So is ANYONE capable of drumming?

deltadrummer1

Senior Member
Ok this will come across as being silly. But... suppose someone just decided that they wanted to learn to play the drums...and wanted to learn to be a pro....say..like the ace drummer, Dave Weckl !! If that person practiced enough all of the time, could they reach this goal? Obviously, some people are more musically inclined than other people..but do you think it's possible for the 'non-musical' folks to match the skill of a really talented, famous drummer? Maybe it depends if the person wants it bad enough? It's hard for me to believe that anyone...just anyone can learn to play like Weckl or Bobby Jarzombek...or anyone of that calibur...

This is sorta ridiculous...but i was just thinking....
 
Nature vs. Nurture

Who we are is determined in part by our heredity (nature) and a part of our environment (nurture).

No two combinations can be equal, but many share a remarkable amount of similarities. Work ethic for example, a good ear, accurate time, problem solving and critical thinking skills.

I can never hard practice enough to be Weckl or Jarzombek. All I can do is practice hard enough to be ME.
 
My assertion is that if anybody practiced like Weckl they could probably get somewhere near being as good as him.

But that's a bit like saying that if anybody was as good as Weckl they could be as good as him - because a lot of what makes these technique-demon guys so capable technically is their ability to focus on technical details for hours and hours, every day, for years. I can't do that. Not to that extent, anyway - I can do maybe three to four hours on technical matters and exercises in a day. Any more and I start to go utterly insane.

The difference between you and me and guys like Bobby, Dave and so forth is probably not that they have some amazing genetic-freak abilities that make them innately able to play like that. If genetics comes into play anywhere I'd suspect it'd have more to do with their ability to focus and specialise to that degree, plus being good learners and having a good eye for detail and nuance.

It's sort of like the whole getting rich thing. The steps required to actually achieve being pretty damn well off financially are not that complex, but only certain kinds of people have the dedication to the idea that they will work through all the obstacles and achieve their goal.
 
hahaha two very good answers cat and derek.

i heard a pro drummer (i can't remember who now) once say that he had to practice for ridiculous amounts of time to get the relatively simple concepts that his peers seemed to absorb with ease. determination is the real nature needed by a drummer...more than talent.

also...easy come, easy go. if you dedicate vast amounts of time in drumming its less likely that you will take it for granted and more likely that you will continue to work on it. like weight loss. people with home gym equipment face a challenge because they have laid out their cash in the beginning and can get off the aparatus any time they like and sink into the couch. but those who pay a monthly gym fee are wracked by the guilt of paying for nothing if they don't go for any length of time...and then when they are at the gym they make the trip worthwhile by drilling themselves through it. so with drumming, putting in the effort increases your determination as your account of time spent increases.

however, there are people who are rhythmically deaf. people who cannot spot the subtle differences in the space between notes. there are also people with real co-ordination disorders. rare and extreem these cases, but there are shades of grey between them and for instance mr.weckl.

j
 
This is a tough call to make. Who am I to say that anyone person will never reach a specific goal? However, I do feel that there are some people who just get music, and some people who don't. I will never understand bio-chemistry. That's the way it is. But my friend Kelly who is studying bio-chemistry will never understand overtones and thier properties. Some people get it, and some people don't.
 
In a word...NO!

Just as not everyone who picks up a tennis racket will ever be Roger Federer or decides to play hockey will ever be Wayne Gretzky, etc., etc.. Weckl is among the best in the world at what he does.

I would say that with years of dedicated practice we can all become fairly competent players and that is the most the majority of us can ever hope for.
 
photon said:
In a word...NO!

Just as not everyone who picks up a tennis racket will ever be Roger Federer or decides to play hockey will ever be Wayne Gretzky, etc., etc.. Weckl is among the best in the world at what he does.

I would say that with years of dedicated practice we can all become fairly competent players and that is the most the majority of us can ever hope for.


I have to agree, as politically correct as it is to say "you can do anything you set your mind too" unfortunately that is not the case. I equate drumming to golf, which is my other passion and I know guys who have been playing for 20 years and are still 30 handicaps. Just like drumming I know guys who started playing in highschool 19 years ago and still are just slightly better than they were then and they practice. I must say they weren't very good to begin with, but they just love to play. They just do not have a sense of grooving, time keeping or playing for the music first, these concepts are lost on them. I guess the question should be is anyone capable of being a good drummer? More than just drumming, alot of people drum but how many are really good at it?

