On Practicing
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The author before a gig in Eugene, OR, 2011.
When COVID hit, in addition to my worries about my family, my health, and the world, I was also super bummed about the upcoming work (and money) I was going to miss — subbing on an off-broadway musical, a new recording session, a production of The Addams Family, a few cabaret shows, etc… But quickly I realized, “my god! I can practice for the sake of practicing for the first time… ever?”
Then my rehearsal space shut down by order of the state and suddenly I was forced to practice in my apartment with pads and low volume cymbals. I developed a healthy routine the first few weeks but slowly it began to deteriorate with thoughts of “will I ever be able to hit actual drums again?”
Thankfully, my rehearsal building re-opened and I moved into a new studio within it. Again, the first few weeks were amazing — I’m hitting drums again! I feel so productive! Music completes me! Then a new reality set in — What’s the point of practicing when there’s no work? What’s the point of making music when there aren’t other people to make music with?
I’m writing this blog to let you know that if you are feeling this way, dear reader, you are not alone. I’m also writing it to keep myself accountable. I've been playing drums for almost THIRTY YEARS but the motivation and drive to improve comes and goes.
It’s been almost 5 months of NYC being in some sort of lockdown and the two main things I’ve realized in terms of music making is that 1) I love playing with and for other people and 2) my relationship with practicing ebbs and flows. It always has and it always will.
Here’s what a typical practice session is looking like for me, the solo drummer. I’m trying my best to use all the different parts of my brain and body with the help of these books and methods:
1. Warm up - Stick Control
If I recall correctly, I didn’t really get into this book until grad school, but it has become a part of my everyday warm up routine. Lately I have been focusing on getting my strokes even, whether it be singles, doubles, triples, or the occasional fours when switching from one line to the next. Playing through the first page at the beginning of my practice session offers exceptional insight on how my body is feeling on that particular day. Maybe I took a few days off and am feeling rusty. Maybe I pick up the sticks and everything is just working. No matter what, this is a great way to get the blood flowing and the muscles moving.
2. Snare drum exercises
For me, it all comes back to snare drum. It’s the first instrument I started playing and my favorite of the lot. I spent a lot of my time studying orchestral playing, but I have a deep affinity for rudimental styles and believe it’s better for my chops than anything else. Lately, I have been playing 10 of Wilcoxon’s rudimental solos each day.
I play each etude as follows:
1) As written
2) Adding quarter notes on the bass drum
3) Bass drum playing the same accents as the snare drum
4) Bass drum playing an ostinato pattern
3. Speed
Whether you use it in a practical setting or not, most drummers have some desire to develop speed around the kit. Now that my hands are warm and my feet are starting to move, it’s time to pick up the pace with some technical exercises. Every 3 years or so I go through a drum and bass phase, which I mostly attribute to my love of STS9.
Johnny Rabb’s book is a detailed look into the style and I’ve been trying to go through a section each day. The key here is to stay relaxed at these brisk tempos. For me, it helps to think of 2 and 4 backbeats as actually being on the “ands.” This makes it easier to switch back and forth into halftime feels as well.
4. Feel
Now that I’m feeling nice and agile, it’s time to focus on what usually serves me best on a gig: feel. Billy Martin (of Medeski Martin & Wood fame) has one of the most organic grooves I’ve ever heard and his book on claves is certainly the most in depth I’ve ever seen. I’ve worked out of this book on and off for the last 15 years, but it hasn’t been until now that I’ve focused on competently playing every page: Can I play each system at any tempo, dynamic, or orchestration? Can I play it straight, swung, and in between? Can I use these patterns in the context of metric modulation? It took me a long time to feel comfortable reading his non-standard system of notation but it has been worth the effort: I’m hearing and playing music in a new light.
5. Just Play
At this point, I’ve gone crosseyed from reading music. I’m warmed up but my brain is mush and I just want to PLAY. I will save my thoughts on Spotify’s unjust treatment of musicians for another blog, but the ability to have access to nearly all recorded music at your fingertips at command has been a godsend for learning music. I no longer have to download music to my phone or computer, rip CDs, or spend hours finding recordings at the library. It’s all just there in one place.
Sometimes I will go to my liked songs playlists and play along with favorite tracks but lately I’ve been exploring my release radar section to blindly play through new music on the spot. Sometimes I’ll try to play verbatim what’s happening with the drums. Other times I’ll add my own voice. Most importantly, I’ll try to apply some of the concepts I’ve been working on that day to a real musical context. This is my favorite way to wind down a practice session and experience the joy that is making music. For me, that’s what it’s all about.
If you’ve come this far, I hope you’ve found this post useful. It can be hard as hell to get to the practice room or take your instrument out of the case but once you finally start playing, I sure hope you remember why it is you do what you do. Happy music-making!