Gee...I am a Bodrhan player...

(Chuckle) I know what the kid is doing, and that is the young attempt to be that "drumming wizzard" he saw at the local Ren-Fest, or pub. It's an image thing.

I introduced one "would be drum god" to another friend of mine. She plays well now, but wears a wrist support due to over-playing and trying for all those fast "tripples" on every tune.

I have also offered a kid one of my towels. I keep one to muffle the drum when I practice. (Held behind the head, the effect is to reduce most of the boom to a tap.) I have the habit of bring three with me now, just in case.

Just to be fair, almost all of us were that kid at one time or another. Just starting out, that goatskin feels so cool when you slide a tipper over it. and the feeling you get is something like the all drummers get, of rhythum and magic all in one...(And this from a C of E kid!)

Give him a towel and have him try it for a muffle. It will make for less sound and just as much practice for him. Also tell him that the long term effects of drumming fast can mean never playing without a wrist brace, and lots of cortisone injections! The best players are hardly there, just a hertbeat in the background most of the time.

Mikal, (aspiring to be a heartbeat in a Celtic song.)