“Everyone has ambition, but what are you putting into the instrument that you expect greatness to come out of? Everyone hopes to be good, but is that good enough?”

“This brings us to the fact that a musician needs internal motivation to want to achieve satisfaction and have a feeling of accomplishment and pride. Remember, you are calling the shots. Once you lose your motivation, or let someone or something distract you away from it, you’re in trouble. You’re doing this for yourself and to yourself. You’re practicing to please someone else in a performance situation, but before all this you must satisfy YOURSELF.”

“Which brings us to your confidence. You must know that you are capable of handling any situation necessary…”

“This book is designed to make you more aware of what you are hearing and playing. Singing each part that each of your limbs play will train your ears to accept and understand what you’re doing. When you have mastered this, then and only then can you hear what you are saying on your instrument.”

“A lot of things happen to musicians to mold their personalities. Disappointments are a must, so that you can learn to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.”

“Meeting all sorts of people goes hand in hand with this business. You live on promises until you are forced to take a stand.”

“There are so many facets of this art/business. You don’t have to be famous to have gone through all of them, but you must go through all types of musical experiences.”

“The emotional abuse a musician takes just to prove himself to himself, this is what makes a musician. He takes pride in his instrument; he takes pride in his self discipline.”

“In the studio, you have to marry the bass player. The bass drum must do one of three things:

1). Play exactly what the bass plays

2). Stay out of his way

3). Compliment him.”

…and Time—time is the master of things! It’s the most important thing. Beyond that is Attitude—attitude is the next most important thing.”

“Did you ever notice how many musicians sound alike? It’s like top-40 lounge bands, who all copy the same records. These days, when you audition for a band, they send you a tape so that you can mimic their previous drummer. If you don’t play the same fills, you’re out, and the guy who can, gets the job (if there is one).”

“A long time ago, auditions were a lot different. You went in and played with enthusiasm—you played your best. They paid attention to your reading skills, your time, and your concept of the things you were reading. Even if you didn’t read so well, but could carry the band, they were content. It left a lot of room to create. But today, there’s no room to create, only to copy. That only does one thing for a drummer—it causes frustration.”

“Five out of ten drummers who ‘made it’ aren’t good musicians; they just got a break. That’s sad. But they’ll never advance, but in this business, when you stop learning, you’re old hat. Remember, it’s hard to get there, but it’s twice as hard to stay there.”

“There are different kinds of musicians. There are some who have to be “stars”. They’re usually the speed freaks who don’t read, play fast, and make a big impression. But the guy who will make the money is the guy who is willing to take a back seat and make another artist sound good, in the studio, or in fact in every part of life.”

“In 1940, we played ding ding-a-ding with one bass line, and we thought we were great! But today, you have to be able to read four lines at once, and that’s very important. See, some people don’t grow. They do the same thing that this guy did or that guy did, and they die.”

“I want you to realize how difficult it is-how much we have to learn. And that’s what this method does for you: it makes you aware of what you can’t do, so that you can better yourself.”

“You can go out and play a gig, and everyone can say, ‘Wow, what a great drummer,’ but that doesn’t really count. What really counts is that you play good and you know you play good. And you know what went on in the band—when someone was dragging, when someone was out of tune. Your ears are alert. You hear what your left foot is doing, what your right foot is doing, your eyes are relating to the music, and you’re doing everything the way you want to do it.”

“There are three things you must have to become successful:

First is the DESIRE for success.

Second is the MOTIVATION to do what you’re told to do.

Third is the GOAL to be able to accomplish all of this.”

“This is what Zen Buddhism is about as far as drumming is concerned. It’s not the drumset, it’s not the sticks, it’s all you. So as soon as you see something, it comes right out through your body.”

“You probably wonder, ‘Why do I have to sing?’ Well, that’s the only way you are going to relate to your playing. When you’re singing the bass drum part, you’re imitating the sound, and you’re hearing the bass drum. It’s embedded in your head and you know exactly what you’re playing. It’s the same thing when you sing the melody, or the quarter-note pulse.”

“There are three kinds of time:

1). On time

2). Behind time

3). On top (ahead) of time.

The three of them have to be mastered—by you.”

“Guys think they have good right hands, but what they really have is a good left side feeding the right.”

“When muscles are out of balance, it’s natural for them to freeze up and affect the flow of time execution. Nervousness will often cause hesitation in playing. Being balanced on your drumset and breathing correctly can help you avoid the tension.”

“If you think of practicing as developing the muscles, you will eliminate the nervousness and hesitation in your playing. Think of the Systems as muscle builders. Remember, before anything can groove, it must feel good body-wise. The muscles have to be trained and stretched slowly in order for you to make them do what you want them to do.”

“I’m trying to take away the mediocrity of today’s drummers and bring them up to another standard. We’re all capable of doing this if we just think about bettering ourselves.”

“It’s not the notes, it’s the rests. The rests are the most important part of music. Without the rests, the notes don’t mean anything.”

“There are a lot of great drummers, but stopping there is not where it’s at. You can all go further. If you stop learning and progressing, you’ll end up playing weddings and bar mitzvahs. If that’s what you want, great, and that’s what usually happens. You can make pretty good money, but if you learn on that, and let your learning process diminish, you pay a high price.”

“That’s what’s bad about this business. You don’t realize what potentials you have, and you’re not tapping those potentials. In order to be successful in this business, you have to be innovative. You’ve got to give me something that this guy can’t give me or that guy can’t give me. Otherwise, who the hell needs you? If you’re good, you don’t know how good you are. There’s so much to learn—so much to learn it’s not even funny, and wasting time is not going to do it.”

“Playing good is not good enough, You’ve got to be INNOVATIVE.”

“It’s up to you. You’re the next generation. There will always be positions that need to be filled, new ideas waiting to be discovered, and a world in need of great leaders. Be the best that you can be.”

“I know it’s hard to stay motivated when you’ve been in your cellar practicing and practicing, and you go out to a concert and hear a guy who doesn’t play half as good as you, and he’s making $5,000 a week. So what?! It doesn’t make a difference. Your motivation has got to be straight ahead, Your goals have got to stay visible. Nothing must interfere with your practicing or with your love of drumming.”

“If you’re in this business to be famous, or to pick up chicks, or to get high, or to party—get the f*** out. Because you’re not going to get anywhere. It’s you. You’re doing this for yourself, and if you don’t do better for yourself, you’re not going to make it.”

“You strive to be good. But to be good is not good enough. You’ve got to be better.”