The Future Is Now

10 years old, easily the best child drummer I've seen. I was prepared to be unimpressed until I hit play.

Impressive in it's own right, Woof.... Thing is, it's become
quite obvious to me that it's not the "chops" part of one's
playing that takes all the time and development. Just once
I'd like to see how these little smokers work and apply what
they know in a colaborative effort. Be a part of a unit that
makes MUSIC... Supportive application coupled with dynamic,
cohesive, reststraint... No doubt, this kid is good.... AT THIS!

The question still remains for me though,... Can he PLAY? In
the real sense of the word. This clip certainly doesn't answer
that..... At least not for me.

Kid's got it! i wasn't craZY ABOUT SOME OF THE WOOD BLOCK WHEN IT SOUNDED LIKE WOODY WOODPECKER. otherwise the kids pretty amazing but like Don says it doesn't really mean much until it sounds good in a group setting. Somehow i think this kid's gonna do alright! he's got groove and showed alot of nice brazilian and latin chops.

When I was 10, I had no conceivable idea that
Anyone at ANY age could play like that. Goes
to show you what practice and all the musical
multi media resouces that are available can do
for you. Still, it always seems in these situations
that the main, missing element of making music in
a colborative effort is missing. And when it does
happen, the rest of the band is just fodder for
these kids to blow chops over. I'm waiting to
HEAR a composition where the BAND was really
happening and then find out that the drummer
was some youngster that was barely pulled from
the womb. Personally, I believe the likelyhood of
that happening is slim at best, as the musicality
process is what takes the years. But like you,
Kenny, I too believe he's onto something. It'll
come together in time.

Here he is doing a music minus one Virgil Donati and
Dream Theater tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCc31GzPWvU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=6zFTDYj0HBQ&NR=1

Very cute kid too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqak-NDEZYk&feature=player_embedded

Check out Senri at 14; this might be what you're asking for, Don!

now I am really impressed with her she is going to go a long way.

Well I'm very impressed with both of them and especially the band that Senri is playing with. It's great to see young players playing such high-end music at their age.

Wish I could have played like that at their age.

any idea how old the rest of the band is ?


thanks for posting those !

Peace, TED

Here is another very good one she does. And this is what Don as talking about she plays very well in a collective band setting.

Senri Kawaguchi with FRAGILE

I showed some of these clips to my wife and I commented on how focused
at their tasks the Japanese and Chinese seem to be. She being half Japanese,
she expalained to me that it's a trait that they've adopted as a part of their
culture. She also said that this is a major reason why the suicide rate is very high
in Japan. They carry that samuri mentality. Failure is not an option and is considered
shameful, even onto death. Thus their work ethics are extremely high and vigorous
right along side their stress levels. Practically everyone over their smokes....

The prices some people pay...

As to the band videos. I don't think you guys are getting my point.
In short, they are all technically correct. Yet, lack that emotional
content that comes through feel and that inner sense of communication
through one's instrument with your peers in performance.

I wouldn't be surprised if everything we've just watched and heard could
be executed all over again by these players note for note... I think Billy's
words spoken at one of his rehearsals awhile ago describes best what I'm
trying to say:

"It's correct, but it ain't right."

Don I don't understand, are you saying that for instance, that the 2 videos that she is in up there is not up to par. As far as her playing goes in a group setting ?

Very good question, Spanky and the answer is yes AND no.

Technically it's all there and correct. Yet, there's an element
about it that lacks emotion and interplay. Notice what's
happening during the solo sections. She crashes on
every single one of the upbeats. Now her beats are
solid and that's a good thing. But I don't hear that
sort of inner mingling when you're fed ideas, maybe by what
the soloist is doing that inspires you to inject ideas here
and there to inhance what's being played. THIS is the stuff
that experience is made of. It's not the hot solo chops that
seem to bowl most people over. That's pretty obvious in that
you have a ten year old kid that will play most pros under the
table when it comes to that sort of thing. But that inner
communication between players and their instruments, that
musical essence that is the reason for the cohesive and gelling
aspect of any group of players. You can't rush that. It only comes
with experience and time. And it's the thing that separates the kids
from the grown ups... That's all I'm saying. And keep in mind that
this goes for all participating players, not just the drummer.

Thanks for the reply Don.

Of course, the ten year old could end up doing a Terry Bozzio thing and make a career out of it, with bands mixed in.

As long as each generation keeps raising the bar, phenoms will continue to rise up. This kid is phenomenal.

We all remember the Tony Royster solo on his great sounding Pearls on the MD festival video. He seems to be doing okay for himself today.

Concerning the Oriental mindset. I once saw a short film clip of someone writing with both hands and both feet in four different languages at the same time! Was an old Ripley's Believe It or Not clip. Astounding. The Oriental discipline is very sharp. But, I also believe any human can attain to such heights if they truly apply themselves. Of course, the guy writing with hands and feet ... that's an anomaly. But what this 10 year old does? Practice. He has the talents in his gene pool, I'm sure, but obviously his practice is paying off.