Why is it that some people get really good at certain things, and others don’t? I remember being in 8th grade and wanting so badly to get good at basketball, but I just never could. What were the other guys doing differently from me? They were all in better shape, more buff, and just seemed to understand the sport better. Even though I tried hard and even worked on my technique and my free throws, I just never became any good at it.

Then I got serious about drums in high school and quickly got way better at music than sports. Why did that happen? Why is it there are certain things we get good at quickly…and other things that just take forever?

Maybe you’re in that boat where you feel like learning drums is taking too long. You feel like you should have reached a more solid level of mastery by now, but time keeps ticking and you’re not sure you’ve grown as fast as you should have.

Well, in my personal opinion, there are 4 things that must...

If you’re totally honest with yourself, what do you think the biggest obstacle is standing in the way of your growth on the drums? I have an idea what it might be, but think hard for a moment before you keep reading…

BIGGEST OBSTACLE:

Feeling demotivated because you feel like you don’t have enough time to practice nor the right resources to make sure you’re practicing the right things the right way. So as a result you don’t really practice much, and when you do you’re not getting much done.

Now I know I’m speaking to a wide audience, but this is something I’ve personally faced and seen a lot of other drummers face, too. If this is you, we want to help you break past this. Know this one thing:

You have to “show up” to your practice space, and you have to put in the work on a regular basis in order to grow.

Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? But here’s the key. You have to show up and put in the work…even...

A little over a year ago, I added an email topic idea to my list. It was called “get outside your own head and get inspired!” - all about hanging out with other musicians and receiving new ideas and inspiration from them.

I had that idea after I met up with two of the best musicians I know over coffee one morning. I was in the midst of working on a bunch of Non Glamorous Drummer content at that time, and I was feeling a bit musically bored. I needed some direction and some goals to set for the year, but I didn’t really know where to start or what to focus on.

At that coffee hang, the three of us nerded out on music and our favorite records, and we literally just sat there talking about music for an hour. I didn’t receive any particular enlightenment at all, but something about just being around the energy of other musicians helped to revitalize my motivation. I went home excited to practice, excited to record some new ideas, and excited to add new...

Here’s the big thing I’m alluding to in the title… the one thing you need to possess in order to succeed on the drums…

It’s curiosity.

What do I mean?

Think back to when you were a kid. (This has been a fun daydreaming exercise lately, seeing as how life seemed so much easier back then!) Remember when you had an interest in something. Maybe it was the drums… Maybe it was drawing… Maybe it was rock polishing… Maybe it was digging holes in the back yard. What was the driving force behind all of these activities?

Curiosity.

What does curiosity do? It drives you to try things, to experiment, and to explore. As a kid you were curious about everything. The whole world was new to you, and everything was an exciting adventure.

Think back to the first time you listened to a record you liked. I bet that was a huge adventure of an experience. Remember the first time you listened to music and were emotionally moved by it....

"Stephen, they need you to play drums Sunday."

My mom’s words smacked me in the face then echoed back and forth in my 15-year-old head. They what?? I laughed to myself. How do they even know that I play drums? No one’s supposed to know that! I just started lessons two months ago! This is crazy.

But somehow word had gotten out and I was getting dragged into the high school student worship band at church. Turns out their regular drummer had graduated high school and the replacement hadn't worked out. Little had I known 5 minutes before this moment that I was about to play my very first gig with just two months of drum lessons under my belt. I didn’t even own a real drumset at the time.

I was totally unprepared, terrified, and looking for a way out of this. I remember laying in bed that night praying about it, saying “God if you want me to go way out of my comfort zone to do this, you have to go with me and somehow enable me to do what...