why do you practice?

So there it is: the shed. Staring us in the face. Why do we subject ourselves to the routine? What drives us to continue to work on our technique, musicality, vocabulary, time, touch, feel, posture, reading, and all of the other important tasks of the practice room? For many younger players, and likely many pros, practice is a means to an end. There’s an upcoming performance/lesson/session/recital… But what about now, during a pandemic, with so many of those external/extrinsic reasons for continuing to practice?

So, what drives you? Why work on the perfect conga slap or cleaning up that rudimental snare solo or pandeiro technique and sound production if there isn’t an outlet for it?

Here’s my dos pesos at this point in my career: When one starts taking yoga classes, one has started ‘a practice.’ One doesn’t do all of those asanas to get a gig or win the local yoga competition. You do them because they make you feel better. They scratch an itch. Same with meditation: it’s a practice. No end goal. Not really. You keep doing it and getting better at it because it feeds you, calms you, focuses you, connects you to a deeper consciousness. No meditation recital coming up. I’ve grown to feel an intrinsic desire to practice congas and bongó and timbal and pandeiro and rudimental snare (I never even marched) and chart reading and drumset independence and groove and time and touch and feel and all of it because…I enjoy it. It feeds me. It scratches an itch. It calms and focuses me. And, I believe that it truly connects me with a deeper consciousness.

OK! I’m gonna go hit some things!!