By Danny N. Brown

How does one become a truly great drummer? Even though drummers are as diverse as anyone else, the truly great ones share some things in common. Here are six common traits that all great people who play drums have...

1. Great drummers know themselves. They understand their talents and strengths, and they know how to use them to their advantage.

2. Great drummers are open to feedback. They learn from the opinions of other who play drums. Even the opinions of less accomplished drummers.

3. Great drummers are eager to learn and improve on the drums. They have a thirst for knowledge and ask questions. As they are lifelong students of the drums who continuously reinvent themselves, they adapt to the ideas they consistently learn. They know by acquiring new information they keeps themselves improving.

4. Great drummers are curious and not afraid to take risks on the drums. They push the envelope, looking for adventure. They explore new options, not fearing mistakes. They know that success depends upon pushing forward toward improvement. They embrace errors because they believe mistakes offer a valuable learning experience.

5. Great drummers learn from criticism. They are students of the drums, and adversity builds their character. Every great drummer can point to a significant critic that affected his or her development.

6. Great drummers serve as a role model or mentor for other people who play drums. They coach others, helping them focus on improvement, teaching, mentoring and empowering them.

Do you see yourself in any of these six points? If not, there is a quick fix... The answer lies in a simple change of attitude. An attitude that says, "I am confident!"

If you noticed, the six characteristics listed above have not even a hint of arrogance in them. Now, there is huge line dividing confidence and arrogance. How to distinguish between the two can be clarified in the following points...

- A drummer of confidence says that he or she can play something on drums and others also can, whereas a drummer of arrogance says that he alone can do it and nobody else can.

- A drummer of confidence always tries to encourage and help others in building their confidence on the drums, where as a drummer of arrogance tries to discourage other drummers.

- A drummer of confidence attracts other drummers who feel confident and elevated in his or her presence and gets inspiration in his or her company, whereas an arrogant drummer creates repulsion in the mind of other drummers who try to avoid him or her because of his or her boastful nature.

- A drummer of confidence appreciates the success of other people who play drums and shares his or her happiness with them, whereas a drummer of arrogance discourages and tries to humiliate other drummers and feels jealous of their success.

- There is joy in being around drummers of confidence because they are cheerful and can mix freely with everyone else. In the presence of arrogant drummers, even confident drummers may tend to feel a bit inferior on the drum kit.

Conclusion

Truly great drummers share common traits... traits such as a high degree of confidence, an openness to criticism, a willingness to teach, a great desire to expand their playing skills, and the ability to remain humble.

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