In my last post I was about to do a big reveal on how to cope with the frustration of hitting a plateau. I mentioned Isaac Asimov who used to have 5 or 6 projects going at once, and jump from one to the other if he were to get a writer’s block. I then guessed you thought I would advocate to do the same in music: when stuck, do something else. Is that a way to go? Should we thingk that way?
Actually, yes. There are no surprise there. Just a good old obvious “Do as Asimov did!”. But with a twist. Asimov could write novels at the same time as scientific papers and short stories, which are not even in the same ball park. In music, you can’t do that. If you’ve got a certain speed on a certain exercise, at the very least, try not to lose it by focusing on something altogether different. But you can flatter the situation, entertaining it, pleasure it, if you will. For example, let’s suppose you’re are doing Right Left Right Left, as fast as possible. So fast that it becomes a uniform buzz called a roll. Only you nowhere near that buzz sound because you’re not very fast yet. If you go with the Asimov method with a twist, you’ll do the Right Left Right Left but on the kit instead of doing it on one surface. Doing it on a bunch of toms is a bit more exhausting, but it’s more entertaining. You can also decide to do the pattern with a goal. For instance, let’s say you want to annoy your sister. All you need for that is a pair of sticks and some determination. On any surface, you start your drum solo, preferably on something that’s truly irritating like a wooden table or your fork against the plate. Oh, let me tell you, there are no more plateau. The more she gets irritated, the more fun it becomes. Speed is not in the picture anymore, you just trying to see how much you can rev up her engine.
In general, if you want to achieve something in music, the goal is not to stop. You can diversify like Asimov did, but you can’t stop. Because, unlike in writing, you are training your mind and your body. No two ways around it. So, no matter what, you have to keep practicing. I guess it’s not impossible, it’s just a matter of getting creative.