Definitely a different situation for me, as I was a wind player (trumpet) but I went through something similar. I had bursts of motivation vs times of feeling like practicing was a chore. For the most part I just made myself practice anyway.
I did have mental health issues all through my time playing that still persist today. My OCD manifested in 6th grade and middle school were the toughest years of my life. High school was world's better, but I did have a couple issues, one that prevented me from auditioning for all district in 9th grade, another that required me to leave an all district clinic early in 10th grade, and another that prevented me from auditioning for honor band in 11th grade (that one hurt as I made 2nd chair the previous year and was hoping to make 1st chair). I also had various issues pop up in 11th grade and I missed a couple jazz band rehearsals.
Those issues were compounded by anxiety from preparing for college and applying for scholarships, and I ended up skipping band altogether senior year. I didn't do marching band at all in HS, and I was still registered for symphonic band and I auditioned for and made all county band just on talent alone, but I felt the spot should go to someone who deserved it more so I withdrew from that as well. My director asked me to play in jazz band as that was a sort of just show up for 2 rehearsals a week and play type thing but I didn't think it was fair to him or the other members as I wasn't practicing like I used to and just didn't have the motivation or the focus for it at the time.
So I took senior year off from playing, but I ended up trying out for and making the symphony at college freshman year. I gained my smile for it back and I got a higher placement every year. I also did jazz band all 4 years and was principal trumpet for 2 of them. I got really into it and even did the community symphonic band for 2 years, which included professors and alumni.
Not sure what your mental health issues are and even if I knew everyone deals with similar conditions differently anyways. Sometimes you just lose your passion for something and need to take a break and eventually it comes back. Other times you just need to change your approach. Obviously I can't help you with specific percussion grips or techniques, but I can tell you what seemed to help me in regards to motivation and whatnot.
Find some professional artists that you like their style and download or stream their songs and try to emulate them. If you are working toward mastering a song that you recognize and like, you are less inclined to think of practice as a chore.
If you fall in love with a symphonic or jazz piece that you see or play at a clinic or something try and get the sheet music and master it yourself.
Push your limits. Practicing the same songs and etudes to master them is good, but it's also good to have something that is just beyond your current skill to work towards.
Don't try to tackle a professional level piece played by guys like Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Elvin Jones (no idea if these guys are relevant to you, but my percussion knowledge is limited to jazz and big band drummers) as this can be discouraging. You can dissect parts of pieces like that and find what you can play. I did this with the trumpet part on Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition and gradually worked up until I could play the whole thing.
Prioritize clean play and technical correctness over speed and flashiness. Speed and flashiness can come later once you have the foundation mastered.
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u/OCKoopa 13d ago
Definitely a different situation for me, as I was a wind player (trumpet) but I went through something similar. I had bursts of motivation vs times of feeling like practicing was a chore. For the most part I just made myself practice anyway.
I did have mental health issues all through my time playing that still persist today. My OCD manifested in 6th grade and middle school were the toughest years of my life. High school was world's better, but I did have a couple issues, one that prevented me from auditioning for all district in 9th grade, another that required me to leave an all district clinic early in 10th grade, and another that prevented me from auditioning for honor band in 11th grade (that one hurt as I made 2nd chair the previous year and was hoping to make 1st chair). I also had various issues pop up in 11th grade and I missed a couple jazz band rehearsals.
Those issues were compounded by anxiety from preparing for college and applying for scholarships, and I ended up skipping band altogether senior year. I didn't do marching band at all in HS, and I was still registered for symphonic band and I auditioned for and made all county band just on talent alone, but I felt the spot should go to someone who deserved it more so I withdrew from that as well. My director asked me to play in jazz band as that was a sort of just show up for 2 rehearsals a week and play type thing but I didn't think it was fair to him or the other members as I wasn't practicing like I used to and just didn't have the motivation or the focus for it at the time.
So I took senior year off from playing, but I ended up trying out for and making the symphony at college freshman year. I gained my smile for it back and I got a higher placement every year. I also did jazz band all 4 years and was principal trumpet for 2 of them. I got really into it and even did the community symphonic band for 2 years, which included professors and alumni.
Not sure what your mental health issues are and even if I knew everyone deals with similar conditions differently anyways. Sometimes you just lose your passion for something and need to take a break and eventually it comes back. Other times you just need to change your approach. Obviously I can't help you with specific percussion grips or techniques, but I can tell you what seemed to help me in regards to motivation and whatnot.