I saw Mr. Weckl last October and missed him last Thursday in CT, but I am still amazed at watching him play live and how effortless he makes it look.
 
Hmm...thanks for the responses guys. I was confused first about some things and for some reason that silly question popped into my mind.. "are people limited?" and "is everyone capable"

Very interesting responses though..
 
FWIW, I believe there are people that will NEVER be able to be as good. Like Nutha Jason said, some people are born rythmically deaf. I believe you can't learn or teach rhythm.....it is just something that ticks inside of you. It's not something that can be rope learned or written down....it's intangible.

Just like the guy who cant dance at a wedding. He can hear the music, but can't FEEL it.
 
yeah. it is an interesting question.

i guess its like sprinting. you can train, under a great coach, take the correct diet and even do steroids...for years. BUT if you are 4foot tall you cannot hope to beat a 6foot athlete. at least that's a physical analogy.

mentally ...hmmm. you could spend 20 years at a leading school with the best teachers and extra classes. you can have a perfect home and school life that will aid your studies and want for nothing in so far as the tools and requirements of a great education is concerned. BUT if you have an IQ of 90 you will not be able to lead the feild in quantum physics one day.

drumming is mental and physical. weckl is the equivalent of lindford christy and steven hawkins. er...lindford's running and steven's mind not the other way around (which ironically would represent the worst of drummers)

j
 
Fardunda said:
FWIW, I believe there are people that will NEVER be able to be as good. Like Nutha Jason said, some people are born rythmically deaf. I believe you can't learn or teach rhythm.....it is just something that ticks inside of you. It's not something that can be rope learned or written down....it's intangible.

Just like the guy who cant dance at a wedding. He can hear the music, but can't FEEL it.
YES all can learn how to play and perform music if they are willing to do the work.​
 
Like Derrek said, it's a case of nature versus nurture.

You can practice every hour god sends on the technicalities of drummimng, but this will only make you a good drummer.

Truly great drummers are born with an abundance of natural talent, and out of those that are born with it, only a few seem to realise their potential and persue this path down the road of hard work and dedication.

so to sumarise:
Talent isn't everything without hard work but hard work won't get you there on it's own

I will never be a great drummer, all I can strive to be is a good drummer
 
NUTHA JASON said:
can you back this opinion FunkTional Art? maybe you just haven't yet met someone who is deaf to rhythm.

j
Hi, I had written a more in depth post but lost it somehow. Now having said that I can back up this statement through my own experience with my teaching practice. many many time I've had an individual brand new tp drumming who has come to me for instruction yet thay have doubts as to wether they are a candidate for learning drums. When I've taken these students through some basic rythmic concepts and exercises they can hardly play or clap 1/4 notes in a steady time for two bars at 50 - 60 bpm. I tell them what Tom Brechtlein told a room full of us drummers at a clinic he was doing. he said "YOU CAN DO THIS TOO" Please understand what I'm saying here is that Everyone of my students who is williong to put in the work will experience various degrees of success. If they are passionate and self disiplined thay will perform at a competent level.
The bottom line is that you get out of it what you put into it. Everyone has their own learning curve. Not everyone is going tp play like Buddy Rich but then again who of us can, yet we all can experience the joy and art of drumming when we're laying down a 2 beat groove or learning how to play a simple rudimental march. It's all about having serious fun while learning. Isn't that what we all do here on the forum.
Hope this answers and clarifies my staement earlier.

I believe and know that somone can be taught how to listen and grow.

“The key thing that tells you what’s happening
is listening.” Steve Gadd



Best Wishes,
 
I think anyone can but some of us are just born with rhythm skills. Like those kids who are shown on some of the videos.
 
This is an interesting thread.

The first question that came to mind upon reading it is: are we equating 'being a good drummer' with 'having good technique' here?

but, I'm not even going to go there, hee hee (puts devil horns away for a moment). For sake of this thread, I'll assume we're just talking about technique.

