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Making It In Music, At Any Age Have you ever taken any substantial time off from drumming? If you have, you're not alone. I constantly receive requests from ex-drummers asking for advice on how to return to drumming after a 10, 20, or even 30-year layoff. Some of these ex-players are well into their sixties. Is it possible to get back into it after such a long time away? Read on. The First Step Next, take stock of your chops. Providing, for example, you had decent hand and foot speed when you left drumming, the only thing a long layoff would affect would be your endurance. And endurance is easy to get back. If you never had such hot chops to begin with, now is the time to hit the woodshed. Start by checking out my "Free Lessons Index" (see the sidebar). Use these lesson articles to develop skills in areas where your chops are lacking: Reading skills, hand technique, foot technique, four-way coordination, or whatever. If you feel you need a few lessons to get up to speed, find yourself a good drum instructor (see Great Drum Set Instructors Are Rare in the sidebar). Start By Listening The type of music you should listen to usually depends on the type of gig you're after. However, if you're trying to get back into music after a long layoff, I would suggest that you become familiar with ALL of the latest stuff. This will only increase your chances of getting hired.
An experienced drummer can learn any musical style; it's simply a matter of practice. And practice begins with listening. Emerge yourself in the music of your choice. Listen to it whenever you can. Sit down at your drumset and play along with it. Each musical style has a particular "feel" to it and once you get that "feel" down, you'll be able to play any song in that genre. And don't feel you have to limit yourself to one bag. Many of the greatest studio drummers can cut any musical style.
Let everybody know you're BACK. Get yourself a Web page, with all the free ones around there's no excuse not to have one. And most of the free ones offer easy to create Web software so your site can be up and running in minutes. Here's what you should include on your site:
In addition to the Web site, you'll need a business card. Look up "printers" in your local phone book and order 500 of them. Or if you have a computer with a decent printer, you can purchase business card blanks that have preprinted graphics that let you fill in the text info. Whichever way you decide to go, business cards are very inexpensive and very necessary. Don't forget to include your name, phone number, instrument(s) played, and Web site address on your card. Tip: You may also want to include a line that says something to the effect that you supply bands for all occasions. (More on this later.) Getting a Gig At a typical Open Mic, you may find yourself playing with members of the host band or other musicians who are sitting in. Providing you're a good player, Open Mics can really help you build a rep. Make sure you pass out your business card to everyone you play with and include anyone in the audience, whether or not they are a musician. They might give your card to a friend who may be looking for a drummer, or (if you included the line about "bands for all occasions," they could call to hire you for a birthday party or other gig. If this happens, you can use your contacts from the Open Mic sessions to put together a band and play the gig. Once you get the taste of being a leader (translation: You'll more money than a sideman), you may want to start booking your own band regularly. If you're having trouble finding good musicians to work with, in addition to Open Mics, write up a flyer advertising what you're looking for and make some copies at your local Staples store or it's equivalent. You can post your flyers in the local library, colleges, music stores, grocery stores, Laundromats, and anywhere people frequent. You'll be surprised at the number of good musicians you can find who, like you, are trying to get back into music after some down time.
Talk to a dozen drummers and you'll get a dozen different stories of how they became successful. But there are a few things that most all successful musicians (and successful people in general) have in common:
With those three ingredients, you will be able to make it in music or any other business eventually. It's all just a matter of time and tenacity. Until next time: Stay loose.
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