Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A four-year revelation


Four years ago, I decided to get serious about music again. I had a choice - I was either going to focus on guitar or drums. After a lot of thought and contemplation, I chose to become a serious guitar player.

Now that four years have passed, I have realized that I'm really no better at guitar than I was back then. I may have learned a few new songs (but probably forgot a lot more that I used to know when I was younger) but everything else has stayed relatively constant despite a concerted effort to improve.

I'm also still drawn to the drums. I tap out rhythms when I'm sitting at my desk at work. Or driving in the car. Or anywhere else, really. When I listen to new music, the first thing I notice is the drums. I feel like I have a mental block when it comes to learning the guitar, yet the drums just seem so natural.

You probably know where this is going. I've decided to stop denying it and embrace the fact that, despite all my best efforts to the contrary, I'm a drummer at heart. I still love the guitar and I'm sure I'll still play from time to time, but I won't be as serious about it as I was. Heck, maybe I'll even enjoy it more.

So I'm putting together a plan. I want to get a set of electronic drums (I'm really liking the Roland HD-3 V-Drums). I might thin my guitar collection down a little bit as I won't be playing them as much and there are already some guitars I rarely pick up anymore. I'll keep the bass, because I like the fact that I will have a complete power trio setup and I would still like to possibly do some basic home recording.

I'm excited about this. I feel like I'm finally going down the right musical path, albeit four years too late.