The Terry Clarke Interview

I teach my students that the drum is a means to an end, not an end in itself. They seem to have gotten it reversed. A lot of drummers use music to play the drums to show off how well they can play, how fast they can play. I say, "you use the drums to play music, it's a musical instrument." Ringo Starr said, he never really practiced the drums because he always played in a band. He just knew that he was playing music in a band and he happened to be playing the drums. He could have been playing any instrument. Therefore the drums became his voice within the band, not an end in itself. It's like using your tongue, pallet and lips to say something, you don't practice saying things really fast to impress people about your vocal technique. You're using your tongue and your mouth and your larynx to say something. The drums are being used as a means to an end.