I think there are four elements to making a drummer:

1) Being able to keep time 2) Limb independence 3) Speed 4) Taste

For me, #2 was clearly the hardest. I found that it took lots of practice in order to achieve relatively decent independence. And even after all that practice, I find many other drummers are much better than me in that regard. I can't say it's ever held me back in terms of confidence because I play the types of music I want to play and can still say I'm better than many other drummers. I started out on snare drum and later moved on to the set and even though I had a strong foundation in rhythm, stick control, etc. it was still a lot of practice.

I'd be very curious to know what you think some people can pick up in five minutes. I've always been curious about how long it takes others to develop that muscle independence.

You can also hide some technical proficiency by playing tastefully. This works well in many genres of music, but certain genres require substantial amounts of technical ability.

Talking about picking up in 5 minutes, I meant more for rudimentary drumming. i.e. playing rudiments, or a certain combination of notes, different tempos, going from eight-notes, to triplets, to sixteenth-notes back to a triplet on beat 4, all in a measure. Stuff like that.

It applies to the set and limb independence as well. I never really thing about limb independence anymore. At a certain point, if you can "think it", you can play it. Thinking it means something different to a lot of people, but literally count out the notes, however you do it (1 e and a), and make sure you say the number of the downbeat on the downbeat. You'll get to the point where you see a rhythm, and without having practice what your arms and legs are doing, you can just play it on set. Now it takes a bit of practice to get to that level, as it involves an understanding of music, reading, comprehension, etc. Of course there are uncommon time signatures and stuff you may run into that are weird, but you would be playing some very uncommon music haha. I played with Steve Smith (of Journey) and he was thrown off by an ensemble we were doing, took him a few hours to get it, even with his experience. It was just something he had not see before.

Now stuff like that crazy blast metal or whatever it's called now is different...getting your feet to play sixteenth notes on the double bass at 200 bpm is (stupid) just muscle building...

I never really struggled with some of the other stuff you mention though. Rudiments, keeping time, understanding tempos, and how notes break down, etc. That stuff came relatively naturally. Once I understood notes break down into whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc., understanding things like triplets came very naturally.

Interesting story about Steve Smith. I remember seeing a video of Carter Beauford struggling through odd time signature changes as well. I'm sure unless you're immersed in things like progressive music on a regular basis, things outside of standard time signatures probably are a little foreign, especially to pop drummers like Smith and Beauford.

And speed shouldn't be said, don't you feel drumming is an incarnation of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_lente ? Speed is relaxation.

The taste point is very interesting, sometimes simple subtle touches will create tension, syncopation, acceleration or half time feel. It's amazing how tiny little details can mean everything.

I've had lessons from 8-16, and played in a band until 21. I was able to pick up all the exercises, usually a bit easier than my classmates (perhaps I practiced more, although the 10 mins a day average was already a tough battle), but they were always better and more natural at picking up the rhythm of, and playing along with a music tape (CD later on ;).

Now, a bit older, I can pick up the beat of most songs, even without drums, but I always fail to get that pa-pa-pa-pam in the Friends theme. I think if would write that one down, to see the rhythm on paper, I easily could, but au natural, non.

I always thought I was untalented but 'learned' my way through it for as long as it could take me (helped by the fact that I am, in many areas, a fast learner). But that doesn't seem to match either of the sides of the divide you describe.

Sidenote: I can by no means sing (even talk) and drum (or play guitar) at the same time, Not. At. All. I think that has something to do with wiring as well.

That reminds me of another razor, wherein many people can't clap blues/swing... was it that most people clap on 1 & 3 while for blues/swing it's 2 & 4?