Your Opinion - Are Good Drummers Born or Are They Made ?

[RudimentalDrummer]

I would love to hear you Bros opinion on this. In your personal Opnion, do you think that Good Drummers Are Made (meaning they have to work very hard to achieved that - and anyone can as long as they work hard can achieved that) or Are Good Drummers Born (meaning They Must Have The Potential or Naturally Cut For Drumming).

My apology:

Maybe I should rephrase it to something like that - - Lets Assume that HardWork is a pre-requisite here (meaning all the drummers put in the same amount of time & effort - but BY-Nature there are just some Drummers who just can play exceptionally much more better than the others.....in a way they are much more outstanding in Drumming.

Eg..the late Edmond Branson was a very talented drummer etc..just as an example here.

 

[hi]

hmm i think it takes both? though if time was unlimited i think drummers can be made...

 

[rylche]

Talent is the natural ceiling you will hit with your drumming skill. It also may enable you to learn things faster. But so so so many people dont practice hard enough to hit the ceiling imposed by their talent.

So hard work also very impt!

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

I used to believed that - A drummer can be very very good if he truly put in all the hardwork into it....but nowadays something tells me that

Hardwork by itself will only make (most drummers) an average drummer someday...unless that drummer had the inborn potential/capabilities of a exceptionally good drummer.....

I had been pondering over this for quite a long time, asking myself the question. Oneday I asked my Instructor Mr. Tony Zee this question. I said "You have so many students and I know Jimmy Lee was one of your student before and I saw Jimmy played - he was real good"...I continue asking Tony "Is all your students this good?"...Tony answer me "NO...when Jimmy was his student at that time - He was already very talented compared to his other drum students...Jimmy learn exceptionally fast and play exceptionally well compare as against others of his students"....Jimmy did stood out a long time ago as a student drummer when he was young already...today he is also well acknowledge as one of Singapore Top Drummers.

It is from here, I conclude that - Those exceptionally good Drummers might Be Born To Drum...instead of Being Made.....and there are many of these drummers just to name a few eg my Instructor Tony Zee, Tama Goh, the late Edmond Branson Tama Goh Student and 2nd Zildjian Endorsee in Singapore)), Louis & his Nephew ( we call him Steve Gadd Of Singapore), Jonathon Fox of SSO...and they are all Professional playing drums full-time.

To be one of Singapore Best-Drummers...these people have the natural talent within themselves...I guess (It's my opinion)...I wonder if I am correct.

 

[kari_convention]

for me, there's no such thing as born drummer. all well known drummers nowadays are playing drums since their very young.. so i guess, they train or practice harder than anyone else. talent? they can come later.

 

[Funkifized]

Although i'd like to believe that hard work can transform anyone into a good drummer, the facts are pretty in-your-face: some people are just more adept at doing certain stuff. Some people are born to be able to easily solve complex math questions. Some might find that lame, but that's only because us regular folk can't even begin to comprehend those F-Maths questions.

There are definitely some people who are born with a natural ability to drum better, learn faster, and have better time than others. More importantly is that some people are born with a certain ATTITUDE... some have high confidence and it reflects in their playing. others are born lazy and hence whatever talent they have is useless.

and of course, some are just born with the inability to coordinate their limbs in drumset playing. the sad but harsh truth. I was born without the ability to solo over a left foot clave while some 8 year old kid i saw could do it easily. that's something you can't explain other than using the fact of innate talent.

 

[blurred]

dun fret too much alot of us can't do a solo over a left foot ostinato. i've seen very talented drummers not practice and sre just normal and really hard working ones excel.i honestly dun really know, dave weckl was he born a gd drummer or did he work his ass off, maybe both or maybe not. i always figured things came easy to weckl but i've read somewhere tht there was a huge hole in his practice studio where he wld just hit out of frustration because he cldn't handle the stuff gary chester use to give him.
i feel ur frustration funkified, i go through the "am i good enough" line all the time. sometimes it drives me and sometimes it shuts me down. i lose sight of why i'm playing alot of the times, sometimes i dunno and sometimes i feel i wldn't want to be doing anything else. if i can give the other guys in the band something to play with on ur worst day i feel i've done alright.

 

[kari_convention]

go thru Dennis Chambers website (or in his Pearl's site), and u may find his everyday exercise routine. Its very tough and i bet normal people cant do it. So... even him, still do tough exercise to just keep on what he is doing rite now.

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

I hope that those Awesome Drummers I've mentioned are actually "MADE" & not "BORN".....This way...it really motivate one to work exceptionally hard on Drumming to become one...someday....but this calls for a high Degree of Self-Disclipine, Stamina & a Great Passion & Obsession towards Drumming..

Am I a good Drummer (If I were to ask myself that question)...answer is no "I Sucks".....but I really feel so good knowing and realising the answer myself, cause I saw how these greats played....and it makes me realise DRUMMING IS DIFFICULT TO MASTER, and I have so much to buck-up.......

I think a pre-requsite to being a great drummer oneday is Ourself- our preserverence into practicing & disclipine"...but still this is never enough, cause we need to practice & develop drumming correctly, or else everything goes down the drain...This calls for "Learning Drumming From A Good & Experience Drum Instructor" to get all the BASICS correct....through time, acquiring all the correct techniques (which takes years)...we can be on our own then...and how well a drummer we becomes depends on our own creativity and musicality which is different on each and everyone of us - we develop our own style of playing then...

Because also time is required to improved in drumming...I see the facts that Younger drummer who start out early has a chance of becomming good in the future if they understand the above....But this is a sad news to me - cause I'm already 45 (an old man)...but Im keep trying and pushing myself - just doing my very best...at least I will lend somewhere better then nowhere in drumming.

