The power of words
To begin with, we must pay close attention to what we say to and about ourselves.Confidence is a state of mind.If you're walking around thinking, "i'm a horrible drummer-my time is weak,i'm uncoordinated...",how could you possibly feel confident when you sit down to play? It doesn't matter if these negative messages are true or not;they'll affect you nonetheless.
Sometimes people will speak poorly about themselves to others because they think that this being modest.In truth,this is just another way of sabotaging our self-confidence by emphasizing the negative.Therefore,when speaking to others,as when speaking to youself,choose to send empowering messages.This doesn't mean that you should be dishonest.Simply choose to emphasize the positive.
The skills for the job
There are some times when we have a good reason not to feel confident-like when we genuinely don't possess the skills required to accomplish the task at hand.If you feel a lack of confidence in a certain area of your drumming,maybe it's for a good reason.Developing self-confidence in a certain area of drumming involves thoroughly studying and practicing the skills involved in that area.
If you're still a beginner on the drums,you may feel a lack of confidence in all areas of drumming.Again,this is completely normal.Let's face it:there's a lot involved in drumming.There are fills,beats,rudiments,reading,soloing and countless other things to be learned.An important step is to proactivley increase and improve the skills that you possess.There are many ways to do this.In addition to taking lessons,you can read drumming magazines and books,watch DVDs,and even check out drumming exercises online.Take advantage of all of these methods to boost your skills.
Getting experience
It's completely natural to feell a lack of confidence when you find yourself in an unfamiliar situation.Obviously,the solution to this is to increase the number of situations that are familiar to you.In other worlds, get as much actual experience as possible.Join a band and sit in at jam sessions.The more you play with others,the less foreign it will seem,and the more confident you'll feel about making music.
When you doing this,it's a good idea to play with other people at the same level as you,otherwise the results can be disatrous.
The company you keep
Sometimes it can be difficult to find people who are positive and supportive.People can be discouraging,even if they have good intentions.When i was first embarking on my music career,I encountered a lot of resistance and discouragement...especially from my own friends and family.Despite their lack of knowledge about the music industry,they tried to convince me that there was no way to make a living in music.
At every opportunity,I spoke to professional drummers about their experiences in the music business,i went to clinics,took lessons etc.So my confidence remained intact.
Failure on the road to succes
Finally,keep in mind that no one is perfect.Even the greatest of the great have weaknesses,flaws,off days and occasional bad luck.Master drummers sometimes get fired.Musical giants sometimes realize that they need to revamp their entire approach
When you're the one having an off day or facing a personal weakness,keep it in perspective.It happens to everyone.If you do that you can't miss.
Matt Ritter
Modern Drummer Magazine
