What Do You Learn From Drumming?

What do you learn from drumming?

Well …

I guess to play the drums? 😀

ABSOLUTELY!

Not so funny joke aside: There’s more to it.

Learning to play the drums has quite some benefits to offer.

Finally, it’s not about hitting a bunch of drums and cymbals by accidents.

There’s a lot to learn from drumming besides of cool beats and rhythms.

In this article, let’s dig into the mindset part of learning this lovely set of instruments.

Learning To Play The Drums Strengthens Your Patience

Learning a musical instrument takes its fair share of

• time,
• dedication
• and energy.

It doesn’t happen overnight.

You really need a good portion of patience.

Some people might call it stubbornness.

Besides, I’m sure this fits as well, at least for me. 😉

So if you’re asking what you’re learning from drumming, being more patient definitely is an answer.

It’s no use throwing away your drum sticks in anger.

Even if you feel like doing so, this won’t speed up the learning process.

Learning to play the drums teaches you to be patient.

That’s worth a lot.

(And being patient becomes much easier during the process!)

What Else Do You Learn From Drumming?

Discipline

You know Jim Rohn?

He’s one of my favorite motivational speakers of all time.

I remember watching a video of him talking about the power of discipline.

And drumming totally teaches you to be disciplined!

I know, some people don’t like this word.

Discipline.

It sounds boring, stiff and not really fun.

But it can be!

Discipline and learning to play the drum set is a great match.

Plus: I’d rather have a hard time being disciplined then suffer regret of not doing something.

Like learning an instrument.

Even if I feel I suck.

At least I know I’ve given it all I got.

Regrets are nothing I appreciate too much.

So I choose discipline.

Not always, of course.

But if I can.

Gratuity Deferral: Work For The Great Dream

You know, I needed to translate this one for me.

I’m a native German speaker, so I didn’t know what Gratifikationsaufschub means in English.

Now I do.

I also know that gratuity deferral definitely is a good answer to our question what do you learn from drumming.

It basically means:

You invest

• time,
• energy
• and brain-power

today to benefit from the rewards later in the future.

Of course, you do have fun during the learning process.

But the goal you strive for is a biggie.

You’ll reach it someday.

So today, you go for the gratitude defferal instead.

It means being patient and delaying instant rewards for achieving a bigger one later.

Imagine it like this:

You could either check Instagram for the next 30 minutes or you could practice your drums.

(Ok, for me, practicing would definitely be more attractive. But you get the point.)

Setting Goals The Smart Way

How do you get good at anything?

By setting goals.

In terms of drumming, the first goal for most people is to learn a cool beat.

Then they get hooked and crave for the next groove.

And the next one …

This goes on.

Hey, awesome!

However, a lot of people are unaware that while mastering exercise after exercise, they are achieving goals.

This can be an unintentional or an intentional process.

Spoiler:

The intentional process is can be much harder, but also much more efficient.

And therefore, more rewarding.

So when learning to play the drums, you definitely should learn how to set goals.

That’s a big secret to drumming success.

At least, that’s how I define it.

Being Resourceful

What do you learn from drumming?

Obviously: a lot.

Also, it teaches you to be resourceful.

What does this mean?

Basically, your day lasts 24 hours.

Just like everybody elses.

So if you want to play the drums on a regular basis, you need to be resourceful with your time.

You also might need to save some money to buy new equipment like a better drum kit, sticks or cymbals.

For example, I delivered newspapers to earn money for my drum lessons and equipment when I was young.

Learning the drums did teach me to be resourceful on many levels.

Trusting Yourself

Another thing you learn from drumming is trusting

• your abilities,
• your decisions
• and your body.

It’s like learning to trust yourself at some point.

I mean:

You wouldn’t start drumming if you think you can’t learn it.

Right?

So if you make the decision to learn this instrument, you strengthen the ability to trust you.

This becomes even more powerful during your musical journey.

Maybe you’re going to be the drummer of a band.

It could be you finally overcome your fear of learning to read drum notes.

Or you simply find a way to make yourself feel better, even if you’re having a crap day.

Yes, drumming teaches you to trust yourself.

You can do it!

That’s what it is.

Learning the drum set teaches you a lot about yourself.

That’s wonderful – besides of awesome rhythms, fills and beats.

Cheers,