Empower Drumming

A reminder 💙

I made this sign for my drums a few years ago. I realized that whenever I sat down to make a video, I felt like I had to PROVE how good I was as a drummer, or that I even had the right to teach and coach.

If you play drums or any other instrument, you’re a musician. Musicians are artists, and as artists we EXPRESS what’s inside ourselves in a pure authentic way. It’s just what we do.

Any judgment of that doesn’t make sense. We ALL have the right to express ourselves.

In what areas of your life do you feel like you have to prove yourself? Is there a way to reframe it as expressing instead? 💙

It was a huge honor to write this tribute to Taylor Hawkins for .

If there’s any one thing I got from my deep-dive into his life and impact, it’s exactly that: to realize our impact — on the world and the people around us. We have no idea how much we matter, how inspiring we are, how crucial it is we exist. ❤️

Link to article in my stories

I am really proud of this! 😄🙌

used my website as the example for their new page on music teachers!

https://bandzoogle.com/websites-for/music-teachers

They call my site "stunning", and the rep wrote me: "We absolutely love your website and your message. Thanks for being an awesome member." ❤️

I've never considered myself a visual artist, and typically don't think I have a good eye for design.. But I created this site myself.

Yet another example that what we perceive our limitations to be may not be true. What does that mean for the rest of our lives? 🧐

💥 Think you're not "good enough" to play drums, or call yourself a drummer? I think you ARE! 😌

Book a free 10min call w me and let's talk about how to reach your drumming dreams! ⬇️
www.empowerdrumming.com

SUPER excited about this!! 😄🙌

Bandzoogle used my website as THE example for their new page on music teachers!

https://bandzoogle.com/websites-for/music-teachers

They call my site "stunning", and the rep wrote me: "We absolutely love your website and your message. Thanks for being an awesome member."

I've never considered myself a visual artist, and typically don't think I have a good eye for design.. But I created this site myself.

Yet another example that our perceived limitations may not be what we think. What does that mean for the rest of our lives? 🧐

💥 Think you're not "good enough" to play drums, or call yourself a drummer? I think you ARE! 😌

Sign up for a free 10min call and let's talk about how you can reach your drumming dreams! ⬇️
www.empowerdrumming.com

SUPER stoked to play this show tmrrw!

I was blown away by at the .bluegrass last summer… I said “we have to jam!“ 🤗

And now we’ve made an ! 😄🎹🎸🥁 We’re following that ‘70s acoustic-pop tradition of and , but with some modern stylings thrown in.

Coming with that territory, these are some of the most difficult drum arrangements I’ve ever played. Send me good energy vibes for our debut performance! 🥁😎

💔😢

to touring in the UK 👀
Loved this setup. 🥁

Man, I miss that place! Having such a hankering for overseas travel. ✈️ Not exactly easy right now between Covid and Ukraine..

Wishing peace and health for the world 🌏 ☮️ 💙

PERFECTIONISM SUPPORT GROUP - FREE - 🙌

Monthly Zoom Gatherings:
First Tuesday of the month at 4pm PST / 7pm EST
Beginning Tuesday, March 1st. TODAY
For members of the Drummergirls United Facebook group
https://fb.me/e/1kthEFQd0

Does this sound like you? ⬇️

🥁 I sometimes have impatience and frustration about where I’m at in my drumming journey

🥁 I’m often afraid to play with others, make videos or perform, because I think I’m “not good enough”

🥁 I have a lot of “shoulds” about being better or farther along, especially given how much time and money I’m investing

🥁 I sometimes find myself procrastinating my practice, or even thinking about quitting altogether

As drummers, especially female drummers, virtually ALL of us have feelings about not being good enough.

This can lead to feelings of imposter syndrome, unworthiness, and ultimately... disconnection.

Perfectionism isn’t about striving for excellence — instead, it’s a belief that says if I do it all “right” I can avoid criticism and judgement.

Brené Brown says, “Perfectionism is a 20-ton shield we think will keep us safe, but actually just prevents us from being seen.”

Perfectionism isn’t about striving to be our best, it’s about protecting ourselves.

———

Our vision for this support group is that it be a safe space to be vulnerable, share our struggles, and get help and guidance.

So that we keep playing. So that we keep expressing.

The group can reflect back the best parts of ourselves, guide us to finding our strengths, and help us take stock of how far we’ve come.

With the pandemic receding a bit (for now?), I'm back to thinking about climate change. It's REALLY hard to not feel like no matter what we do, we're all f**ked. That thought makes me feel defeated and hopeless. Then I think "Why do anything, then, if it's all ending?".

My girlfriend reminded me about the musicians on the Titanic who continue to play as the ship goes down. At some point they stop and try to save themselves... but when they realize they won't make it into a lifeboat, they start playing again. Why? Because musicians play music. That's what we do. We can't NOT do that. Even if we're going down.

Sometimes people go into coaching because they want to feel like they're helping people, that they're "making a difference". Of course I want to help and make a difference, but that orientation places my value, and the value of my coaching, on whether those things are happening. What if I have intrinsic value, no matter what the effect of my craft is? What if I coach because that's what I do..? It's my essence. I can't NOT do it.

If humans are on a ship that's sinking, It’s a given that I want to prevent that in any way I can. But what if one of the main things I can do is to just...do what's the most me. To do the things that I can't not do. To live as my essence.

What are the things that are the most you? The things you can't not do?