When you don’t have the means, get creative! A young Cedric followed this mantra to the T, as he started learning how to play the drums as a child. And when he calls himself a self-trained musician, he means it.
It all started by listening to songs on Doordarshan, with his eyes fixed on the drummer, observing everything – what the drummer was doing, the way the drums were placed, and the different sounds that different parts of the instrument made. He was fascinated by the way the drummer moved and couldn’t wait to start replicating what he was learning. However, there was a small problem – he didn’t have a drum kit! So, he got creative, and built one! He picked up his mother’s grocery boxes and arranged them as drums. The lids became cymbals and smaller chapati boxes became snare drums. He also kept towels on the boxes to create different sounds – one towel for a higher sound, two for bass.
From building his own drum kit to now owning four, Cedric has had quite a journey of his own with music. As a professional drummer with the band No Rush, which he proudly claims is the busiest band in Pune, he often comes across different kinds of people in the audience. There are times when audience members misbehave or come up with weird requests and demands but knowing how to deal with them has been a great learning for him.
“Performing in front of an audience has taught me not only to be patient, but also to be a good listener and to understand the requests of the audience. You have to know when to take a request and when to put your foot down and stand up for your team.” As part of the Training team at Rayden, Cedric finds that his understanding of how to deal with different people and how to get the best out of them helps him succeed in his professional life.
Though he performs at shows and gigs almost every weekend, he still spends most of his free time listening to music and honing his skills – learning has never really stopped for him. His journey at Rayden, in spite of being challenging at times, has been successful because he is constantly willing to get creative and learn what must be learnt.
