Drumming

One of my earliest all-in projects. Growing up, I enjoyed the 70s rock music that my father listened to. Wanting to learn how to drum, my parents decided to buy me a starter drum kit. Early on, it was clear that I needed lessons and so every week for many years I had a tutor named Neil Fox. Neil sadly passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was a very kind person and was one of the first influences in my life, encouraging practice to improve.

During my high school years I attended boarding school and could no longer practice kit drumming. I looked for an opportunity to continue learning the skill and the only option was to join the School’s pipe band and play the snare drum. A completely different skill set. From there I started to play in competitions competing in both band and solo events. At one point being the South African champion for solo snare drumming at a school level.

I was useless in the beginning. But the endeavour taught me that repetition and continuous practice is what is needed to improve and then eventually to succeed. Boy did it suck messing up in front of hundreds of people. I did not enjoy being judged in competitions. It was more enjoyable performing for a crowd and using their reactions to determine the quality of the piece. At one point I performed as part of a mass pipes and drums for a military Tattoo in front of thousands of people. Although I no longer own a drum set, I can still play the drums to most songs.