I think you've gone from "competent" to "very good," and that's pretty major progress. I also think you're a very good teacher; I've been playing for 18 years and am probably close to your level of ability, but I still take a lot away from your videos. You've got an interesting playing style and offer some unique perspectives, and I think it's important that you stay true to yourself and not compare yourself to other RU-vid drummers too much... because every year there's going to be a new one that you think is "better" than you. That'll never stop happening. I guess what I'm saying is keep it up - I'll be watching for another retrospective in 14 more years!
If it sounds good, it is good… - Duke Ellington I only started playing drums around this spring or so so seeing how much you’ve improved is giving me lots of hope for the future. Best of luck :)
One of the most valuable pieces of information I take away from your videos is a sense of volition. That no matter what external factors may be at play, gatekeeping, “you weren’t born with it” rhetoric, waiting for the phone to ring, etc, I have my body and my mind and my drums, and with that, I can get to a better place. I come away from these introspective videos feeling powerful af. I know you don’t need me to tell you but I will: keep on keepin on, fellow Nate
that's funny, because one of the biggest things I've tried to instill in my videos is a sense of Violation. Baby steps 🤣🤣 (In all seriousness thanks for the kind words)
I'm a music teacher, too (mostly guitar, but been playing drums longer). You are a very good teacher, Nate! You always break things down in a way that's funny, insightful, and sinks deeply into my noggin. Thanks
Your transparency, honesty and candor is refreshing. Keep it coming, you are a very good drummer and you keep getting better...your teachings make us all better too.
Probably one of the most grounded things I’ve watched on YT recently that applies to many things in life. Even supposedly naturally talented people practice and continually improve. People can learn a lot from your video 👍
Your journey is the opposite of mine. I'm a no chops all feel guy, finally starting to learn real drumming lol. Your vulnerability is something every drummer, no, musician, combats. You embrace it, and it's fueled your rise. It's inspiring, and thanks for being brave enough to put it out there like nobody else is on the narcissistic internet.
I was noodling some solo vocab last night and suddenly “remembered” what 2019 felt like NOT knowing the language. Thanks Nate and Jacob. I learned, therefore you ARE effective teachers. 🤷🏼♂️💪🥁
Man, you definitely deserve to be a drum teacher. No questions. You've brought a certain perspective (time, feel, etc) which I haven't really found with any other teacher. That's a really big deal. Thank you!
Hey Nate, Had to be away for a bit, missed a couple vids. What you said about not being "insecure" about your playing anymore, but rather feeling good, that's a biggie. You're not trying to be the next "Eric Moore" or anybody, your trying and will be the best YOU. Your backbeat playing sounds so much better since you started hitting harder (the clip of Rage 🤘), which I'm sure for a jazz guy was a big deal. You've got skills my friend, never forget that. I think the older we get (about to turn double nickel myself in just under two weeks) the less concerned we are about impressing others, or chasing what others do (at least not to the same degree we tend to when we're younger). Which doesn't mean we don't want to learn some hip new lick, or grab something that somebody does. We're drummers, that's what we do! The best thing is letting someone inspire you, that's the best lick they can give you. And guess what? To me at least, that's what you've done.. 👍😗
One of the things I liked about your playing from the first was that I knew I could stand in the room with you without hearing protection. It's definitely crucial to make confident powerful (loud/strong) accents and phrases, but being able to reel it back in and not physically hurt anybody rocks my world and gets my gigs
I'm 40, just bought my first drum kit, hone record music, played bass and guitar in bands, but drums are a whole other thing. It's an uphill battle for time and progress, but this is good insight 👍 hopefully I'll turn around one day and realize I've moved forward w it.
That's kinda crazy to me, I started by playing guitar and then started drums and instantly felt like drums were more graspable and easier to improve on for me. But believe you'll make progress. Consistency's all you need
To me you are a New Yorker who perhaps doesn't know how much growing up and living there has shaped you. I enjoy watching these videos in the same way I enjoyed hanging with my working class New York friends when I lived there. Overthinking every life experience and struggling with confidence seems to be the norm for so many born and bred in NYC, especially the working class boroughs. Your tastes and what you think is important to focus on are so different from what I consider the "norm" or "standard", that I feel everyone trying to learn to play drums should be exposed to it. I would guess you get an enormous amount of negative crap laced in the comments, but hopefully you can skim over and ignore them. You provide an absolutely unique perspective, not found anywhere else, and that what I and your 100,000+ subscribers are here to experience.
i will say, i’m pretty interested that playing loud is such a bit concern for you. if i was going to make a retrospective of my playing (went to school for it, playing professionally in LA for the last 8 years) i would note that learning to make a great sound while playing quietly has been one of the biggest level ups for me.
