Some years ago in New York, during my studies with RUDI (Swami Rudrananda), one of the students made the following comment: “I am really trying hard, but I am not improving.” RUDI replied, “You must learn to try easy.” We were each advised to think about this concept over the weekend and apply it to some part of our daily lives. In my case, I applied the concept to drumming to see what I might understand from it. My first understanding was that it means “Don’t force it!” We have all known drummers who are relentless practicers. They usually say things like, “I practice five hours a day, every day. How many hours do you practice?” Practicing, in this case, has become an ego-oriented athletic event. “Practice ’til it hurts” is another way of saying it. To me, this approach is physical as compared to musical. The problem is not […]

September 1983 Issue