adventures, personal, Wellbeing
Published on October 2, 2023
Comments 41

Too old to learn the drums at 56? Hell no! One year later…

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Welcome Folks, to the best year of my life. I mean that. Twelve months ago exactly I bought my first electronic drum kit for $400, played it for 2 weeks every day, then upgraded to a $1500 kit. I wrote all about it HERE. A couple of months later I spent $500 on a cute blue acoustic kit (which means the proper ‘drum kit’ you see with rock bands), then again upgraded to my now-much-beloved-almost-new-proper Pearl kit, with pride of place in my living room:

And yes, I’d sleep there if I thought it would help me learn quicker.

For me, drums are the perfect combination of rhythm, dance, meditation, creativity, focus, play, fun, and discipline. I try and play every day for an hour (sometimes more), and let me acknowledge here what a privilege this is: I don’t have to deal with a fulltime job, 3 kids, a struggle with homelessness, or even just grumpy neighbours.

I am SO blessed.

Last week marked six months of weekly rehearsals with my group of over-45 women who had always wanted to be in a band but hadn’t yet; I wrote about that project HERE.

And it all started with this fabulous article about Ruth Miller and Unglamorous music:

“The unlikely story of England’s all-female, middle-aged punk scene“

From that original gathering of 20 women, 10 of us became regulars at Nedlands in Lismore, which is an old farming shed down a dirt road on the outskirts of town, converted into 2 music studios, each with a drum kit, mikes & amps, plus soundproofing and aircon.

All for only $20/hr to hire!

I’m proud to say I’ve only missed one, and that was two weeks ago because I was in Melbourne. Apparently, the bass player put the metronome on her iPad in the middle of the Studio floor as they all began to play, and just watched as everyone slid off the beat… so I was actually missed.

*happy grin.

The next big step of course is performing. As a performer anyway, I’m super keen. But some women have never been on stage before, or even contemplated that as possible, so there’s a variety of anxities to address.

Last week, Nev (who created Nedlands for his drumming son Ned) suggested we play one song at their Xmas party, which of course thrilled me, but not everyone. However, to the protest that ‘We’re not ready’, Nev wisely said:

‘You’re never ready, and you’re never as good as you want to be. But you learn so much. You’ve just got to do it.’

I like Nev’s attitude. And I think that sums up my one year of drumming perfectly.

I have SO DAMN MUCH to learn of course, but oh my Goddess what fun I’ve had already; if you’re reading this and you’ve always wanted to play an instrument or sing or tap dance or make furniture or write a memoir or carve ice sculptures etc, this is your sign.

Just BEGIN.

Because the next year is going to go by anyway…

In gratitude for my privilege, commitment, and Joy, G xO

41 Comments

  3. Joanna Goodwin's avatar
    Joanna Goodwin says

    Oh my God this is the very! What an amazing fabulous journey ! There are no limits to what you can do 😂😂👏👏👏🥂🍾❤️

    Liked by 2 people

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  4. nonsmokingladybug's avatar
    nonsmokingladybug says

    You look so happy and you are right, we are never too old to learn something new or for a funky hair cut and colorful clothes, or anything else that other might consider ‘weird’ or a bit crazy.
    Go for it! Always! (So will I)

    Liked by 3 people

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    • bone&silver's avatar
      bone&silver says

      Yes indeed. Thanks Ann. Apparently one of the barriers to women getting into music/bands etc is the idea of needing to be ‘perfect’, or else not taking the risk at all. So sad, and such a waste.

      Liked by 2 people

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  11. acflory's avatar
    acflory says

    So proud of you! Getting older does make learning new things a little harder because we can’t just rely on memory, but creativity demands an outlet, and we age on the inside if we allow fear to let that creativity wither. Teaching myself how to do video editing was a bit daunting at the start but like you, I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. Go girl! Oh, and at some point how about recording yourself and the band and uploading the recording to Soundcloud?

    Liked by 1 person

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    • bone&silver's avatar
      bone&silver says

      🤣. Thanks Widds. I filmed about 20 takes, but decided to go with the silly one where I messed up & laughed as it’s actually much more ‘me’ than anything perfect 🥴😘

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  15. nichtisobel's avatar
    nichtisobel says

    Dang, G. You rock! I wish I was halfway across the world so I could shred with y’all (although all I do is sing classically. I’m loud!). You’re a bad-ass in so many ways. And so cute biting the drumstick! post more videos, please, when you feel inspired….

    Liked by 1 person

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    • bone&silver's avatar
      bone&silver says

      Oh babe, I SO need a bad-ass singer!! Imagine if you ever got here… I’ve just written my first feisty punk song about burning down the patriarchy, working on the rhythm & melody (much harder than the words for a blogger to be honest 😬), but simply cannot drum & sing at the same time 🤷🏼‍♀️🥴. Well, not yet anyway 😘.
      I’m glad you like the video; I shot about 20, then decided to use the funny one where I stuffed up, which seemed the most genuine, I’ll try to do more ♥️ Rock on honey ♥️

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  18. Drumline Stories's avatar
    jayla houseman says

    This is amazing! I have the opportunity to play in a drumline in my own high school. My drum instructor is turning 70 this year, you really are never too old to play the drums!! I’m currently learning to play the drumset and you are an inspiration for me to keep playing!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • bone&silver's avatar
      bone&silver says

      All right! This is great news: play those drums, don’t ever stop. How I wish I’d done it at 18… just stick to it ♥️
      Thank you so much for reading & commenting 😊 G

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    • bone&silver's avatar
      bone&silver says

      lol, there’s definitely something to be said for consistency in practice. I bet if you’d kept going you’d have succeeded on some level? I get a monthly lesson from an AMAZING female drummer… and yes, I do have natural rhythm (dancer from way back). Thanks so much for reading & commenting- I’d love to try a handpan, I think they’re pretty hard 🙏🏼

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