Para-diddles

People say that white men don't have rhythm. I hate to disagree, so I won't. White girls however, now that's a different story. I think my drum teacher would agree. If Larry Mullen ever called in sick for a concert I would love to show U2 fans how Sunday Bloody Sunday should really sound...

Ok, so maybe I exaggerate just a little. Drumming just may be one of the most complicated instrument a person can learn. During my first lesson, I was confused by the arrangement of pedals, skins and symbols all within my reach. It scared me to know I was actually expected to move my criss-crossed hands around the kit while stepping consistently on the floor and NOT make it sounds like New Years eve in my family cult-us-sac. To top it off, my attention span resembles that of a young child and drum stools have a full range of spinning options. Thank goodness for a patient teacher (cough Adam Smith) who just might be even more enthusiastic about hitting things than I am.

The most important thing to know about drumming is that practice makes you better. I won't lie and say that it makes you perfect. I can testify that practicing a rhythm incorrectly for several weeks only tends to bring you down a notch. But in general, the more you put in, the more you get out. I live by this motto. I am sure people wish I didn't. When I am sitting on public transit, bored, and the person in front of me has perfectly square shoulders, it's very hard to ignore the call to work on my para-diddles and double strokes, especially when I have a lesson in two days. There is nothing wrong with 'air-banding' in church and when the roommates are all asleep, there are still no excuses to get lazy. Why do you think pillows are always used as silencers in horror movies?

The benefits of being a girl drummer are numerous. Not only do you get to shop for new shades, make friends on the bus and show up guys like Larry Mullen; drumming, I believe makes you a more well rounded person. I mean lets be honest, there are definitely perks to practicing 16^th note beats for hours on end. I can just about double my handstand holdings per minute, my clapping rhythms in church will blow you out of the water and my incredible ability to multitask has finally been discovered (parts of this blog will be incorporated into my final university paper on democracy promotion: Drumming for Democracy). But don't be jealous of my massive forearms, instead, challenge me to a game of tennis. Summer is just around the corner.