New semester, who ‘dis?

This semester, I’ve decided I’m going to record as much of Jacques Delécluse’s music for snare drum as possible. Along the way, I’m going to be sharing my process for learning, incubating, refining, performing, and recording music. The goal is to do this through my writing (here), my IG channel, and through my youtube channel.

I focused on warming up in my first two email newsletters:

• ​06/23/2023: My Warm Up Routine​
• ​06/16/2023: How Warming Up Can be Practicing​

BUT, my current warmup is breaking all my rules. My touch is there, but the wrist and arm strength is lacking. Here’s what I’m doing to get back in shape.

​

Set a timer

I use either 20 or 25 minutes

Set a goal

Right now it’s “strengthen wrists by practicing repeated strokes with relaxed muscles” and “smooth out double and triple strokes.” Let’s work on the first one.

Turn on the metronome

I start at triplets at quarter = 70, clicking every other beat (so quarter = 35) but you do you

Play

Treat this like the part of yoga class where the teacher says to “explore your Downward Facing Dog” —try things out and do what is needed: play louder or softer, crescendo or diminuendo, richer or thinner, add in grace notes or other embellishments, etc. I’m lazy, and don’t like moving the metronome too much, so I move from triplets to 16th notes to quintuplets and back. Play hands together, hands separately. Throw the sticks, wrist it out. Use fingers. Don’t use fingers. Play on multiple surfaces. Just don’t repeat too much—change and vary your play often to avoid injury.

Need some ideas for exercises? Try my 10 day snare drum challenge:

​

​

Mike’s Secret Weapon: Distraction

When I’m in this phase of muscle building and recovery, repetition, improvising variation, and endurance are more important than anything else. So, I distract myself. Some ideas:

1. Read up on the news, your favorite magazines, or browse for your favorite international food products.
2. Watch some TV. Right now I’m liking Gardener’s World and basically any TV show I missed by being in school practicing. Bonus points for Transformers (generally improved by snare drumming).

Repeat

I might tackle triple strokes next, play inverted doubles, or maybe even settle in for 5 minutes of soft rolls. I’ve been practicing snare drum for years, so I am trying to trust my intuition about what is necessary. What’s required is putting in the work!

Why it Works

Well, one might argue that it doesn’t work. Deliberate practice is supposed to be highly focused, supercharged time. Cartoons + practice ≠ good practice.

But it kind of does!

For attention-challenged musicians such as myself, a significant impediment to concert performance is distraction. Practicing with distraction (watch out Bumblebee, Starscream is entering the space bridge!) can help in memory retrieval, by increasing cognitive interference.

More importantly, at present my goal is to develop my muscles. If one can lift weights while listening to audio books, I think I can watch Abstract while recovering my wrist strength. I’m not learning repertoire, so I want to play long enough to feel my muscles develop, evolve, and strengthen.

Happy practicing!

Other resources

1. ​MikeDrop did a podcast called “Getting in Shape,” covering all manner of ideas about getting your hands and mind back into fighting condition​

​

2. Looking for more ideas about learning and practicing music? My Unsnared Drum Performer’s Guide goes into depth on learning, interpreting, and performing contemporary music. I’d love your thoughts!​

​

​

​Unsubscribe / Manage Preferences​