Anyone just play "for the fun of it?"

Not sure why I play. I'm like a golfer who slams the putter into the green and hurls the clubs at the caddy ... perennially incensed at the injustice of a life where I don't groove like Bernard Purdie.

... but I keep doing it for those rare moments when it's all happening. Fun?? Drumming is serious business, mon!
 
My wife told me I have too many hobbies. Except I wasn't there to hear it since I was out riding my mountain bike.
 
It should always be about the fun, even if you do end up making some money.

Likewise, if it ever stops being fun, no amount of money will change that.

Bermuda
Agreed! I don't think you could ever play & succeed if you didn't enjoy it. Back in the day, I reached a stage where I lost my love of playing. The playing work itself was tedious, & I also got shit on by two people I thought I could trust. They were industry "friends", so that hurt. I walked away for a very long time. If I'd still enjoyed it, despite the struggles & treachery, I would have continued.

Then fast forward to today. Trust me, if I didn't immensely enjoy partnering in a drum company, there's no way I'd do it. As a straight forward commercial opportunity, it must be almost the last business you'd consider investing time & money into. I've run a few companies, so I should know.

Then there's my band work. It's purely an enjoyment based deal, even though we do quite well out of it. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be doing that either. First off, I'd be too disappointed in my own standard of playing. It's my own fault, I don't practice, & that tells me that despite my enjoyment, I don't take it or myself too seriously. Second, if I factor in all the costs & hours worked, it's hardly an attractive rate of pay, even on a part time basis.

So yes, enjoyment is absolutely at the root of everything I do in drumming & drum business. Without it, I would just walk away, exactly as I did over 25 years ago. You're on this rock once!
 
Like many others have shared, the only reason I keep this going is because it's fun. Once it's no longer fun, game is over for me. There are too many other things I have to do whether or not they are fun. This isn't one of those things

There are way too many other great benefits from this besides fun though.

It will remain fun for me as long as my income doesn't rely on the income I generate from this as well.
 
I would dare say that most members here are not even gigging- the members that post the most are but the average member is not. Thoughts?

Personally I am a few years ahead of you OP- kids are 6/8 and I drum in my basement WITH my 8 year old so keep that sunlite kit so you can just let them have at it. Nothing better than live music and if you can make it with your kids/family well then, it doesnt get any better. Also have the occasional jam session on a sat/sun with a friend too.

Maybe an E-kit for quiet practice after bedtime would help and then you can have 2 in case the oldest wants to learn.

I have the oldest Mapex kit that I bought at a yard sale for $90 and it sounds soooo good. Original coated heads on it too. Good cymbals matter- drums not so much (you could do better than what you have but dont sweat it).
 
I only do it for fun...but I have to admit, sometimes my frustration - with the damned things! ;) - does get me down...
 
I play drums for fun. If you want me to schlep my drums across town (if I'm lucky), set them up, and tear them down, that's gonna cost you.
 
More than fun, I do it for the challenge. I like learning. I get my fun at the gigs. At home, I like to learn and grow. I find that rewarding. So it's not fun per se at home, it's more of a satisfaction thing that I earn.
Drums can be anything you want them to be. A few times a year, I will play along to CD's of music I like at home. That's about as fun as I get at home. Home playing is all about practicing stuff I can't do yet, which I get a lot of satisfaction from. Fun? Not in the sense of Yippee! Weeeee! I let that out during gigs.
 
Like many others have shared, the only reason I keep this going is because it's fun. Once it's no longer fun, game is over for me. There are too many other things I have to do whether or not they are fun. This isn't one of those things

There are way too many other great benefits from this besides fun though.

It will remain fun for me as long as my income doesn't rely on the income I generate from this as well.

read this cats sig ^^
 
More than fun, I do it for the challenge. I like learning. I get my fun at the gigs. At home, I like to learn and grow. I find that rewarding. So it's not fun per se at home, it's more of a satisfaction thing that I earn.
Drums can be anything you want them to be. A few times a year, I will play along to CD's of music I like at home. That's about as fun as I get at home. Home playing is all about practicing stuff I can't do yet, which I get a lot of satisfaction from. Fun? Not in the sense of Yippee! Weeeee! I let that out during gigs.


I agree with you, Larry, 100%. I have to be able to enjoy myself, but I'm (like most of us, I dare-to-say) self-critical and I enjoy the idea of being as good as I can be. The factor that really keeps me going is that I love music, and all of the instruments that make it amazing to behold...and I guess, that's what makes it fun!
 
I play primarily for fun, but the fun of playing in a band with friends. If I wasn't playing in a band, it wouldn't give me enough back to continue. And when it becomes no fun to play in the band I'm in then I will cease, and do other stuff with my time. It's all about the band for me.

Professionally...no. Never have and not good enough quite frankly although we're currently producing good originals music which is getting some local/regional radio play.
 
I would dare say that most members here are not even gigging- the members that post the most are but the average member is not. Thoughts?.....

Been there done that for me regarding gigging. I've done thousands, not so much any more. I'd say I gig up to 10 times per year. Purely by choice.
 
Strictly a hobby for me, I like tinkering around with them just about as much as playing.

I hear you on this one. I putz around with the drums a lot. Tuning and retuning, trying out different arrangements, etc. a lot of this is because I can't play when the kids are sleeping which ironically is the best time to play.

I did look into getting an ekit as was suggested by another poster here but after researching it I discovered I probably need to spend close to a grand to get a decent kit. I'm not so sure I wouldn't rather save that for upgrading my acoustic kit while spending my time practicing on the practice kit I put together.

Thanks for all the responses everyone.
 
I play for fun. I get a lot of paying gigs and accept full responsibility if my full time band happens to go into "over time." But if for some reason I never get a paid job drumming again, I'd still practice a few times a week and mess around with my kit on a daily basis. I'm just genuinely happy around drums and equipment. Even cheapo' drum kits get me excited if they're tuned up and lookin' nice. I suppose I consider myself as more of a collector and appreciator of drums, rather than a drummer. I can't do anything special on the drums - in fact, if you're the type of drummer who considers fast double bass, blast beats, and complex fills neccesary for being a "good drummer", than you'd think I was TERRIBLE.
 
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