What’s up with my kids?

[Cpb282]

Last week, in a group lesson, my kids’ remote guitar teacher asked my daughter what type of drum set she has. Her response: “I don’t know . . . Oh, wait, Remo?” She was reading the name on the head.

Yet, she was integral in buying her kit a couple of years back when they got more serious, finding a tom sound and finish that she liked while staying in budget. They’re Mapex Saturns. She asked me after the lesson and said “oh, yeah, now I remember.” I said the name is on the badge. She didn’t know what a badge was.

This week the teacher asked my guitar-playing daughter if she was on the bridge pickup. She said “I don’t know, this switch is all the way down, if that helps”. She’s on the bridge humbucker pickup more often than not, and just uses a setting that “sounds good to her”.

He followed up by asking my son if his short scale stingray bass was a sterling or a music man. He said “I don’t know, I just know that it’s a stingray”.

These kids have practiced, on average, 3 hours each week for the past couple of years. They gig. They love learning new songs. And they know what sounds good to them vs not.

I guess they’re just not gear heads?

(I, on the other hand, had the serial number on my trumpet memorized when I was a kid).

 

[Skyrm]

It's true - not everyone who plays an instrument is that into the "gear" part of it. Some people actually concentrate on improving their playing skills!

 

[varatrodder]

Sounds like they're going to be Guitar Center employees one day.

 

[Bandit]

Well at least your daughter knows a good drum set when she hears it.

 

[Cpb282]

Well at least your daughter knows a good drum set when she hears it.

The only thing she doesn’t like about gigging is that we bring a gigging set. I think they’re fine (Yamaha Stage Customs) and, importantly, were cheap.

Lugging her Mapex kit out from where they reside in out house in their practice room isn’t easy, and setting them back up when we get back usually has to be done within 24 hours so they can take lessons or practice again.

 

[2oo2]

I think kids are good at categorizing things objectively (i.e. this sounds good, this has certain shape or feature) but not subjectively (brand, series, etc.) as the latter is just an arbitrary classification made by adults and doesn’t necessarily describes the instrument. In other words kids seem to describe things by observation and not memorization.

 

[Pre ‘72]

One can only hope they remain this way and continue to play simply because they enjoy it.

 

[Cpb282]

I think kids are good at categorizing things objectively (i.e. this sounds good, this has certain shape or feature) but not subjectively (brand, series, etc.) as the latter is just an arbitrary classification made by adults and doesn’t necessarily describes the instrument. In other words kids seem to describe things by observation and not memorization.

That is accurate. The drummer wanted toms that sounded good to her ears, but couldn’t put that into words.

And she much prefers a wood snare to a metal snare, but can’t tell you why.

 

[Russian Dragon]

My buddy's music school used a cheapo stencil kit for lessons for years. He sold the stencil kit one day, and temporarily replaced it with his studio's Sonor SQ2 kit for a few weeks. So the kids went from playing their lessons on a $200 kit to a $X,000 kit with vastly better hardware and cymbals. Almost none of them noticed, and the ones who did complained that the drum set was now "wrong".

Kids these days.

 

[wflkurt]

It's true - not everyone who plays an instrument is that into the "gear" part of it. Some people actually concentrate on improving their playing skills!

I feel like I was definitely both. I always wanted to better my skills whenever I could, yet I was constantly looking at gear and knew what everything was. I'm still like this now.

 

[bigbonzo]

When I was a youngster, I didn't know anything about drums. I would think she is normal.