Why Did You Start to Play Music?

Please comment below as to why you started playing a musical instrument.

What is the reason we play music in the first place?
When I was five years old my uncle would rehearse his band in the living room of our house. My uncle was a guitar player but when the band would come over the drums were my focus! The bass drum would just hit me right in the heart. I can still remember the “thump” it would create in my chest. The beat would give me an excited, uplifting feeling, a feeling I can’t quite put my finger on today. As I grew older the feeling faded. There wasn’t an exact moment or time period when it faded. It just did. That initial feeling did start me on a journey of playing drums and today I’m a fairly accomplished drummer.

As we grow older the world starts to flood in and become increasingly demanding and complex. The wonderful feelings we experience as children can become shut down. We become not receptive in our hearts and minds. For me it is a work of the heart. Now that I’ve been playing the drums for over 40 years, all the while struggling with the fact that it has not been the most lucrative career choice for me, I’m trying to get back to the reason for my pursuit of drumming in the first place. A few years ago I decided that I’m no longer going to play for material gain. Adopting that mind set helped out in my creative endeavors and helped me to become a better drummer but it still didn’t seem to address the real reason, that initial heart feeling, that first bass drum thump, that barely containable excitement that would completely take me over when I heard a drummer.

Trying to find that place is a very worthwhile endeavor. I believe I may never find “it” to be like it was when I was 5 years old. But I can find the essence of that initial feeling and each time I play music I catch it in one way or another. It’s still a work in progress and that is part of what drives me on.

Always have fun with your music and try not to lose sight of why you started playing in the first place. Music as a career choice can really put a damper on your fun. And by fun, I don’t mean superficial “I just want to have fun” mind set. I mean fun as in that wonderful excited feeling that carries you to another place, a good place, a place where we all can be.

Leave a comment. Why did you start to play music? How does playing music fulfill you?

May music be with us always.

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