Cherisse’s best bud and fellow drummer extraordinaire, Emily Dolan Davies, shared a piece of advise several months back in a YouTube clip and I followed it last week and it is already proving invaluable.
I felt silly, yes! I felt silly for taking it along with me and I almost just left it in my handbag because I just thought I’d seem like a crazy thing but I am already SSOO glad I took it with me!
Right, so – Emily’s piece of advice – her biggest piece of advice for any drummer learning (or pros getting stuck on new techniques they wanted to learn but it wasn’t going in) … and she was adamant on it. Record yourself!
And she said she wished she had taken the advice earlier than she did, and wished that she had known of or thought of doing it when she started out.
Based on her saying that, I took a little Zoom recorder with me to my lesson with Cherisse on Wednesday. And as I say, I almost left it in my bag and said nothing. Too scared I’d sound a flake for wanting to record myself after one bloody lesson.
But already my circumstances are making this invaluable. I can hear myself getting the hang of things on playback. Yes! I’m appalling! My time-keeping is woeful but I know listening to it back that these are things that I can improve on with practice.
I can go over things from the lesson. Just listen to them over and have it sink in.
I have no kit, but I can hear beyond that what I need to practice on. It has given clarity and focus to the things I need to work on.
And I know I am only two lessons in and I know I will always be learning. But before I played back Wednesday’s lesson this afternoon, I would just be doubting myself.
I AM awful. My rhythm sucks! But I can hear it in myself that I pick things up fast. Well, I sound as if I do. Am I deluding myself? I hope not! Will I join a band in the future? Doubt it (but never say never)! But if someone down the line asks me “got any special talent?” I may just have enough bravado in a year or two to reply “yeah. I play drums.” I would love that.
And Cherisse is so fab and just SSOOOO encouraging. Honestly. She just makes me believe I can do this. It’s just so good. So, so good.
So, if you think it’s nuts. Don’t! Hearing myself back today, and hearing what I need to practice on until the next lesson, etc… I don’t feel like I’m some time-wasting dreamer. I can obtain some decent level of skill here. If I am willing to put the hours in. To practice (anyone around Luton willing to give me some time on a kit to practice on?).
I love it! I want this! Thank you so much, Emily, for this advise.