Robert

Hi magnificent followers,

I am so sorry for leaving the community for so long.  I have been working through some difficult issues involving burnout (not the conventional type - the autistic type, which can be really debilitating).  Life just gets overwhelming sometimes, and I find I am unable to do things even if they are interests or sources of joy, like drumming.  It's similar to depression, but not quite the same.

It's taking me time to pull out of it, but I am covering all my bases and attending to all aspects of self-care to avoid falling back.  It's really frustrating that this happens to me, but I am better off if I just call it what it is and do what I can to just keep swimming along.

There was a phase where I wasn't practicing drumming consistently, but hopping on the kit to mess around.  Then I got back into practice but wasn't ready to come back to the community forum -- it was daunting to think, "What should I say about what's going on with me?"

I decided to just tell it like it is, this would be better than staying away.

I really have missed you all.

I am 90% finished with the Warrior Way.  I need to keep going, I want to accomplish this.  I'm stuck on Basics of Groove Lesson 23, it's not coming together for me for some reason.  I am also on Lesson 2 of Hand and Foot Doubles (not difficult, just putting in the time and effort).  It will definitely take me more than a month to finish the last 11 lessons of WW, but I am determined.

As I work on these, I have started to do a review of the entire WW.  The beginner material is delightfully easy to play now (with a few exceptions of course 😆 )!  I love going back, seeing my progress, and trying to perfect what I only did "well enough" before.  

Tell me what you're up to, and what I've been missing here!  

Today is my second drumming anniversary.  I received my first kit, an Alesis Nitro e-kit, on March 8, 2020.  That was also the day I joined Stephen's Drum Shed.  And that afternoon I learned the "money beat".

Since that day I have completed the Warrior Way and almost every other lesson in the SDS curriculum.  I started studying with Nate Smith at 80/20 Drummer, Jacob Evans at Drum Flow Coaching, and Rob Lee who is a professional player in St. Louis.

I've studied drumming and drum teachers now for two full years.  IMHO @Stephen and his teaching methods are second to none.  That's why I'm now a lifetime member.

Thank you Stephen Taylor, Grant Jenkins, Tim Buell, guest artists and all the supportive members of the SDS community.  I am having fun!

Hey Gang! It’s been a hectic month but, IM BACK at it!

Great to see you all again!

☮️🥁💟

I never guessed that playing 'Back In Black' at 50BPM could be so fun and fulfilling. This can be a faster song for the Slow Metal Band, @chantale. 🤘😎🤘 

🤣

Just watched one of @Stephen's videos on YouTube talking about burnout. I don't feel burnt out, but maybe I am devoting too much time to drumming which could be holding me back? I do other things to 'recover', but I spend most of my time every day thinking about drumming, listening to music, learning about other drummers, reading about drumming, watching drumming videos, and following drummers on social media. I also try to do FT & HT most every day while still doing my regular practice regularly.

I believe I should try to rest my head head from drumming a bit more. Let's see how this goes.

I wanna buy more gear.  😉 😎 💵 🥁

Sloppy night at practice, but I showed up. 😒

Kind of an interesting night. Just wasn't feeling anything at all today or tonight. Sat down for practice anyway, and tried a warm up song I haven't done in a while. Amazingly enough, I remembered the whole song without using the sheet music. And, I was able to play it pretty well. This made me think about another conversation that happened here previously talking about walking away from topics and coming back to them. What a great feeling. This propelled the rest of my practice to another level.

Then, I decided to adjust my ride to a crash level (since I don't have a 2nd crash) for playing Seven Nation Army. How much freakin fun was that? I absolutely nailed that song and had so much fun playing it tonight. Guess the shopping for a new crash will be happening soon. 😁

Hope your practice was as fun as mine!

When it's slow at work, all I can think about is getting on my kit. And the day draaaaagggsss on. 😎

When it's slow at work, all I can think about is getting on my kit. And the day draaaaagggsss on. 😎

When it's slow at work, all I can think about is getting on my kit. And the day draaaaagggsss on. 😎