Do you ever get tired of it all ?

I never get tired of the music. But my life is a never ending series of load in and load outs of heavy gear.

If I just could have been a writer and a flute player.

Instead I'm a photographer and a drummer.
 
Since I started practicing heavily and generally working hard towards where I want to be as a musician, I haven't thought about gear and stuff like that at all. No problems with my set-up, and no desire to change anything. Just focus on getting better man.


YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!
 
I actually enjoy tuning my drums most of the time except for problem venues where you just can't dial in a certain drum, and then it's just frustrating.

I have my set up down, and little has changed in over a decade, and now with memory locks and a rug it's not hard at all. The only problem I have is switching between 6.5" depth snares to 5", or from a 12x9 to a 13x10, but it's not a big deal.

I do get tired of how long it takes to pack up because usually I have to start immediately after the gig and the rest of the guys go talk to the females and drink, and then pack up and we usually finish at the same time. I always laugh when we all start breaking down together and they are standing around for 30 minutes waiting on me.
 
I'm always tinkering with drum placement, how many drums to the kit, cymbals, sticks, where to put the cowbell...and it goes on and on and on. Non-drummers can never understand this.

I've stayed up until almost 2 am in the morning just jacking with where my toms should go, or at what level should my floor toms be to my snare. Should I tilt my snare stand outward? What happens if I put my ride cymbal THIS way? Should I move my crash two inches to the left? What happens when I move my hats closer, or out more? Nope, it never ends!!

I envy trumpet players, or guitar players, even piano players. All horn players have to do is put the mouthpiece in and start blowing. Piano players, just sit down and play.

Yes -- that is what I'm talking about.

Since I only have a limited amount of time to spend on drumming, it gets really frustrating when you have to spend it doing all of those things instead of just playing. This is the primary reason that I have stripped my kit down to a very minimal setup - less drums to tune and less stuff to position. But even when I do that, sometimes it still seems to never end.

I made the original post after I had just spent a frustrating hour just trying to get my hi hat in a comfortable position and to get rid of snare buzz produced by the kick.

Anyway, I guess that is just the life of a drummer :)
 
Everytime you sit down at a kit, you're a little bit different from the last time you sat behind it. The location may have changed, your mood, what you had to eat, how much you're getting paid, what else is on your mind... the list goes on. So everytime I sit behind my kit, I'm always moving something to fit in a better spot for me *that time*. What may have been a perfect spot for that secondary crash yesterday is a bit too close today. A floor tom might need to move a bit closer. Move the hihat a bit to the left. It really does never end, but that's part of the beauty of it, the fact that you'll never be bored with the what ifs.

As long as you enjoy the playing, and how you improve, the little changes won't bug you. There is no perfect setup, and there is no "fast track" to success.
 
I don't get tired of the kit or drumming per se, I may feel tired and exhausted after working 8 , 9 , or 10 hours a day at my real job and come home and just want to sit in front of the TV and veg, but I don't tire of drums and drumming.

What I do get tired of and continually complain about is other musician's attitude towards drummers and drumming. 9 out of 10 times it's guitar players, their attitude, ego, etc.
It seems like the best ones who can really play and have tons of music theory, never say a negative remark about drums or drummers. It's the ones who only know 3 chords and have been playing maybe a year or so that think they know everything and can tell drummers how to play, when to play, what to play, etc.
 
Do you ever get tired of all the stuff that goes along with being a drummer ? I love to play, but sometimes I really get tired of all the subjective things that you have to deal with - endless tuning variations and placement / positioning options.

I seem to be always chasing the ever elusive perfect sound and perfect ( for me ) placement options. Sometimes I really envy guitar and keyboard players. You just buy your instrument and tune it based on specific objective criteria and then play.

Alright, so you CARE!!

That's a bad thing HOW?????

If you DIDN'T give a shoit, would that be better??

Of if you were STUPID and blissful in your ignorance would that be better??

I think you know the answers to all of those questions and THAT will be the answer to your ORIGINAL question.
 
I must admit...I have found myself envious of a harmonica players from time to time! :>)
 
I must admit...I have found myself envious of a harmonica players from time to time! :>)

or pure vocalists. they have to carry around exactly nothing! and they never have to work on their skills. singing is one of those things where you either have it or you don't. and they're always the big star in the front. *sigh!* i wish i could sing!
 
