(first published march 2012)
So, the indefatigable Colleen H-H left a reply to my second blog on drumming as therapy.
Well well well …… you have failed to answer a couple or three or more critical points Dr Pete…. Continue reading
Part II
Now. Let’s get a few things straight. Playing the drums is hard. I mean, it’s easy in a certain sense. The sense in which you take a stick and hit big things and they make a noise. In that sense it’s a doddle. I’m sitting on the drum stool with a drummer I have intense respect for watching my every move. And he knows what sort of knowledge I bring to this particular table. The sort of knowledge which acts as a great inhibitor. But, like I said in the previous post, time to get over myself. Time to play some drums and see what all the fuss is about.
We start with the grip. How to hold the sticks. The right-hand is quite orthodox but the left-hand is (unsurprisingly) recalcitrant. I struggle with orthodox grip, so try match grip, the funny sideways grip you see in marching bands. This sort of works, but I soon swap back, though I tend to use the arm rather than wrist in the left wing, but eventually fix this by twisting my hand more. It is, naturally, quite difficult and takes some concentration. I notice the first oddness. Continue reading
(first published 15th March 2012)
At the gym this morning, one of the instructors told me I was a fighter. He was right up to a point, but as with martial artistry, one of the key points to remember is that one should always strive only to enter into a contest on your own terms. And even then only when there is no avoiding it. After all, most fights are less won than they are not lost, and a fight avoided is a fight not lost. His obtains just as clearly in normal situations as it does in those ones with drunken idiots, muggers, thugs … if you can avoid the conflict, then you win. If conflict is forced upon you, then go for the kill. Do not hold back. Continue reading