5 Crucial Drumming Career Mistakes To Avoid

I’ve been a professional drummer for most of my adult life. Early in my career I decided that it was very important to me not to regret anything later in life. I never wanted to look back and say, “I wish I had done that instead, or I wish I’d tried that.”

Avoiding regrets completely simply isn’t possible. We don’t have a crystal ball, so no matter what choices you make in your drumming career, there’s no way of knowing for sure what the outcome will be until later. I would however, like to share with you some of the mistakes I made in my career as a drummer, along with conveying a few of the things I think I did right and the results of those decisions. Hopefully this will result in greater success in your own drumming career.

Drumming Career Mistakes

1. 1. Not getting enough training or the right information about drumming.
      Many other things hinge on this factor. I was fortunate to meet and study with Dave Divis when I was in high school. Dave was a student of Joe Morello at the time. Dave was the teacher that introduced me to the metronome, to stick control techniques, and to drummers like Buddy Rich. Within one year, I went from barely being able to play, to winning drumming contests. This was all because I finally got the information and training I needed.

      I did make mistakes in this area later though, as I eventually discovered. I was lacking in some other areas where my peers had better training. One of these areas was latin drumming. I missed certain playing opportunities along the way because I didn’t get proper training in hand percussion and other latin drumming techniques. If I’d known this years ago, I would have studied with a good latin percussion teacher. This is just once example of how lack of training can keep you from making a living as a drummer.

1. 1. Not finishing your college degree.
      It isn’t absolutely necessary to go to college to become a professional drummer. We all know this is true. We can find all kinds of examples of professional drummers who never went to college, and have amazingly successful careers.Personally I hated college. I couldn’t wait to get out. I felt like most of the classes I was taking in college were completely worthless information. I was also majoring in percussion performance, and I couldn’t see any way that finishing that degree and getting that piece of paper would ever help my career in any way. So after two years, I left school.

      I had no real regrets about leaving school until later in life. I made my living first as a drummer in the U.S. Army Band, and then as a freelance drummer in Kansas City. No matter what you’re doing though, you can get tired of it and want a change. Many times the things you want in life at age 20 are much different than what you want at age 40 as well.

      Many of my peers today teach college music classes. I’d like to do this, at least part-time. It’s possible to do this without a degree, but it’s difficult. This is one example of a door that’s kind of closed for me simply because I didn’t take the time to finish my percussion degree.

      Not finishing your degree also doesn’t help when you’re wanting to teach high school drumlines. I’ve taught drumlines in the past. This is again something that’s possible to do without a college degree. However, it’s much easier to get these gigs if you can introduce yourself to the band director and tell him you have a percussion degree from x university.

      Even for private teaching, it definitely helps to be able to say you have a bachelor’s degree from so and so university. It gives you instant credibility with parents of students, and therefore helps you acquire more students for your teaching studio.

1. 1. Closing yourself off to music styles, genres and opportunities.
      My first professional gig was with a polka band. I know all the metal and jazz drummers reading this probably think that would be awful! Honestly, I had a blast. While my high school friends were flipping burgers on the weekends, I was playing the drums and getting paid for it. It was like going to a party every Friday and Saturday night.I got the gig through a recommendation from a high school teacher. This led to my next opportunity, which was with a country band. Again, not my first choice, but it was closer. In this band I got to rock out a bit more. Again, I had a blast.

      I got my first professional playing experience with these bands. I learned to groove and play with a group, which led to more opportunities later. So my advice is to take any gig that you can possibly get, at least in the beginning. Hopefully as you become successful enough, you can pick and choose who you play with, and the kind of music you play. I think there are many young players who say no to playing opportunities, not realizing that they’re really saying no to a successful career as a drummer. You never know who you might meet through a gig, and who they’ll recommend you to.

1. 1. Not making enough of the right contacts.
      There is no way of knowing which contact you make will lead you to a successful path in your drumming career. The truth of the matter though, is that the more contacts you make, the more chance of success you have. This works on lots of different levels. To this day, I often wonder what my career would be like if I’d gone somewhere other than Kansas City when I left the army band. I went to Kansas City because it was close to home, a good place to raise a family, and I felt that I’d have lots of opportunities to play jazz there.

      I did get to play lots of jazz, and that was my dream. As all jazz musicians know though, the genre typically doesn’t pay very well. Playing jazz clubs and restaurants is a tough way to pay the bills. So there are times I’ve wondered what my career would look like right now if I’d gone to Nashville coming out of the army instead of Kansas City.

      I have told several of my students who became professional drummers, that in order to make the right contacts, they may need to move to New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville. While there are lots of playing opportunities in other cities, I still feel like your odds of making contacts with artists doing big tours, etc., are much better in the major music centers. This is one aspect of the music business that really hasn’t changed much, despite the rise of the internet, home recording, etc. That doesn’t mean you couldn’t end up playing with an artist in Omaha, NE who becomes nationally famous. I just think that it’s still kind of unlikely. A bit like winning the music lottery.

      Your success in your local music market is determined by the number of contacts you make as well. I was very good at this when I first moved to Kansas City. I went to lots of jam sessions, etc., and met quite a few musicians. As I started getting busy playing, I made the mistake that most drummers make. I stopped networking. I ended up playing with the same musicians over and over. I’d have a lot more work as a drummer today if I’d continued going to jam sessions, even when I was busy gigging.

      I talked to bass player the other day. He said it’s hard to find the time to do this. I agree, it can be a challenge. I think the key here is consistency, just like it is in practicing. Set a realistic goal to go either once a month or once a week to a jam session. They don’t all have to be jam sessions though. You can also go to a gig where some other band is playing. You can introduce yourself. Sometimes after you get to know them they will ask you to sit in. I’ve personally made contacts and gotten gigs this way.

      The tendency after you start networking like this is to want to quit when you don’t have instant results. I’ve been there myself. Be persistent and consistent and eventually it will start to pay off.

      The other music contacts that can be valuable are teachers. The guitarist I play with toured with George Shearing. He told me the way he got that gig was that he flew to L.A. to take a few lessons with Joe Pass. Joe recommended him for the gig with George Shearing. I’m not saying that studying with a particular teacher will always result in more gigs. It is a possibility though.

1. 1. Failing to develop your people skills.
      I was fortunate to get turned on to some really good books about dealing with people early in my career. Two of these books were “How To Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie and “Skill With People,” by Les Giblin. People hire you as a drummer because they like to hang out with you, not just because you’re a really great drummer. I have met some great musicians in my career that had some real personality problems, problems interacting with other people. This greatly hindered their career. These types of books should be required reading for all professions, not just musicians, because in every career we have to deal with people. Our success depends on how well we relate to other individuals.

I hope you’ve found these tips useful and that you can avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made in my drumming career, resulting in greater success for yourself. If you have tips or experiences to add, please feel free to comment. 

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