From the 5 year drum corps mega vet to the kid buying his first pair of drum set sticks at Guitar Center, we are all on the same team. Sometimes we see people tearing each other down in the percussion community and it is always so confusing. 

“You suck!”

“Your diddles are so bad I want to kill myself.”

“You should just quit now.”

“Those taps are horrible.”

(These are real comments we have seen)

Remember that we are all on a timeline and some people are simply further down that timeline than others. Giving critique, constructive criticism, and genuine feedback are great! But don’t tear people down. It doesn’t matter how terrible someone is at something, you should always be positive, never negative. If we want the community to grow, we have to work together as a team.

Some might say that they are just speaking the “truth”, but there are many ways to speak truths without being condescending. So keep your comments positive and always do your best to promote good vibes and positive energy in the community. And if you do want to critique what someone is doing, don’t just point out problems, provide solutions. Because at the end of the day, we are all in this together.