A butt kickin'

I took the plunge and asked Sidy if he would give me private lessons. Today was the first one. I think we both agreed that I should work on some new material. Mostly because I don't want my friend Lucia to feel like I have an unfair advantage on the stuff we are doing in class, LOL.

Today, three new rhythms. I honestly can't remember the name of the piece, but I can tell you that it was a serious stretch for my beginner skills. They were hard!

I wish I could describe what happens in my brain when faced with a complex rhythm. It is such a dance between understanding it cerebrally, and feeling it physically, seeing it in my mind, on the drum head, and seeing it in real life when my hands hit the skin. For much of the lesson I found myself staring off into space, unable to look at my hands, or Sidy's, without going blank and losing my place.

For awhile, I got it. I was playing along while Sidy soloed next to me. That was amazing. There were moments when I actually felt like we were playing together. And then, pop, it was gone. I'd get lost and forget what I was doing. I am not sure whether I will be able to figure these rhythms out to practice this week, even with a recording.

So, yeah. My drum kicked my butt today.

And it was great.