The Drum Lesson

By Bobby Shiflett

Two or three years back, I was hanging out with a marvelous drummer named Shea Heatherly and we dropped by a local drum store so that Shea could get some sticks for an upcoming gig. While we were there, Shea was at the cymbal rack, sampling the wares. Near the bottom of the rack, he came across this old, tarnished looking cymbal and he picked that one up and hit it. It had the most beautiful resonating timbre, and its sound shimmered through the room.  Shea asked the sales clerk, who doubtlessly viewed himself as a serious drummer, what he thought about that cymbal. The clerk replied, in a noticeably condescending manner, “Oh, I would never play a cymbal like that. It is only worth about $80.00.”  Shea merely replied, “Oh, I see” and made no effort to continue the conversation …No doubt that Shea did see. The difference in what the two drummers valued was startling from my point of view.

After we left, Shea and I discussed what had just transpired, and he told me that he never really could get behind buying a “drum kit,” since each drum, each cymbal, each piece of hardware is unique; and it is rare that a mass-manufactured drum set will have the qualities that will maximize the drummer’s individual tonal style. Each drum and piece of percussion …indeed… each and every musical instrument has a mood that it evokes, and a real musician should never forget this or be dismissive of it …regardless of the price tag.

[wpcol_1half id="" class="" style=""]

[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id="" class="" style=""]

[/wpcol_1half_end]