Sometimes when i practiced alot in the past week(s) there comes this day when nothing seems to go well on drums and i mess up everything. Then i usually just take a break of a few days until i get excited to play again.
 
I love the drums and drumming, and feel very lucky every day I wake up and know that I can go and play the drums and improve at it.
A big part of it for me is also that drummers in general are great people who love to share with each other, and the evidence is things like drummerworld!!

As far as gear and setups, there is a lot to lug around... that's for sure. I do wish that part was easier, and maybe someday it will be.
 
I can't wait for the day when I know exactly how I want each thing tuned (ie favorite settings), so I don't spend hours tinkering. It really eats up a lot of time, especially when heads don't seat properly for some reason...
 
or pure vocalists. they have to carry around exactly nothing! and they never have to work on their skills. singing is one of those things where you either have it or you don't. and they're always the big star in the front. *sigh!* i wish i could sing!

Ha! Like our singer. However, he's a full-on extrovert and since he loves company he drives me to band practices AND helps carry in an out of the car. He figures it means he doesn't have to go to the gym as often.

Fixxxer, in the late 70s I was in a blues/RnB band and the harmonica player just brought in his bag of harps. I admit I was jealous.

Not jealous of you, TTNW - drums AND photography. With that level of masochism you'd fit in well at the Hellfire Club :)
 
Haha... Nope! i never get tired of it... If I could play all day every day and then mess around with my gear / setup at night - I'd be a happy man.
 
I do get tired of taking my drums somewhere (specifically a college dorm) to jam with some friends, and the room fills with people who want to play my drums.

You all suck, get away from my drums, we're trying to jam here.
 
man i know what your saying, its such a pain to always have to tune your drums and it takes forever, and placement man ive tried so many different positions, its like somtimes you know something is uncomfortable but you dont exactly know what to do, but hey at least were not piano players imagine having to tune one of those old grand pianos, but at least for me its the funnest instrument to play ive tried bass but it was to boring the drums satisfy my need to be constanly moving around

There are 264 strings on your average 88 key piano. Having said that, at least you only have to tune the strings to a set note, and tuning one string doesn't put another completely out like on a drum. Yeah i know exactly what you mean about drumming, it's not just tuning and positioning either. I can't stand the fact that i spend £10 on a head or pair of sticks and within a few minutes they're already dented and scratched. Honestly, i still can't tune a drum properly, it still sounds awful. Drumming can be good, but i can't stand all the crap that comes with it.
 
Unless you are playing regularly try this experiment.

For the next 4 to 6 weeks, you are aloud to tinker with your set up, but...

Once you make changes to your setup you must live with it for a week. You can't make any changes for 7 days. Learn to use your kit this way and see what you can get out of it... Also, spice this up by setting up your set like a performing drummer that you really respect. Again, You must keep your set in this position for 7 days before you can try something else.

You can learn a lot about different drummers and their approach just by setting your drums up like they do_Only you have to give it enough time for you to really get the sense of what they are feeling. A lot of emotion comes from our physiology. The way we set our drums up, of course, affects the physical way we approach playing. And, if we set our kit up like someone else and drum with the same posture they use, we can begin to think just like they think and feel just like they feel.

This is a very fun and educational exercise.
 
Do you ever get tired of all the stuff that goes along with being a drummer ? I love to play, but sometimes I really get tired of all the subjective things that you have to deal with - endless tuning variations and placement / positioning options.

I seem to be always chasing the ever elusive perfect sound and perfect ( for me ) placement options. Sometimes I really envy guitar and keyboard players. You just buy your instrument and tune it based on specific objective criteria and then play.

I've played guitar for 25 years....and there's plenty screwing around with your equipment, to get your stuff together just the way you want it....if you've ever owned a Stratocaster, just trying to keep the damm thing in tune is a full-time job. I've always noodled with my equipment (being forced to do so, because the stock set-ups don't work)... I kind of enjoy the process.... and I've learned alot about what works and doesn't. And, P.S....once you start tinkering with things.....well, best of luck to you. Maybe you just have a good ear..lol......or maybe OCD?
 
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