This is spot on, the best teacher I had is FAAAR from my favorite player, I mean he’s great and awesome to listen to but he’s not royalty. I had a different world class teacher who was an amazing player, mind blowing, he was born with natural ability, so he didn’t understand fully what us mortals needed to work on…still a great teacher. Your dedication to the instrument is inspiring
honestly i have been playing for over 40 years. i've been following you for a few years now. nate you have alot of talent. i think your playing is very impressive. ireally enjoy your videos, i;ve learned alot from watching them and listening to yor playing and commentary, keep itup nate. and good luck.
I have always admired not only your smooth, nuanced touch on the drums, but also your INCREDIBLE skills with video editing and teaching. You are one-of-a-kind and don’t anyone tell you differently. Love your work.
One of the biggest untruths i have come across as a novice drummer is that the playing skill of my teacher is more important than anything else, you can be the best on the planet but if you cant teach you are useless. The teacher who has taken me the furthest from the outset has listened to my needs as a student and really motivated me and guided me to improvement.
I'm 25 now but was introduced to your videos when I was like 15-16! You always had it! Your ear and the way you play are what separate you from the others! You've kept me coming back and here I am!
As always, very enlightening... One of the things I like the most about your channel are the ideas and concepts on how to approach certain aspects of playing the drums, as well as the ¨ethos¨ behind it, at the time you always mention that this is a personal quest, inviting us to take from it but also to formulate our own. Keep them coming, they are very much welcomed! Ps: I think yesterday I went to the same practice room you went in Barcelona, the one with the clear finish Yamaha, what are the odds of me watching this clip for the second time and finding this out? Quite slim, I`d say...
Im so sick of people on tiktok/instagram making a 10 year progress video but theyre just shooting it all in one video. So essentially just making up what 1 month, 1 year, 2 years sounds like. Versus actually showing videos of real progression over the years. So thank you for that
Greetings & blessings Nate. If I haven’t told you before, thank you for your teaching service to us drummers. You are a very good teacher and drummer and keep it up, please. I can empathize with being a long time working drummer and not being as confident as I should. Personally I’ve learned that it’s not as much about what I play but how I play it. Simple ideas played confidently always sound better than complex ideas played without confidence. I know this mostly because of my band mates reactions. I think Vinnie said it best; “thought is the enemy of flow”. The way I put this to practice is mostly by listening to the musicians I’m playing with and playing what I feel works best. Can’t say it always works great but it’s much better than when I think too much about what I should play . Thank you again. Keep up your great videos. God bless you.
My big takeaway from this video is that over time, hair and beard get longer and fill in. The secret to progress is get rid of the razor and the shears.
Nate, you've made a ton of progress! You are truly an amazing drummer, musician, and educator. As someone who is still early on in my journey skillwise (7 years in, but still feel like I'm lacking that confidence you were talking about as well as soloing/improv ability), please please please keep making videos. You are WAY more than qualified to teach us how to be better drummers, how to think smarter, practice better, know key theory. It's all relative so to someone who never touched the drums, I'd probably look like a great drum teacher. Extrapolating that out to your skill-level and experience, I think even the best drummers out there and on the Internet have something to learn from you. Not only that but your ideas for teaching are both innovative and creative (I've literally never seen them elsewhere) and your communication and video production skills are 🔥. You have a metric f***kload of knowledge and advice to share with the drumming community. Trust me, we value it immensely and can't wait to see where you go next. P.S. Don't shortsell yourself. It was funny to see you talk about your drumming abilities like they were that of a child. You are on another level bro, up there in the upper echelons. Feel, touch, groove, timing. Bro, you got it. You could easily slay pretty much any gig.
That stage you speak of was so far for me. I always played loud and played with intent at the start. But that's what a good teacher does, I took lessons for 8 months before I had a drum set. I play in a band now and have control and intent. We have a fairly big show well at least at the big venue in town. It's only a showcase, but the big stage. Im hiring my coworker to take pictures for the band and it will be filmed
Welp- you’re certainly not an amateur- by definition. You’ve figured out a way to make a living playing the drums, and from where I’m sitting… you’ve done it in one of the most creative, personal, and constructive ways possible. Congrats on your playing progress! I know how it feels as well. I went to Jazz school in NY as well, played on the scene in the Metro Area outta school as well ( circa 01-03) - However, I decided to not do it for a living - mostly because i didnt/couldnt figure out how to make real money. (Outside of club dates- and nothing against club dates) You have done this. You’re a pro. I’m an amateur. I’m in the corporate world now- and had spent some time burnt out on music during MY journey where i stopped shedding and playing. But I’m happy to say that I have eventually gotten back into music- for the last 4 years or so I’ve been improving again tremendously and im back in the shed - the real shed - but better- and in my 40’s with kids- im better than ive ever been thanks to channels like yours. BUT IM AN AMATEUR. i do it for the love it only without financial compensation. So thank you- your’re a pro- we never stop getting better. Everybody’s different. And whats the best thing of all- you help people - directly- through your work. So thank you. And anyone who says otherwise about you can fuck off
Well sir where I live and been playing growing up I wasn’t fortunate to have RU-vid nor experienced drummers to show me anything so shout out to you and the Orlando drummer, and gospel chops for hitting the internet because if you was young and good they would tell you, you got it. So thanks
Thats true! People tends to play harder in relax way these days. I myself not a good drummer but I found that out when I really seeing some of local drummers on stage then realize that I should have more dynamic and really strike on the beats.
