Mastery Part 1: What is Mastery?

Over the next weeks I'll be writing a series of articles that talk about how to "master" the drumset. Today I'll be defining what I consider true mastery to be.

We've all witnessed someone do something incredibly difficult...they "made it look easy".

Athletes do it all the time. Having lived in Boston for over 10 years, I'm an avid Red Sox fan and I love to watch Manny Ramirez hit home runs. His swing is fluid, easy, balanced, and seemingly effortless. I'm also a lifelong tennis fan. Andy Roddick, a worldwide top 10 player, currently holds the world record of fastest recorded serve (155mph).



Sports aside, master musicians also "make it look easy" every night. I remember the first time I saw Dennis Chambers in concert. His first solo of the night was a short one over a vamp to end the first song, but it floored me. His ferocious, precise technique was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was literally a blur of drumsticks. Later on in the concert he played a free solo and really killed it. At one point he put his left stick down, grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat from his head while continuing to solo with his right hand!! You might say 'so what, I've done that before'. Well so have I, but the licks he played with one hand were as fast and precise as the stuff most drummers can play with both hands.

And all the while, he made it look easy.

Buddy Rich is another drummer who plays the most incredible licks while looking relaxed.



(FYI - it is speculated by Buddy's daughter Cathy that he suffered a heart attack while playing this solo. It didn't seem to slow him down though did it?)

I often compare athletes with drummers because of my belief that the performance of our instrument is an athletic experience. That aside, I do believe that master musicians and master athletes use similar methods for achieving the level of mastery exhibited when they perform at their peak:


-Mindful Practice

-Self Analysis

-Mental Clarity

-Lifestyle Commitment


I'll soon post articles that go into each of these methods in great detail. For today I'll offer my definition of what mastery means to me:

Mastery of a skill or vocation, attained through mindful practice, self analysis, mental clarity and lifestyle commitment, is the state when the conscious mind is not engaged to carry out the physiological or psychological tasks required by said skill or vocation.

The best example I can think of is walking. When I walk down the street I don't think about putting one foot in front of the other (at least not on most days). My conscious mind isn't focused on moving my legs and bending my knees. It "just happens".

Another explanation that I like to use is by my longtime friend and mentor Kenwood Dennard. He separates his mind into different 'brains' - the ear brain, the eye brain, the arm brain, etc. Each 'brain' controls the function for which that body part is responsible. For example, consider performing with an ensemble. You're reading music while listening to the rest of the group while performing your instrument. A lot is going on that you must keep track of. Kenwood's theory is your brain separates each task and controls them individually on a conscious/subconscious level. Your 'eye brain' reads the music, 'ear brain' listens to the other musicians, etc. The key to this however is you must 'allow' your brain to do this. If you consciously over-concentrate on one thing, the other 'brains' can't maintain control of their respective functions.

People sometimes say they are in 'the zone' when they perform at their peak. My belief is that 'zone' is a state of mind that is achieved through the 4 methods mentioned previously. I guess one could simplify my definition of mastery into this:

Mastery is the ability to consistently perform 'in the zone'.

Stay tuned; I will be delving into all 4 of the methods I previously mentioned in future articles. For now, I wish you ultimate mastery in every drumset performance.