Antonio Sanchez on the “Why” and “When” of Using Your Superpowers

Allow me to introduce superstar drummer Antonio Sanchez and a few of his thoughts on “technique,” pulled from an interview he did on the Drummer’s Resource podcast.

Even if you’ve never heard of Sanchez, you’ve almost definitely heard him. From his solo jazz percussion composition work for the film Birdman to his mind-blowing performances and recordings with Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Miguel Zenon, Avishai Cohen, Danilo Perez, Victor Mendoza, and beyond . . . he’s everywhere.

While the context that Antonio was speaking in during this particular interview is a musical one, the general point he made is 100% valid (and extremely valuable) in any industry or career path that we may be following. The following are some edited excerpts, as well as sample lessons we might draw from them and apply to both musical and non-musical parts of our lives. My guess is that, no matter what type of work you’re involved in, parallels can be found.

“Technique is what you need in order to express your musical ideas.”

In other words: Being damn good at your craft allows you the ability to put forth into the world the best possible version of your product, your service, your idea, and indeed, yourself.

On the other hand, failing to have your “technique” down sets you up for the opposite:

• the inability to produce anything more than a subpar product;
  
• not being able to handle all of the necessary tasks that come at you;
  
• and not being prepared enough, quality enough, or confident enough to properly do your “big pitch” any justice.

“I am against people that use technique just for the sake of technique and flashiness. And I’m also really against people with no technique that say, ‘oh, I’m just going to play super musical,’ but say that because they can’t play anything else. They cannot play fast, or they cannot play a roll over the toms, which you should also be able to do, because, when you need it, you will want to be able to do it.”

Becoming great at what you do isn’t license to show-boat, but should instead be done with the goal of being able to manage anything that’s thrown your direction.

We all know someone who constantly tries barreling through everyone else (again, musically or otherwise), often in an attempt to impress with their over-your-head know-how and expertise. I’d bet that you also know someone who, simply to hide his/her laziness, sloughs off the importance of learning that new skill or software or what-have-you.

Don’t be either of those people.

“The thing is WHEN to do it . . . [and] when NOT to do it. That, to me, is the key. You should have this amazing, powerful technique at your disposal. You should be like a superhero–only using your superpowers when you have to. The rest of the time, just be there to serve humanity, which, in this case, would be music.”

What?! Be an equally contributing member of the team, rather than letting your self-serving, ego-driven aims and actions take over? What a freaking concept! But remember, to keep his job, even the valiant Clark Kent still had to punch the clock at the Daily Planet from time to time and be a participating part of the journalism staff.

“Technique is not just to play fast. Technique is used to extract the best sound possible from the drums, and to have the best feel, and to have the best time. All of that. Because if technique is getting in the way of what you’re trying to do, your time is going to suffer; your touch is going to suffer; your sound is going to suffer.”

I once heard a saying, attributed to Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, that goes:

“Beware the lollipop of mediocrity.
Lick it once and you’ll suck forever.”

The general idea is to not let a lack of technique hold you back and make your work suffer.

Slog away to improve at your craft. Never settle for less than excellence. And then strive to use the superhero skills you develop only in ways (and at times) that truly “serve the music” (or your family, business, etc.), benefiting those around you and making the world a better place.

Musician or not, I definitely recommend checking out Antonio’s entire Drummer’s Resource episode when you get a chance, as well as the other 600+ interviews that Nick Ruffini has on his site.

Catch you later. I need to, um, go practice . . .

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