The One Thing You Need to Possess in Order to Succeed on the Drums

Here’s the big thing I’m alluding to in the title… the one thing you need to possess in order to succeed on the drums…

It’s curiosity.

What do I mean?

Think back to when you were a kid. (This has been a fun daydreaming exercise lately, seeing as how life seemed so much easier back then!) Remember when you had an interest in something. Maybe it was the drums… Maybe it was drawing… Maybe it was rock polishing… Maybe it was digging holes in the back yard. What was the driving force behind all of these activities?

Curiosity.

What does curiosity do? It drives you to try things, to experiment, and to explore. As a kid you were curious about everything. The whole world was new to you, and everything was an exciting adventure.

Think back to the first time you listened to a record you liked. I bet that was a huge adventure of an experience. Remember the first time you listened to music and were emotionally moved by it. Maybe you were in middle school or high school, and you just remember jamming out to an album and realizing you now had a favorite band.

I remember how I’d be sitting in school thinking about my favorite record, playing it back in my head. I just couldn’t wait to get done and get on my drums and jam. My newfound curiosity with this artist had my mind and ear spinning, eager to listen more and learn something new.

I think we lose a lot of that childhood curiosity as we get older. Sure, “getting older” is relative, and I’m only 26. But I’ve experienced enough of adult life by now to feel like I’m a different person than I was ten years ago. But every once and a while, I’ll hear a song that takes me back.

Does that ever happen to you? - Where you hear a song or album that came out back when you were 13, and it revives this feeling of excitement that you just don’t get when you listen to music coming out now? You may instantly know what that nostalgic song or album is - the one that immediately floods you with memories and takes you back to when you were first getting excited about music.

Here’s the point I’m getting at today. We’re at a time in history right now where we need a distraction. We need something to be curious about - besides the future of the world. We need something to sit and ponder - besides the outcome of our job. And it just so happens that one of the best distractions there is happens to be the most important driving force you can ever have behind you when learning the drums!

If you possess curiosity about your instrument, you’re going to stop at nothing to learn everything you can, and you’re going to grow rapidly. If you possess curiosity, you’re going to listen intently to music, asking yourself “why” about everything you hear and see. If you possess curiosity, you won’t need a teacher or a YouTube channel to motivate you to grow in your skill. Your own curiosity will be what gets you excited every day, and that curiosity will steer you into the practice room so that you can accomplish your biggest, most exciting goals every day.

Choose to be curious. Or rather, let yourself be curious. Let yourself go back to when you were most curious about the drums and music. Dig back into that. Find that deep, adventurous motivation that can come from nowhere else.

Be curious, because that’s literally the most important thing you need in order to succeed on the drums. Practice-goals, YouTube lessons, method books, helpful PDFs, drum tabs, sheet music… All those things are worth nothing if you lack the motivation to really apply yourself and grow. 99% of the time, that very motivation comes purely from the music.

Go back and find the music that excites you, and you’ll have something wholesome and worthwhile to add some lighthearted excitement to your life right now. Not to mention you’ll make a whole bunch of progress on the drums.

Happy listening, and happy jamming!

God Bless,

Stephen