There’s an old principle in playing drums that my Uncle John shared with me. “What you play is only 50% of drumming. The other 50% is what you don’t.”

I think this applies just as much to investing as it does to playing music. Sure there are plenty of Neil Peart’s and John Bonham’s our there but for most situations, a simple backbeat will do just fine. Snare on 2 and 4, bass drum on 1 and 3.

Is it sexy? No. Will it get you on the cover of Modern Drummer? Absolutely not. But often times it fits best. More people know and enjoy “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC more than they do “La Villa Strangiato” by Rush. Highway to Hell wouldn’t work if Phil Rudd decided to make it his personal magnus opus on drums.

For some situations complex drumming works, it enhances songs significantly to push the boundaries of what you can fit inside time. But you also need to make sure you’re the right type of drummer to pull it off. Nothing sounds worse than a drummer outside of his or her boundaries trying to force unnecessary complexity.

Some can bend time signatures to be offbeat many measures before coming back in on time and making it sound just so perfectly right. Some cannot.

So as the world continues to be consumed with the shiny object of the day for investing, I often think back to this. Find the 50/50 balance of what your song needs and what it does not need, and just play it.