#327: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE (Advice From My Ex Drum Teacher)

October 5, 2020 — Once upon a time, I had a drum teacher named Joe. He tried to teach me the value of practice, but I didn’t understand until I started my 365 Challenge and found a rhythm.

In high school, I had a drum teacher named Joe.

Every week, I would show up for my lesson, and he would ask me the same question…

“Did you practice?”

I’d grin sheepishly and say, “Yea…”

We both knew I was lying, so it became this running joke. At the end of each lesson, Joe would grab my sheet music and write in giant letters…

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

Then he would roll up the sheet music and bop me on the head with it (presumably to help the message sink in).

Like most students, I didn’t get it.

But when I started my 365 Comics challenge ten years later, I finally understood.

Tip: Practice, Repeat

The lesson in my drum teacher’s advice wasn’t the word “practice,” but the repetition of the word.

After a week of drawing daily comics, I fell into a rhythm, and coming up with creative ideas began to transform from a chore into a…