Ringo Starr has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College Of Music and disclosed a few useful tips on his drumming technique. The ceremony took place on the 2nd of June 2022 and saw the former Beatle explain rationally that when it comes to playing the drums; “I just hit the buggers. And it seems to be, I hit them in the right place”.
Starr was due to receive the award last month but was unable to attend, but in a short video address, Starr congratulated the graduating class of 2022 and offered his thanks for his doctorate nomination. As he is currently on tour with his All Starr Band he was able to collect his award in person accompanied by a charming speech.
Looking the part in his gown and cap, Ringo Starr held his certificate aloft and said; “It’s far out, I don’t have a lot to say, the idea that I’m a doctor blows me away.”. He went on to share a few anecdotes about teaching youngsters how to play the drums. One such instance saw Mr Starr say that if his students couldn’t play a rudimentary beat which he demonstrated, his best advice was; “And if they couldn’t do that, I’d politely tell them ‘maybe piano for you’.”
“The other side of that story is that I gave my son Zak (Starkey, drummer for The Who) that lesson. Then a couple of weeks later, I gave him another lesson,” Starr then demonstrated a slightly more complex beat and stated; “He said ‘I can do that Dad’ so I said ‘well, you’re on your own’ and he turned out pretty good”. You can see Ringo Starr receive his award in the video below:
Starr explained that receiving the doctorate felt like; “some strange fairy tale. I started out playing in the factory I worked at and it just so happened my next-door neighbour played guitar and my best friend at the factory played bass. We’d play for the men in the basement, those were my first gigs. But life is good. I love the drums,”
He later added that he received his first drum while recovering from tuberculosis; “I hit that drum and it was like madness. I just wanted to be a drummer from that moment on. It was my big dream and it’s still unfolding.”
To wrap up his speech with class, Starr finished by saying; “I’m not going to go on forever, I’m just going to say thank you, and peace and love.”