I've thought about this a lot over the years and, in terms of technique, I think there is a talent factor, but I think it's a small one. I'd go so far as to say that 80%-90% of what people call talent is really desire. People who are labeled as having a lot of talent are often people who really, really want to be very skilled drummers -not just people who want to to play for fun and love it, but really feel a burning desire to excell at it. it's along the lines of "where there's a will, there's a way," in my opion. If you want that technique bad enough, you'll probably find a way to develop it. (the fellow who was a burn victim and now a successful pro drummer comes to mind -the guy who had to tape the sticks to his hands before several reconstructive surguries. I know there was a post about him on here a while back, but I don't remember his name and couldn't find it. Incredibly inspiring, though.)

Of course there are exceptions -there are the naturally super-gifted and the rhythm deaf, but I think that's the extreme minority. I think people who are completely rhythm deaf are probably about as common as people who are as naturally adept as buddy rich -they're out there, but there are also people out there holding winning lottery tickets. Most of the time, you can assume anyone who just bought a lottery ticket isn't one of those people.

A lot of people have told me that they could never play the drums because they "have no rhythm -I can't dance -I can't even clap in time with music" which I usually respond to with "yes you do, everybody has a natural sense of rhythm" -of course the reply is "oh yeah, well not me." to which I usually ask "really? what's your phone number?" ...and, I always get a response in the perfect phone-number rhythm which, in the US at least, is 1-2-3(rest)4-5-6(rest)7-8-9-10 -why not 1-2(rest)3(rest)4-5-6-7-8(rest)9-10? There's one rhythm they already know. There're other examples too -songs like 'happy birthday' that everyone seems to know the rhythm to, or even walking at a constant speed -not something that could easily be done (or done at all, really) with no sense of rhythm. People just need to learn to get in touch with it and to manipulate that sense they already have.

...aaaanyway, I've rambled on enough here. just thought I'd toss that out on the table.
 
Auger said:
I usually ask "really? what's your phone number?" ...and, I always get a response in the perfect phone-number rhythm which, in the US at least, is 1-2-3(rest)4-5-6(rest)7-8-9-10 -why not 1-2(rest)3(rest)4-5-6-7-8(rest)9-10? There's one rhythm they already know. There're other examples too -songs like 'happy birthday' that everyone seems to know the rhythm to, or even walking at a constant speed -not something that could easily be done (or done at all, really) with no sense of rhythm. People just need to learn to get in touch with it and to manipulate that sense they already have.

extremely good explanation Auger........

once I had asked one classical trained Veena ( a type of Indian string music instrument) player who had played in the biggest possible places in Chicago/USA..... that why do me and general public find 4/4 rhythms more palatable then odd time signatures ( btw besides 4/4, general people in India like 6/8 signature also very much) .... he responded that he is not sure but maybe because we are exposed to such 4/4 signatures from childhood ........

so in short so called genius' like Trilok Gurtu, Tito Puente et al are what they are because they practiced hard and also they had the good fortune to get exposure to various form of music and rhythm from childhood which shaped their mind ........

probably this explains why Tibetian music is liked by people from Tibet only while westerners do not understand a bit about what is going on ..... (if you haven't heard authentic music from Tibet then hear it .. you will freak out .. ..... am NOT talking about Buddhist hymns in monastaries btw)
 
I know of no-name drummers who are as good as, if not better, than Dave Weckl. Natural ability is key, but it is also dependent upon lots of experience and practice.
 
deltadrummer1 said:
Ok this will come across as being silly. But... suppose someone just decided that they wanted to learn to play the drums...and wanted to learn to be a pro....say..like the ace drummer, Dave Weckl !! If that person practiced enough all of the time, could they reach this goal? Obviously, some people are more musically inclined than other people..but do you think it's possible for the 'non-musical' folks to match the skill of a really talented, famous drummer? Maybe it depends if the person wants it bad enough? It's hard for me to believe that anyone...just anyone can learn to play like Weckl or Bobby Jarzombek...or anyone of that calibur...

This is sorta ridiculous...but i was just thinking....
Anyone is capable of being an awsome famous drummer (unless they are a vegetable or somthing like that or just incapable of drumming because of the stress on the body). But its not about how long you practice, but how you practice. If you practice for 5 hours a day, but practice poorly, you wont get anywhere. But if practice good material that you are capable of playing (w/ a little work) for one hour, it would be better than 5 hours of bs.
 
Back
Top