Sometimes it’s best to be a humble drummer －時々謙遜するドラマーでいることが一番良い－

A jazz trio is playing.  The pianist is a virtuoso.  He is the reason a crowd has gathered at the live venue and spent their hard-earned cash.  The bass player and the drummer are heard in the background, keeping the rhythm and providing a little depth to the music.

There is a quiet moment in the song and the piano fades out.

Suddenly the drummer has a rush of blood to the head and jumps in.  Pah-pah-ta-pap.  Ching-ching-ching.  Pahpt- ta-ta-pa-pa-pa-ching!

The audience politely applauds.  They are nice people, and are just happy to know that the drummer is still awake.  Unfortunately, the drummer misunderstands the reason for the applause.  He assumes that the audience are demanding a two-minute drum solo.  He takes a deep breath.

Pah-tarrrapa.  Ching-ching-ching-ching! (More pahs, tas, and chings continue randomly for two pages)

The drummer has forgotten that he is just a drummer.  His job is to stay in the background.

This happens in jazz.  Sometimes in the middle of an otherwise good song, you can hear a really long solo from a drummer or bass player.  I don’t mind a short solo.  But anything more than 10 seconds tends to be very boring.  There just isn’t the same variety of sounds available to a bass player or drummer as there is for a pianist or trumpeter.

I think this advice also holds true in other areas of life.  If you are in a meeting and you don’t have anything important to contribute, then there is no need to jump forward and talk.  If you are in the back-seat of a car, there is no need to tell the driver how to drive.

Sometimes it’s best to be a humble drummer.

Vocabulary:

a venue – a place where something, such as a concert, happens

depth – of music, richness; variety of tones

to have a rush of blood to the head – informal, to suddenly act rashly

otherwise (good) – (good) in all other parts except this one

for something to hold true – of a theory etc., not to be disproven after being tested

humble – having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance