I Like Drums

You know that really bad drumset player at your aunt's wedding who couldn't keep tempo and is flailing around like a fish out of water? Yeah, he's not a real drummer. In fact, that set player is an insult to percussion, and is probably just making stuff up as he goes along.

Percussion is more that just hitting stuff. It's knowing how to hit stuff the RIGHT way. You don't hit a rosewood marimba with brass mallets if you want to live very long. Crash cymbals are not supposed to be played like one of those monkeys with hats that inevitably end up in horror movies (or Toy Story 3). Bass drums must be played with the knee.

One of the greatest things about percussion is the utter randomness of the average percussion ensemble piece. For instance, my school has a percussion ensemble concert every year in April. The two ensembles I'm a part of are playing what I believe to be the weirdest combination of music ever. We've got rave music, country "hoedown" style, afro-caribbean, jazz, and body percussion. We were going to put sensors in a couch and drum on that, but apparently that's a fire hazard.

Honestly, I'm really glad I decided to double in percussion. I could have doubled in concert band and played some random wind instrument, but somehow I don't think that would have been as fun. There's something very satisfying about beating the crap out of my practice pad first thing in the morning. It's fantastic therapy.

P.S. THUD is the group in the video, and they're AMAZING.