What type of a drummer are you?

[Peterk256]

3 except for the "practicing regularly" part.

 

[Plaid Sabbath]

I need a different category. Something like…

Garage Hack Playing Covers After Years Away From Drums So I Mostly Use My Terrible E-Kit To Get My Chops Back In Shape But Occasionally Get Sidetracked Because My Wife Gets On My Kit And Plays Billy Squier and Cure Songs For 3 Hours Which Makes Me Lose My Motivation To Play So I Go To The Liquor Store For Booze To Help Me Cope With Her Terrible Fills But She Lets Me Back On My Kit After I’m Half Drunk So My Playing Never Improves.

 

[1988fxlr]

I need a different category. Something like…

Garage Hack Playing Covers After Years Away From Drums So I Mostly Use My Terrible E-Kit To Get My Chops Back In Shape But Occasionally Get Sidetracked Because My Wife Gets On My Kit And Plays Billy Squier and Cure Songs For 3 Hours Which Makes Me Lose My Motivation To Play So I Go To The Liquor Store For Booze To Help Me Cope With Her Terrible Fills But She Lets Me Back On My Kit After I’m Half Drunk So My Playing Never Improves.

Good to have you here with us in number two. Basement Bashers of the world unite

 

[Plaid Sabbath]

Good to have you here with us in number two. Basement Bashers of the world unite

Thanks! I think about 98% of my musical experiences have occurred in basements. Literally part of the underground music scene.

 

[DanRH]

Well shoot… who knows. And I agree, this is a stupid list. BUT, I play in two bands consistently and record occasionally but don’t tour. I’m too old for that if it’s outside my state. I practice when I need to work on something, but certainly not on a daily basis. So, wherever that puts me…

 

[Whitten]

Bottom line, it doesn't matter.

 

[Steech]

I just briefly skimmed the article.
The distinction between 'studio drummer' and 'performance drummer' is wrong in any case.
Most of the top players can comfortably do both. There are challenges to both tasks.
As I keep saying on this forum and others - the term 'professional' is often skewed or misinterpreted.
Professional attitude is a short cut term. yes, you can act like a professional and only play at home or in a local bar twice a week, but ACTUAL professionals report all or the vast majority of their income from music to the tax office.
As such I try to steer away from describing part time or hobbyist drummers as 'professional' just because they have a great attitude and can play very well.
And yes, the article author's different levels of commitment value judgement is completely off.

Agreed

 

[LukeS]

I agree with the folks who take issue with the categories and heirarchies in the article, and that way of thinking about music in general. I appreciated the read and the OP for sharing it, but I don’t see myself as fitting into any these categories and I imagine many musicians don’t. Being a full time professional musician is not the ultimate aspiration of every drummer.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

I didn't read it. I just went straight to the rating system.

I gotta say I didn't like how they seemed to rate touring/performing drummers above studio drummers. I would rate them the same, or even rate the studio drummer even higher. A touring drummer is in and out - their performance is one and done. But a studio drummer...their performance is analyzed for years on end.

Be that as it may, studio drummers still can benefit from a lot of studio fairy dust (edits, splicing of different takes together, very creative processing and whatnot) and are generally afforded a few do-overs. Live drummers just have the 1 go (although they generally have a bit more rehearsal with the band going in, but sometimes not). Not giving any more credit to one or the other, both have their challenges.

That being said I personally am like level one (maybe 2 on a good day) in terms of chops/skills, but my band enjoys quite a bit of success touring, recording, tv appearances and radio airplay in our market so I'm working hard to have my skillset catch up with my theoretically higher status on that scale.

 

[thejohnlec]

I was a 7, I’m now a solid 5 with a family and a day job. However, I have to qualify “touring” in category 5 as short jaunts in our region. I’m fortunate to not have to play clubs or bars and still stay busy enough while making decent money with wonderful bandmates.

I also think a little more effort could have been put into the content of this article, especially the levels - there are myriad options that could have better represented these theoretic levels. There are also plenty of committed drummers who are perfectly happy playing alone and posting what they do on instagram.

To each his/her own!

 

[blueshadow]

4.5 maybe subtract .25 for not touring , mainly because I don't like the word amateur. No I'm not trying to make a living at it so not professional either. I like the weekend warrior persona.
I will drive 3 hours for a gig but normally drive back home even if it's 6 am when I get home.

 

[rkingston]

This article reads as though it was written by a non-drummer; like a first-year intern with more of a background in golf or something other than actual drumming.

 

[wflkurt]

I do take offense to the word "Hobby". Like a lot of us here, I have been doing this since I was 11 (I'm 52) and it has been a major part of my life. I may not have made the big time but I have also never had any kind of break from it. It is what I do and who I am. I feel like the term hobby makes it almost sound like we just goof off and have fun. A lot of time, money and effort goes into what we do.

 

[Pat A Flafla]

This article reads as though it was written by a non-drummer; like a first-year intern with more of a background in golf or something other than actual drumming.

Or like a clickbait troll practicing its writing.

 

[Stephen.DeBoard]

There was a time in my life where I was a professional recording and touring drummer. It was my job for a few years and I'm extremely thankful for that time and the experiences. However, I've made more money as a musician playing drums as a side hustle than I ever did in a professional recording and touring band. I've also found in today's environment it's harder to find session work than live work. Most people are programming for commercials, home recordings and even international high profile releases these days. So when I read this article I agreed that Tyler the writer doesn't really know what he is talking about. He's a young jazz drummer from Boston. He must think his personal perspective translates to a bigger swath of players.

 

[florian1]

5 and occasionally a 6

F

 

[TheBeachBoy]

I'd consider myself mostly at 5. I have primarily played with one group for the last 15 year, although I do the occasional sub gig and played drums then later bass in another side project. We mostly play locally with the out of town gig here and there, so not really a touring band. I do other side jobs, like carpentry/woodworking and some auto repair, but drumming is my main income.

 

[mebeatee]

And everyone thought he/she was gone.....hah....sneaking in the back door. Good on ya.
Nice list VB.........sorry though....about as dumb as usual....
bt

 

[Jazzhead]

I do take offense to the word "Hobby". Like a lot of us here, I have been doing this since I was 11 (I'm 52) and it has been a major part of my life. I may not have made the big time but I have also never had any kind of break from it. It is what I do and who I am. I feel like the term hobby makes it almost sound like we just goof off and have fun. A lot of time, money and effort goes into what we do.

I agree, the word “hobby”, especially in the title messes it up. It should stay in the first category and that’s it. I know a lot of people who have a drum set in the garage and just hit a tom or snare once or twice a year when their relative or friend sees the kit in their garage and says “oh you play drums!?”For these types of people, drumming could be a hobby, just like going hiking every now and then throughout the year.

 

[Whitten]

Be that as it may, studio drummers still can benefit from a lot of studio fairy dust (edits, splicing of different takes together, very creative processing and whatnot) and are generally afforded a few do-overs.

Nooooo, can people stop posting this myth.
A crowd is much less judgemental than a record producer or sound engineer. I've played terrible shows (it happens) and people have come up to me afterwards and said they thought I was fantastic.
Also, this incorrect belief that bad playing and bad sound can all be solved by 'studio fairy dust'.
If you were a key member of a band you might get away with that attitude, especially as drum tracking is likely to occur once every couple of years. If you are a 'studio drummer' if you aren't delivering world class performances and sound, you just won't get any work.
As I said, most studio drummers also play high profile gigs. So it's a false split in category.