Patience

Learning to be patient with myself has been an on-going process for me. This seems to get harder and not easier when I’m trying something new on the drum set. The more I’m able to execute complex ideas that have taken me a while to learn, the more I expect that it will be easier to learn new complex ideas. This is rarely the case, and it’s good to remind myself of that fact! Sometimes, I can surprise myself and incorporate a new idea sooner rather than later. But it’s not the norm for me.

My practice time is spent repeating these ideas at slow enough tempos so that I make very few mistakes. That’s my goal, anyway. I find that if I rush myself into faster tempos before I’m ready, then mistakes happen frequently. It’s best if I can simply relax and take my time learning this new material (sometimes at a snail’s pace), so as to get it into my brain and muscles. Then, I can try other tempos and even try variations on this new stuff that I’m trying to learn.

It’s almost as if I’m always a beginner in some sense which I can find frustrating. The more I can accept this fact, the easier the process becomes and that allows me to give myself permission to sound like a beginner. Giving myself that permission is a key thing for me. I don’t have to sound great immediately and I certainly don’t have to try this new material until I’m comfortable. I have enough in my tool box to still sound good, but the goal is to have a few more tools in there. I’ll bring those tools out when the time is right. No one is forcing me – other than me.