I've been rocking with you for a while man. I'm going to assume your musicality and ability to accurately express the musical ideas that you have in real-time has improved to a great degree. chops and technique have probably improved significantly as well although... as a guitarist i know my technical ability was way higher when I was still in school, as I was playing all the time. Like you, once I started being dedicated more to the idea of, "I just want to do interesting things in music" instead of being part of all the cocksmanship/competitive stuff and letting the needs of the music drive what my fingers need to do, instead of letting muscle memory drive how I engage with the music, things just started sounding more interesting. I stopped thinking about why I'm not where I feel I should be...now it's more like ok this is what I'm trying to do, what do I need to do to get there. I rambled a bit but yeah man, you're the man and I personally think you deserve more success on this platform but, in due time i supopose
you need both tho. I think competition in music can be healthy and good, and also that people should endeavor to be more comfortable being themselves and give fewer shits what other people think. It sounds paradoxical until you think about positive stress to grow stronger, like weight lifting
Good video. You never know what video will inspire someone to pick up sticks, keep going or have a break-through. I only ever saw one video of guru Freddy Gruber actually playing a drum set. It sounded good but not earth shaking. Yet, he taught the best. Keep stickin'...and play YOU!
I have enjoyed your videos for several years now and I have learned from you and been greatly encouraged and challenged by your videos. It was a joy to see your progress through the years and I bet that If we had an eye into those VHS tapes we would see that once, you walked in baby steps while now, you stroll with confidence. It is an encouragement to see your progress because it encourages me that if I continue to practice diligently, and play the things that I learn that I will also improve and bring tremendous value to people. Thank you Nate that you chose to share this journey through RU-vid and share your knowledge and skills through teaching. I am a better drummer, in part because of your channel. :-)
As a life long drummer and a practitioner of Muay Thai and BJJ I really appreciate the comparison between martial arts and musicians. Honestly, the MMA community is better than the Music community in a lot of ways. People are less 2-faced on average.
My old drum teacher gave me some of the best life advice I ever got, technically he probably wasn’t suited for it, he wasn’t one of the most successful people, he wasn’t even one of the happiest ones. Still helped me a bunch though, so in my mind everyone is qualified to teach
what worked for me and i think will help improve your playing tremendously as well will be learning dance/ meditation/ just more confidence in the body/feelings - less heady stuff.
Been following you a long time. I’ve poked at ya a couple times because I’d love to *see your passion in your playing. But make no mistake your a killer drummer, I wouldn’t have subscribed if you weren’t! Keep progressing Nate!
Nice video , anyone who says you have no place teaching is an idiot , It doesn't matter what level your at , teaching always helps both the student and the teacher. I have taught , mostlly basic entry level stuff and grooves and it always teachers me in the process. The only issue I see with some jazz drummers is they are only in it for the chops and don't spend enought time on the groove. I see a way forward in this and it's take a basic groove and start one by one adding chops and see how long you can still hold the basis of that groove !! That's what the greats do !!
I think it is the insights that make someone a good teacher, not whether they are one of the top drummers of all time. Like there is a guitar teacher that does reacts on RU-vid, and he primarily plays blues/rock country music. And he will do reacts to sometimes amazing guitar technique, like Polyphia or Chon, and be like, I can't play that, but... He could play it if he wanted to, and I don't feel an instrument teacher should ever say they can't play a style or technique, unless the sign above their door, says, "only students wanting to learn this style." But in the off the cuff, one time reacts, he has insightful advice and gives a good idea of how to play the songs.
Everyone’s positive comments here sum up my thoughts perfectly. You’ve paid a ton of dues. Besides, the only people that slander another musician are insecure in themselves. That petty, negative energy is really low-level. As for your touch or intensity back in the early 2010s, if I were to provide any solicited input into yourself back then I would’ve offered: ‘I believe if you had a gig that was a flat out groove show like a James Brown tribute or a Prince thing it would whip those hands and kick drum foot into shape quick smart’ Peace and thanks for the ongoing content 🥃🥃
You hit on a key observation I've made regarding teachers. Teachers generally fall into 2 categories. 1.) Been playing since the age of 6, went to dedicated music school, hit their 10k hours before the age of 20. This teacher doesn't remember the first 30% of their education they've been building upon, and can only teach the path they know, which may not translate to teen, or adult students. They'll throw books at you, or they just want to make side cash teaching pop/rock songs. They may view teaching as a necessary side gig they wish they didn't have to do. 2.) Studied for several years, took music courses, may not have hit their 10k hours yet. These teachers are much more interested in teaching then the former, but sometimes lack the knowledge of a true master. They can only teach what they know well enough to teach.
