On value and usage

At the end of the day, a practice pad is a tool that allows the drummer to practice on a quieter surface, so as not to disturb the neighbors.

If this is the primary consideration, everything else fades in importance.

The pad’s construction, age, size and scarcity (real or perceived) matter far less in this context.

The value of a practice pad, then, is not in its design or construction, but in its use.

The pad that is pristine is a pad that hasn’t been properly valued. It hasn’t been used.

So today, I’m celebrating pads that have been valued through use.

A well-used pad is a pad whose owner has dedicated their time and effort to improving their drumming art.

A well-used pad holds drumming history on an individual, even intimate level. It contains the residue of every stroke played on it, and past a certain point, those strokes begin to have an effect on the appearance and feel of the pad.

I rejoice when I see a well-worn practice pad. It tells me its owner is devoted to excelling at drumming, and not distracted by externals, by ephemera. There’s sticks, and a practice surface, and the head, heart and hands. Period.

That feels like a beautiful thing to meditate on as I drum today.

May your drum meditations be as rewarding and precious.