he's good

It feels funny doing this, an all out brag. But this is partly a record for me, for the future, to look back and remember (or rediscover) and this is one I definitely want to record. So.

A couple of days ago, Dan came in the door, home from work, looking bemused. "I just met a man outside."

He'd just gotten out of his car in the driveway as this man, mid-thirties, probably Russian, was walking by. The man saw him and stopped. "Do you play the drums?"

"No, I don't."

"I hear drumming coming from your house. It sounds good. I was a drummer myself."

"Oh, that's my son. He started playing recently."

"He's very good. How old is he?"

Apparently the guy was absolutely floored when he found out the drummer he was complimenting was a six year old boy. A veritable prodigy.

I told Damian's drum teacher the story. He smiled and nodded as we watched Damian look at a brand new page of drum beats: sixteenth note grooves. Damian examined the next exercise, frowning over it, making little noises, and then started playing. Just like that. He got it. Just plain got it. When he looked at the second exercise on the page, he said, "This one is easy!" And it was. For him.

I don't know how to explain this. Not the musical ability, that's genetic and personality and inclination and the way his brain works and who knows what else. But how it feels to watch him. To see this talent. I don't have the breadth of knowledge to judge what I'm seeing, to compare to others learning the same thing, though the teacher tells me Damian is much more adept, picking things up more easily. Then again, we do sit with him when he practices. And it's not always perfect, not always easy for him. (The third sixteenth note groove exercise yesterday was tricky, for example.) He's not some kind of freak. He's just very good. It's thrilling. How many people unearth a gift like this at age six? I love being part of it, love helping him discover himself.

Posted by Tamar at December 18, 2004 09:17 AM