Anyone else self-taught?

lastditch · #41 (**permalink**) 02-28-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by givemethebeat

'Cut it', can mean the difference between well paid work and low paid work.
Everyone has some excuse, bad family, no money, too far to travel , no tutors, this and that. you say "you may have been a more polished and technical drummer", this is the reason I post stuff. Some people are happy to be average.
Its great that you can play and entertain people and I am sure that you are good at it too.You also offer some good advice.
Everyone has a place in this world and I am certainly not here to put anyone down.
We make our own choices.
We create our own future

Not here to put anyone down????Hey everyone go look at my newly posted thread in the videos forum.giveme you are silly.

lastditch · #42 (**permalink**) 02-28-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UPSTROKE

Interesting answer. How do you feel that being self taught makes what you do on drums different or better than what other drummers do ????

it has nothing to do with being better than other drummers.I don't get caught up in what others do.It has to do with what I want to do with my playing and not being told that I must proceed in this fashion and in this order and I should hold the stick like this and on and on.If you are not smart enough to figure out the workings of basic rhythm,independence or counting time and such,then you are not a naturally gifted drummer.No biggie,ask givemethebeat and have him tell you what is good and what is not.He says I'm terrible.And he's always talking about "A good teacher".I'll stick to being on my own.

UPSTROKE · #43 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 02:38 PM

WHOA! Please don't bite me lastditch. My question was to get a dialog started
about what you are doing with your music. Givemethebeat & I probably have one concern in common with anyone who says they are self taught. That would be "bad habits". The one that really concerns us would be "GRIP". It's SO easy to fall into the habit of holding the sticks wrong. This is NOT about doing what everyone tells you to do or playing like everyone else. Bad habits like grip will come back to haunt you in the years ahead. Then they are REALLY hard to correct. One day you may find that you can't get your roll fast & smooth while still being totally relaxed. There are a lot of little things that can jump up & bite you later on. I don't have the right to tell you or anyone else what or how to play. I just want you to be successful at it.
I'm also self taught. But I got my hands on a couple of beginners books early on
& was able to correct some of my bad habits before they got to be a real problem. Truly we are just concerned for your good musical future.

DrummerXXX · #44 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 02:48 PM

well can you give some sites from were you learned ?

lastditch · #45 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UPSTROKE

WHOA! Please don't bite me lastditch. My question was to get a dialog started
about what you are doing with your music. Givemethebeat & I probably have one concern in common with anyone who says they are self taught. That would be "bad habits". The one that really concerns us would be "GRIP". It's SO easy to fall into the habit of holding the sticks wrong. This is NOT about doing what everyone tells you to do or playing like everyone else. Bad habits like grip will come back to haunt you in the years ahead. Then they are REALLY hard to correct. One day you may find that you can't get your roll fast & smooth while still being totally relaxed. There are a lot of little things that can jump up & bite you later on. I don't have the right to tell you or anyone else what or how to play. I just want you to be successful at it.
I'm also self taught. But I got my hands on a couple of beginners books early on
& was able to correct some of my bad habits before they got to be a real problem. Truly we are just concerned for your good musical future.

Sorry upstroke,your buddy givemethebeat has gotten me all riled up on these forums.I fully understand where you are coming from and apologize if my reply seemed tart.I feel if you have a "problem" that you can't get straight,be it grip or whatever then consult a pro.I haven't had to.I realized early on in my playing that I was never going to be perfect.I have always just tried to be in the setting I wanted,playing music I enjoy with people I enjoy.Mission accomplished.Sure,being self taught I don't read tab,have bad posture and grip, and don't know much theory.But on the other hand being self taught has allowed me to be the player I am on my terms.It does feel good to owe my skill to noone but myself.So to sum up,I guess I don't think being self taught makes me any different or better,just happy.lol.Thank you for being able to get your point across without blatant negativity.

UPSTROKE · #46 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 11:23 PM

One more comment lastditch, then I'll leave this thing alone. PLEASE, don't misunderstand what I am trying to say. There are many good (scratch that)
EXCELLENT drummers that have NEVER taken a lesson. Example; I received my first drum lesson at age 22. I started playing when I was 6. By the time I received my first lesson I had already opened for EVERY country music star that came thru Seattle. Ringling Brothers circus had tried to hire me at age 13. I had played in Mississippi with Lawrence Welks keyboard player for a year.
(no bubbles) just Jazz. Worked for strippers in New Orleans & on-& on & on. I was very fortunate. Most of all I had worked very hard educating myself in the art of playing drums. Hell yes I made a lot of mistakes. But I found & corrected them by myself. The only real point of this entire saga is that us older drummers who have been down a lot of roads are just trying to look out for you. You dam right you don't need to take any lessons from anybody. Just be careful about what you are doing. PLEASE ask for any help I can give you ANYTIME!!!

UPSTROKE · #47 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 11:43 PM

Hello Drummer XXX;
I would be happy to refer you to one of the best sites in the world. Not only can you learn more than you ever imagined, The cost is very reasonable.
ANSWER; Your bedroom, basement, garage, or any where else that you can get away with making a lot of noise. There is one very basic requirement though--You will need a very cooperative parent or guardian to put up with all of this racket. JUST DO IT!!!

mouse · #48 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 03:36 AM

"We make our own choices, choose our own future", well said.
It is good to tap into every opportunity to learn something,even if it is something you aren't interested in as it may be useful some day in your career as a drummer. Though i am self taught i have listened to as many styles of music as possible and attended as many clinics, live bands, shows, gear promotions, etc, as possible to gain knowledge, improve myself, meet fellow muso's that can help (even go along to guitarist things and get their angle on drummers). The more tricks you get for your bag, the better a magician you will be. It also helps to get more opprtunity to work and more importantly opportunity play with a variety of musicians ( who you can learn heaps from).
Watching other drummers is great, learn from their good and bad points and be critical of yourself. If you can get a good tutor,certainly you should go for it, it is correct to be corrected and it is also good to be versatile and be able to accept change and be ready for change in this interesting and fun game. I call this a continuous improvement program. It is a good idea to keep a reference notebook with tricks you pick up, lessons, thoughts, tips, concepts, goals, challenges, wish lists etc,etc.
First 10 years of my drumming i played rock and didn't want to know anything about latin, jazz , different time signatures etc but by broadening my mind and skills i now i can play most styles proficiantly. With no tutor available i nicked as much as i could off others and it certainly has helped, sure if i had a tutor there is a likely chance things would have fallen into place easier. I still don't see a point whether some one has cut it or not, we are all different and have different perspectives.

lastditch · #49 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 11:35 AM

ok just to clarify...drumming is NOT the number one priority in my life.It never has been.I have an 11 year old son,a beautiful wife and a career.So i guess drumming comes in 4th.I have never sought to make great amounts of money,I have never looked to my drumming to end up a career.It is a passion I have,kinda like a deeply rooted hobby that will never fade.But I don't think its as important to me as it is to some of you guys.

givemethebeat · #50 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 12:05 PM

One of the best hobbies is drums. You can play them, pull them apart, lose bits find bits, have the dog eat bits, then put them back together again and play on.
Drummers are a unique entity. I like unique.