Talent definitely does exist, some people do seem born with it. HOWEVER, good consistency is the only thing that matters. Most talented musicians that advance and play at high levels in the biggest stages are only there because they were consistent. That also counts for those who only just got into music at a later age. What's even funnier is, usually, you can't spot the difference between the both, if both are consistent. I know an amazingly talented drummer that stopped playing drums in his late teens (17-18 years old) to pursue football.. nothing wrong with that at all, but if you hear him play now, you'd realise he's no professional. Consistency matters more than anything.
Here you are perfecting the $+ out of the most intricate stuff. And here I am, orchestral musician who still sucks at keeping time. (your vids are fantastic!)
As Nike says, just do it. No matter what walk of life your in, the realization that there are different levels of professional becomes apparent. Time and experiences help the fundamentals.
The biggest boost in progress for me was both getting an instructor (again) and switching up genres. It's fun to study a new form of music, then play in a gigging band and actually play convincingly.
@@johnny5.56 Fun question for you. I learned double bass really early (probably too early) and I lead with my normal bass drum foot. But I've noticed a LOT of drummers who picked it up later lead with their hi-hat foot, since it's frequently playing the downbeat anyway. So the question, which foot do you lead with when playing double bass? Thanks!
I share my imperfections on my own channel because of people like you being real. Thanks for not over editing yourself like these fake guitar players and their final edits. No one is going to learn from that ‘reality’ about what the world is really like. ❤
Your videos help me out to see things i didn't see in my playing and helped me a lot. If you know something is good to pass the knowledge fowards. Also technique doesn't matter if you don't sound good
As Bart Simpson says “pound sand” - that is for the haters. An instrument is something that presents a life long challenge. I spend a number of years kicking my drum set tyres. It is only lately that I started using my Drumeo membership and have made great strides forward in timing and feel. Keep up the great work.
i keep my youtube channel and force myself to post so that I can reflect and look back. i'm happy i post when everything isn't perfect, looking back I'm pleasantly surprised by what I did well
Any Drummer, who's got a few skills that an other Drummer haven't got,- can teach/coach this Drummer! That is essentially "the Way/Kind/Art of Humans learning! I'd go so far, telling that any different Opinion on that Objekt results out of Comparison, Gatekeeper Mentality and many other unhealthy Things! If you own some teaching skills, or not is subjektive... As always: the Future ( the Legacy ) will do the Proof!
This is the first time I've seen one of your videos. I really like the way you communicate - super calm and honest. You're a really talented musician also. Just a curious question - I only now watched a couple of your other videos and am wondering why don't use drum mics?
Here’s what I know. If you can play, you can play. If you can teach, you can teach. Some people can play. Some people can teach. Some people can play and teach. Some people can’t play or teach. Thankfully, the people who really matter in life seem to recognize this.
This video reminds me of a bit of The Screwtape Letters (tl;dr Senior demon counseling junior demon on how to best push his "patient" toward Hell. Fun read). Just go with me. "Your efforts to instill either vainglory or false modesty into the patient will therefore be met from the Enemy’s side with the obvious reminder that a man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding on his own precise niche in the temple of Fame." Anyway, I think I started watching your stuff (I'm a guitarist) in 2018(?). You were solid then, and you've only gotten better. 👊🏼
Yo Nate fts, some people on social media are just… I almost got into an argument with someone who thinks Marcus Gilmore sucks🤦🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️ I appreciate you man, I’ve learned a lot from your content and you absolutely should be teaching…FTS!
Great video! Your comment “ if it sounds good, it probably is”( I think I got that correctly), but how do you know ? I’ve been play for about a year now, I feel that certain days during my practice sessions I unlock a level/ or cheat code. I can hear things tightening up… they sound good to me…so how do I know it’s actually “good”? It’s tight, clean, and flows, and is interesting [ at least to me ] but how do you know? May you expand on micro time in a future video too? Again, I enjoyed this, as I do most all of your videos! Thanks! Apologies for all the questions .
Some of the best drummers i've seen in my life dont have social media or post their drumming online. i dont see why people hate on others.. its crazzzy
Your anecdote about drum teachers applies just as well to Martial arts coaches as well. oftentimes, the best coaches like Teddy Atlas, Freddy Roach, Trevor Wittman, etc, don't make great fighters.
