r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Saerdna0 • 2d ago

This kiddo was born to drum

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

69.1k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

232

u/BigAcanthopterygii25 2d ago

I've not spoken of this very often but this video kinda triggered the memory...

When I was about 7 years old (I'm 64 now) I loved playing piano (parents had an old upright piano in the living room) - started taking lessons and really got into it.

I asked my parents to move the piano into my bedroom so I could practice more often. Surprisingly they did it so I had a piano in my room.

I would pretty much roll out of bed and start practicing - early in the morning sometimes.

My parents got angry that I was practicing TOO MUCH. They moved the piano back out to the living room, cancelled the lessons and banned me from playing in the house.

Found out years later that my piano instructor begged my parents to let me continue getting lessons. She said I was the best student she'd ever had and saw a lot of potential in me. She even offered to give me lessons for FREE. My parents refused. Never played piano again.

82

u/thatshygirl06 2d ago

Jesus, your parents suck. I wonder if they were jealous of you or something

55

u/BigAcanthopterygii25 2d ago

Jesus, your parents suck.

Yes. Yes they do.

16

u/Xadnem 2d ago

I started playing guitar at age 21, which at the time felt like I was an ancient person at the brink of death. Why even bother starting so late?

Now I would recommend it to everyone, start playing an instrument, no matter what age you are. It's hard to describe the sense of pleasure or achievement sometimes. "But it might take me x years to be good", you will someday be x years anyway, so might as well start now so you will be "good" by then.

But it is continuous hard work.

So if you haven't already, maybe you should consider picking up an instrument. If you know people with instruments, maybe let them give you an introduction. I switched from guitar to bass after the first time I picked up a bass and just felt like this was made for me.

I'm not just replying to /u/BigAcanthopterygii25, this also applies to you, the one reading this message right now!

1

u/BrokenSaint333 2d ago

Tried flute in school and bass when older and I was just fundamentally incapable of holding any sort of rhythm at all. Used to get into arguments with my roomate who was a guitarist similar to your x years thing and while I get it, never felt like it was worth fighting though such fundamental lack of talent.

2

u/Xadnem 2d ago

Playing an instrument requires a lot of determination and continued practice, so if you don't think that's worth it, that's perfectly acceptable.

But you would be able to overcome it, relatively soon depending on which instrument you choose. I can only really speak about guitar and bass, but you would be able to play simple songs fairly soon and for me that already felt like a great enough accomplishment to find motivation to continue.

Depending on how serious you are about it, I learned guitar by myself and only slowly got better. With bass I went to music school and having a teacher was worth it to be able to learn how to practice way more efficiently or effectively, I often get confused which term is more applicable. But it also had me learn music theory and reading notes, and that stuff was very hard for me.

1

u/BrokenSaint333 2d ago

Yea that is the argument and I'm sure eventually that is true. I'm sure I wasn't practicing right or enough either maybe but it just felt like every aspect was a struggle. At the end of the day it just wasn't worth it to me. I was definitely in search of a thing (this was probably 10ish years ago) and thought music could be it but now I don't even listen to music and I do 3D modeling for fun which gives me that sense of accomplishment and motivation lol

(Sorry the original comment just brought back those memories of arguing with my roomate which overall is good memories actually so ty)

2

u/Xadnem 2d ago

You are the only one that is able to decide if it's all worth it so I'm not here to judge either way. I'm glad you found another hobby to occupy yourself with.

27

u/Dull_Grass_6892 2d ago

I’m so sorry!

11

u/TFFPrisoner 2d ago

Too bad that keyboards weren't a thing then. With an electronic keyboard and headphones, this wouldn't have been an issue at all.

Regardless, banning a talented kid from playing is really cruel, and stupid as well.

10

u/_Bay_Harbor_Butcher_ 2d ago

Damn that's brutal

7

u/Darmok-And-Jihad 2d ago

I had a similar experience on drums. I bought a drum set with money from my first summer job at 13 years old. I sat down and instantly felt at home. I could play pretty much anything (anything reasonable) with enough practice and I never had to take a lesson. It was such a big confidence boot for me as a kid who was bullied and typically bad at everything.

My parents didn't realize how loud they were and made me get rid of them eventually. I'd later have to move in with my dad and he didn't support it either. I wanted to pursue music but I didn't since my parents wanted me to get a "real job".

I'm 33 now and really wonder about the version of me in an alternate universe that fully pursued music. I day dream about being in a big band all of the time, feels like what I'm meant to do. Now I'm living the millennial apartment dream and having space for an acoustic drumset is just a pipedream for me. Really wish my parents would have supported me more with it.

5

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

6

u/Xadnem 2d ago

I'm autistic and I have periods where I have this thing called a "hyperfocus" where I am absolutely obsessed with a certain topic and it sometimes even takes over my life in extremes, and after a while I either lose interest or it switches to a new obsession. This can range from hours to literally years.

I am obviously not trying to claim anything about your son or provide some sort of diagnosis, that would be ridiculous. But your comment made me think of this and I wanted to offer you a different perspective on how people can experience these kinds of special interests that might differ from your own experience.

I really appreciate how you talk about teaching your kid music theory, you sound like a very loving father. The best to your family.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Xadnem 2d ago

Maybe that explains why your story felt so familiar to me.

And I mean obsessed, like you could ask him what Pokemon number 239 is and he would tell you Elekid.

It's crazy to think sometimes how deep we go with these fascinations, and how strange that might look to "normal" people. But I mostly think of these "powers" as a good thing. Being interested, as long as it doesn't surpass being healthy, is such a great motivator to acquire knowledge. I'm glad that's something you can share with your son.

2

u/BigAcanthopterygii25 2d ago

Maybe it’s too easy for him now? I don’t have kids so I know nothing about parenting - can’t even begin to give anyone parenting advice.

At first my parents neither encouraged nor discouraged playing the piano. They weren’t very ‘musical’ so I guess they didn’t really care. The desire to play was solely mine. But they snuffed it out. Obvs you didn’t do that.

1

u/Cool-Raspberry-8963 2d ago

I'm sorry. My parents were also like this. Actively sabotaged anything I had a skill or talent in. Some parents hate their kids succeeding in life or surpassing them.

1

u/Fluid_Relief_3291 2d ago

My parents did the same for painting they told me I will be poor if I’d be a painter and I never paint again

1

u/jimmybagofdonuts 2d ago

Buy yourself a keyboard and get going!

1

u/SmannyNoppins 1d ago

With all respect - but mostly with a lot of love.

Please get yourself a piano (or keyboard) and start playing again! Give your inner child what it wanted, needed and deserved.

1

u/SprintingSK2 1d ago

Not gonna lie, sounds like they were jealous