A true master would never call themselves a master, but rather an eternal student of the instrument. This is why I feel it’s important to always be studying,
learning, and taking lessons to learn a new aspect of the craft and add to our personal expression on the instrument. I have taken piano lessons for many years for this reason, as learning another instrument can help your drumming by working on your ear and widening your listening skills. Bass guitar, singing, dancing, martial arts etc., any lessons in these areas will improve your drumming! (Many years ago, I had fun taking 7 months of tap dancing lessons for this reason).
I am currently studying Indian rhythms on the Tabla. The Indian rhythmic tradition goes back many hundreds of years and has much to offer and to be applied on the drumset. This is just starting to be tapped into by various drummers much like Cuban rhythms were being applied to the drumset in the 1940’s and 50’s.
I believe it’s also important to work on yourself as a person just as much as working on the instrument itself; ‘The Kind Of Person You Are, Is The Kind Of Artist You Will Be’. Billy Cobham has said to ‘Think of the Drums as a Character Mirror’. Who you are as a person will come out on the instrument, and shape the stories you tell on the drums.
HERE ARE MY MAIN TEACHERS AND MENTORS:
