bag of tricks and pull out something that we would describe as "driving." Then the worship leader says, "Well, not like that. More like..." and then he flails his arms and makes drum noises with his mouth, apparently unaware of the blank stare that has come across your face.

Intuition is the ability to reach for many options in that moment. For example, driving might mean four on the floor with a low tom mimic, heavy backbeat and a washy crash ride combo. Maybe it's the low tom, interspersed with a backbeat and the other toms thrown inbetween. Maybe it's open hi-hat 8th notes, accents on the backbeat (2 & 4) with a cymbal...

You see what I mean? Reaching into your bag of tricks, trying to make a term come to life which will serve the music.

But then, there's that bag of tricks. You might just be a one trick pony, which is never good in the musical context.

Before I move on, this is probably the most subjective part of music. One part of you might say, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Well thank you Popeye! The other part will say, "I need to learn and expand that bag of tricks, but how?" It's to you that I write.

Our proverbial bags will be expanded when we open our minds to other types of music and truly explore the nuances of what makes that type of music special. For example, an R&B drummer has certain sound and feel. Same goes for the Heavy Metal drummer or the Jazz drummer.

The point is to be able to reach down and at the very least, fake a feel for any given song. That is what intuition is about. It is part negotiation, in that you should be able to provide several examples for a nebulous, magical part. But the other part of intuition, is to reach down into the bag of tricks and confidently copy some one else's work!

I told my shuffle story, so I won't repeat it. But there have been many other experiences where I was able to provide my "drum term illiterate" worship leader with something close to what he was hearing.

I hope this helps.

Blessings,
Frank

"I Wish I Would Have..."

Hindsight is always 20/20. Knowing what I know now, I would have done things different. Of course, the trap is that if I had done things different, I might not be the person I am now. Oh, what a tangled web! However, here are some of my top thoughts about what I wish I would have done back when I was a young drummer.

- I wish I would have enjoyed the time I spent with my fellow musicians more.

- I wish I would have obsessed less about all the minute things that would go wrong during a service.

- I wish I would have been more open to other types of music earlier that were not my taste.

- I wish I would have taken the time to see more live music and meet more of those musicians.

- I wish I would have paid more attention to the formal side of training for drums.

- I wish I would have taught my students to enjoy their instruments more.

- I wish I would have practiced better when I had all the time in the world, rather than fiddling around with my favorite beats.

- I wish I would have invested more time in people who wanted to learn about the drums from me.

Maybe you could add about a hundred things yourself. The beautiful thing about such lists is that people who are on the other side of time can avoid the pitfalls of my past. The beautiful thing for me is that my past does not have to dictate my future. I can learn and grow from here.

I pray you would do the same.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,
F.S.