Practice From The Head But Play From The Heart
Hey, Im Brendan Jones from H91 Drum School in Galway City, providing both online and private one to one drum coaching. I remember in the early 2000s reading a free Sabian cymbal magazine in Back To Music (a local music shop in Galway City) There was an article on teaching with a sub heading saying “Practice from the head but play from the heart” It always stuck with me and its something that I often say to my students.
Sometimes it can be easier said than done. In order to get out of our heads and play from the heart we have to be very comfortable, a hard thing to do with a room full of strangers staring at you or If we have a more challenging part of a song that we want to perform. Conversely, It can be difficult to control the fun and excitement and not play freely even in the practice room. The Idea here is that we are focused when practicing but in the moment when performing and it’s important to think about the benefits to both.
This is very much like when people ask “ Will lessons effect the creativity of the musician?” Granted this is always a conversation I have with teens and adult students rather then the kids but its one that really leans to the belief that lesson will interfere with creativity. I obviously think that with lesson from the right teacher, drumming eduction will improve creativity, as it gives the student drummer more tools to make better and more informed musical choices. But I have seen that too much technical and methodical playing can completely ruin a drummers or a bands spontaneity and feel.
Just like the article I read back in the early 2000s, I believe in the benefits of both, but to have a combination is irresistible. The above video is one that highlights this topic on Self-Taught VS Schooled Drummers. Im a big believer in music education. However I played for a year, and learned by ear just listening to music when I first started, then I had drum lessons for over five years with the great Mike Arraign and others in Galway. I played with original bands for a long time before I went to London and did a Higher Diploma in Drum Tech Drum and Percussion College. Now this is just my experience and there are many things I still need to work on both from the head and heart. However I see other drummers that have a great balance of the two and when I hear them play I can’t help but get the duck lips on and the goose neck bobbing back and forth 🦆🦢😂
I hope you enjoyed this blog and hope it helped you. Please let me know if it did, if you have any question, or are interested in Drum Lessons get in contact with me.
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Look after yourself and be nice to one another.
