Growing up as a musician, you are taught to grab at every opportunity that comes your way. When you're young and seeking to gain experience, this makes perfect sense. But there does come a time when it's good to take stock of the work one is doing and whether you are in the right place. Case in point. Through a bunch of experiences, both good and less so, I realized that ongoing teaching of students younger than around 14 and beginners was not the best choice for me. Firstly, there are people much better at this than I, and this isn't something I want to focus on anymore. This isn't a hard and fast rule. If a student is super keen to study with me or if it's a camp or clinic situation, I'll certainly wave this (somewhat loose) rule. I also don't want anyone to think I don't enjoy interacting with young people. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would just prefer interacting with them as a musician rather than a teacher. There's also gig situations that I'm less likely to take now as well. There would be nothing worse than me playing in some situation I don't want to be in, especially when there are other players that would enjoy the experience. I can guarantee you that every time you see me behind my drums, I want to be there. :)
Finally, there may be times when you feel what you are doing (as a musician or teacher) is not understood or appreciated. In these cases, it's best to let go of them and "find your people" so to speak. :)
…..and although this has nothing to do with anything, here's me practicing a groove and employing an accent on 2 & 4 with the bass drum.
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