In all of my ventures, in all of my years, I have never encountered a force so strong as the lightbulb of a seven year old Archer Welch.
Earnest to rock my world with the new beat he had mastered this afternoon, he wrinkled his eyebrows, laser-beamed his baby blues, and flung his sticks with fury across the drums.
“Boom bang, boom boom bang, boom bang, boom boom bang…”
He’d clearly surpassed the chops I had at twice his age. And the only thing beating louder was the heart of this proud dad.
After a minute he stopped and smiled as if he were Tommy Lee soaking in the screams of sold out show at Madison Square Garden.
“DUDE! You are rocking it!” I shouted before he took off on the second act of his solo.
That’s when the opportunity arose for both of us to teach each other something new.
In between his beats I heard a faint echo bleeding through his headphones:
“CLICK…. Clack….clack….clack…”
“CLICK…. Clack….clack….clack…”
It was the trusty guide of his metronome, begging for a handshake in time.
But Archer was bending the clock, and there was no amount of math or machinery that could slow him down.
As he stopped to take a break I gave him a high five, showered his hard work with applause and asked,
“Hey buddy, I have a question for you: do you know what makes the best drummers in the world?”
“Playing fast?” He said.
“Actually, it’s being able to play steady, Like with that metronome in your ear.”
“Oh yeah!” He said, as he reached over to the knob, cranked the speed up to 180 beats per minute and resumed his show at full accelerando.
Outside I was laughing my butt off.
But inside I was shaking my head, with the full realization that this kid only knows one speed; fast and furious.
After challenging him once more to explore a slower tempo, it was clear to see he hadn’t been practicing the art of slow and patient.
And then it hit me…
Neither have I.
How many times have I let my excitement override my excellence?
How many times have I missed the beauty of the quiet that lies in between the noise?
And how many times have I tried to crank up the speed of the universe to match what I want, instead of what is best for the people trying to share the music with me?
The answer was immediate and self evident; basically all the time.
Lately I’ve been paying for that lack of discipline.
Lately I’ve been missing the art of the “rest.”
Lately, and most always, I would be so much better if I would just mind the tempo.
Do you know what I am saying?
As we continue ahead in our new year, let us not forget that fast will never create the best young drummers… or dreamers.
Cheers,
BW
