Ahoy!
I'm back with another free lesson, and this week it's a little philosophy/self-talk.
Have you heard the term "growth mindset"?
It sounds really good on a button or a bumper sticker. "I'm not going to let my ego get involved. I'm not going to get attached to how good I am. I'm only interested in learning."
Nice. If you're a complete beginner, or a wisened veteran, you can maybe pull that off.
If you're anywhere in "the dip" - which is to say anything other than a total beginner or world-beater, good luck with that.
With drums, I'm currently in a spot where I'm surprised by how bad I am less frequently these days. Maybe that's one definition of success. A reasonably clear picture of how you sound to others.
In jiujitsu, however...damn.
As you'll see in [the video], my friend Hardcore is able to crush me like a bug. And he's half my size. You just see me flopping around like a suffocating fish.
And here's the surprising thing: I felt pretty good in that roll.
Today's video is about the rude awakenings we get when we think we're at a certain level, then we see some tape that...knocks us back down to earth.
And that moment came for me with drums in a big way circa 2010/2011.
As I explain in the video, I'd already been playing gigs, I'd long since graduated from music school, but I didn't know why I wasn't getting called more often blah blah. Until I heard a couple of recordings that really drove it home.
When you record yourself with a band, it's easier to "hide". Other musicians will compensate for you, and if the overall product isn't stellar, it's pretty easy to blame on the ensemble/room acoustics/etc. This explains how somebody can gig for a decade, and listen to gig tapes, and not know there's anything wrong.
But try to play a drum cover, and all of a sudden you hear every single 16th that's not lining up with the band, or the original drummer, who, of course, are not adjusting to you.
Such was my experience. And, as I explain in the video, I ran myself a bath and sat in it the whole afternoon. It felt horrible.
But the only out is through. I eventually grappled with my pain, embraced the "suck", and used it to try to improve.
This video is about how you can do the same.
Hope you enjoy!