I still find that many drummers thinks that Drumming is Easy and didn't realise the truth that it's hard to master it....this is sad....that's why many did not stay put in the beginning when they learn from an Instructor and stop taking lesson after 3 months or 2 years (of course I know it's not cheap)...but it's really very necessary in the early developmental stage to being a good drummer in the future. Many still equate SPEED = GOOD, which is not true....but there is a tendency for Beginners (even me myself at many a times wanting to play fast in all of my practices)...howver truth is speed takes times to developed...years maybe even...SOUND is what's most important as a beginner, getting it right, so it GROOVE with DYNAMICS & MUSICALITY. We can all see this - when we see different drummers playing the same thing eg a (Beat, Rythmn Patterns or Strokes). One Grooves better than the other.

Experience in playing is also very very important...that's why my Sifu says "Go and play with a Band".."It's An Experience Money Can't Buy"....cause it teach us to work with other Musicians.....so "Attitude" here is important beside gaining a real-life-experience into Drumming.

My Sifu is a good Drummer, so I asked him do you have an Instructor last time....He said "NO" but he has played Drums Professionally for 40 over years (since he is 60yrs old now)....so I also believed Professional Drummers who have the Experience in Drumming (Drumming As A Living) will most likely play much better than one that doesn't through time too.


PS Sorry I write so long...hope it's ok...and cheers ! (just my personal opinion)

 

[drummerboi]

I don't really believe as 'born' to play drums. Sometimes I feel drumming is not something you can achieve throughout a short period of time or rather there is no end in learning drums. I always and will still believe in a 'discipline' player. In this world , if you are discipline, you can succeed in everything you do. If talent comes along ,that will be a bonus in helping you. Thomas Lang will be an example of a very much 'discipline' player.

My 2 cents.

 

[kari_convention]

Rudimentaldrummer: great post from not so old man. 45 is just a beginning what!

 

[kuang89]

to me, having talent means tat a person can pick it up faster or play better in a short time, it's can be overcomed by hardwork

also having great talent is a double edged sword, cos if the person meets a difficulty, the hardworker will face it, the talented ones will feel the pinch cos he nv felt so owned...haha

 

[hi]

hmm i guess it's a mix of both? though hard work would make up for most of it...

it's an old quote but here goes:

genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration

so yup i think that kinda hints a conclusion

 

[Funkifized]

I hope that's true. But somehow, like singing, drumming's probably an innate talent too. Some people can train til their singing's passable or even good, but it'll never be able to compete with someone who was born with the voice of a god.

I guess the same rule applies for drumming. Someone like El Negro only comes once in a while.

 

[blurred]

i think in a why all of us have something special abt ur playing, some people have more and some people less, we just go to work on those lesser points. time is something tht i fine separates the men from the boys, some poeple are born with gd time and some people aren't. i've seen some kids just pick the sticks up and play with fairly gd time. some of my classmates have just such a nice time feel and natural groove without even really trying. those guys get the gigs like you won't believe, plus their fantastic readers as well. reading isn't a big thing in s'pore and i know alot of us cannot do it well or at all. but besides a gd time feel i rate reading a close second. sorry i'm ranting alittle, with all the technique in the world it wldn't matter cause when a semi pro to pro level band, they wld put a chart in front of u and say okie lets go at it. if u can't read the chart correctly no way in hell their goona ask u back. reading is something tht can be picked up without much talent either

 

[fgl]

Whether born or made - they all just march to a diffirent beat.

Having worked / gigged with some of th SG's and the region's top drummers including seasoned veterans like Tony Zee, Mike Mariano, Cedrick Cork, Boon Gee etc - I can tell you that all the truly great drummers "lays it on the plate" for the rest of the rythem section. They excel at the following:

1. Excellent "laid or a plate" intro & outro of songs. Basically knowing the song inside out or be a damm good 1st sight reader.

2. Keep it simple if the song calls for it - too many young upstarts OVERPLAY. Rolls to singnal verse / chorus changes or as written.

3. Lock & pocket with the bass player

4. TEMPO is very important otherwise the lead singer would be singing too fast or too slow - WE SINGERS HATE THAT!

5. Constantly aware of whats going on stage - e.g. "Non stop" songs, fast changes, on the spot improves etc etc...

6. Cool enough to be a "part" of the band and work as a unit and not behave as a "Super star" drummer out to impress his peers etc.

I love working with great drummers like them & many others who I have notmentioned...and I also absolutely hate working with drummers who dont give the above mentioned fundementals to the band (including some young upstart I have also worked with recently who think that they are so "it")

cheers :wink:

 

[d_boi]

yea

certainly more practise will make you better............

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

blurred

Those drummers that gets a Gig or Recording in most cases is because - They can Keep Time very well (not because they are flashy or super-fast player)....I assume here that all Drummers is able to read Chart well enough - as it is really not so difficult a thing. All Yamaha Students can read chart - it's literally very simple - even at Beginner Level.

Techniques does matter in fact...ask the drummers around here. How long does it takes for a Drummer to learn to read chart - maybe oneday or a couple of days. To learn to play using correct techniques takes months sometimes, and years even to develop to a reasonable speed using that particular techniques......So actually both are equally important (Chart Reading & Techniques)...but being able to read chart alone is not going to give drummers of gigs and recording, if we cannot make our drumming sound good, keep time & Groove ...Just my 2cent.

 

[davs]

practices makes betterment. A willing heart to learn is impt too.

 

[drum_hobbyist]

There must be some conclusion to this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aiuDQeyB9w