What?! Excuse me? How can you possibly accomplish anything if you don't have your sticks in hand, working diligently to improve your technique and produce beautiful sound on your instrument? Isn't that contradictory to what we do as musicians? I may as well not practice at all if I can't be using my instrument! Where's the remote?

Too often, I feel, we tend to focus too much of our energies on practicing on instruments and not enough time practicing away from the instrument. Don't get me wrong, it is vital and imperative that we practice on our instrument, learning notes, stickings, rhythms, sound, etc., but I feel there is another element and balance to practice we can apply and gain great results. Imagine the travelling/touring musician/concert soloist who does not have as much time to practice because their schedule does not allow for it or their instrument is just too cumbersome to set up in their hotel room (i.e. marimba or timpani). What is that person to do? I understand that the vast majority of us do not have the problem of being so busy on our "tour schedules" that we are running from concert hall to concert hall and airport to airport. Regardless, we can learn from the masters an understanding of how to practice away from our instrument. What would I do, if all of a sudden I need to learn some music and did not have the "instrument time" on my hands to practice? I would like to share those ideas with you.

Score study. Studying the score of the music you are learning, or have learned for that matter (it's funny how we can "learn" a piece of music only to find out later we learned it incorrectly), is essential to gain a greater grasp on the composer's intentions, catch some subtle nuances, and analyze the musical form, structure and theory. We can "practice" the piece of music in our head while reading the score, singing out loud or to yourself the way the music should be played. With score study, you can mark specific parts in your music for stickings, phrasing, dynamics, etc. We gain a broader scope of the piece of music before us when we take the time to study it apart from our instrument. Now we can take that newly gained knowledge and insight and apply it when we get back with our instrument.

Counting. Are there some difficult rhythmic passages that trouble you or some that you just fake your way through? Work away from the instrument and analyze the counts, write them in, if need be, in pencil. Is it a drumset passage that has multiple limbs playing at once? If so, try writing out the entire rhythmic figure on one line rather than on multiple lines as in drumset notation. This way, it is easier to see the rhythm as a whole, then apply it to the different components of the drumset. I have a motto: If you can count it, you can play it. I truly believe that fully understanding the counts for any rhythmic passage enables you to understand its concept and make it a breeze to perform. Count the rhythm out loud while you play. What a terrific advantage we have over wind players who have to blow into their horns and cannot count out loud. It adds another independence/coordination dimension to your playing, allows you to better understand the rhythms, and for teachers, shows if the student is counting correctly, if at all! Once you can count a rhythmic passage, all you have to do is make your sticks/mallets play what you counted - perform what you studied/verbalized. This is much better than fumbling through a difficult rhythmic passage over and over, only reinforcing the wrong way to play it. Step back from the execution of the music, study it, analyze it, then apply it to performing, slowly at first if need be.

Singing. No Way!! I am a percussionist, not an opera singer! I like to hit things, not vocalize! Well, there is an element of singing your parts that will help you when away from your instrument. I'm not suggesting you drop everything and go get some voice lessons. But singing the music out loud and to yourself can prove quite helpful when it comes time to get back to your instrument. Singing, humming, vocalizing, scatting "digga-digga-daka-du-doom" is all what I call singing your music. And of course, this can be out loud or to yourself, both of which are useful. Singing the melodic line of a marimba piece can help you better understand the phrasing, dynamic flow and help you add your own personal touches to the piece since your concentration is not on which mallet plays what note, or where do you stand and place your hands for that ridiculous interval. Singing allows you, as does counting, to better understand the rhythmic content. If I can sing the music to myself before sight-reading, I have a much better chance of playing it correctly. Whether it is tonal music you are working on or purely rhythmic, singing through the passage is practicing the music, reinforcing what you will do when you put the mallets in your hand to play.

Just be sure to sing it accurately. So many times I have noticed that my students and myself consistently sing a wrong note(s), wrong rhythm(s) or just stop when a difficult passage comes along. We often sing the same mistake that we make when playing! I attribute this to the mental aspect of practice. There really is no reason why, when we are singing a passage to ourselves, we should make mistakes (if we know how it is supposed to go). Singing is the opportunity for us to reinforce to ourselves that we can perform accurately and correctly. When singing, we should make every effort to correct the mistakes we make when practicing, thus providing a mental correction to the physical problem. Singing is our great opportunity to practice a piece in its entirety and practice it correctly, with correct rhythms, pitches, dynamics, etc. Don't pass up this vital component to practice.

Mapping. When planning a trip where you will be driving, it is often best to plan a route ahead of time. One way to plan is to study a map before your journey. When you plan your routes, exits and stay-overs, you are more prepared before you begin. You won't be flying down the highway frantically reading a map hoping you don't miss that important exit. It would be crazy to head off on a trip, (although I have relatives I deem nuts who do this!), without making the necessary travel preparations ahead of time. When you know your route before you travel, you can anticipate what is ahead, and more comfortably travel your route. The same is true in music. We can map out our music. By studying the score, we can learn where a difficult tuning change takes place or where we need to switch from sticks to brushes. This is an important mental practice element that has proved quite useful when a piece of music has many tempo, meter, key, and instrument changes. I have found this to be extremely helpful when I am going over tunings for timpani. Often, the technical aspects of the piece are not difficult, but the tunings can be real tough. If I map out when and where I will tune, pencil in my changes and be aware of the changes by mapping, I am able to better perform the music with correct tuning changes. This concept also works well if you are performing a piece that calls for multiple instrument changes. I recently worked on a piece that called for eleven different percussion instruments, and switching back and forth between them often. The orchestra did not have a lot of rehearsal time for this piece. I had to study and map out when I would switch mallets, instruments, music, etc. Going into the rehearsal, I was better prepared for the changes between instruments because I knew the map I needed to take.

Air Time. I find this especially useful for playing any of the mallet instruments, but is useful for any instrument played. I utilize this and have my students do so too. I stand at the instrument in playing position, mallets in hand (or sometimes, no mallets), music in front of me, but instead of playing any notes on the instrument, I "air drum" them over the instrument and near the bar where I normally would play. This helps me with the flow of the piece, sticking consideration, body movement - all without playing any notes, especially incorrect ones! When I use this method of practice, I find that I stop less often when it comes time to practice by playing the notes. I also play it perfectly every time! How could I make a mistake if I'm not even hitting any bars? I have found this to be such a positive reinforcement for when I do strike the instrument.

For mallet players, especially beginners, I have found it works well to say note names out loud in rhythm for whatever music they are working on, whether it is from a method book, band music, solo, etc. Often, beginning mallet players have a difficult enough time identifying the note name on the page of music, then finding it on the mallet instrument, then playing it in rhythm/tempo. This can get quite frustrating for the beginner who isn't even comfortable finding the notes. Instead, take away the element of execution and just have them say the note name out loud in tempo/rhythm. This will reinforce their knowledge of note names and give them added confidence for when they play the notes with mallets in hand.

Reflection. This is especially helpful if you know a piece of music and do not need the music. Take some time away from the instrument in a comfy chair or lying down. Go through your whole performance. Envision yourself walking onto stage, breathing comfortably, sticks in hand, confident and comfortable. Then go through your entire piece in your head, playing perfectly, catching all the phrasing and dynamics, correct notes, extreme musicality, and playing a beautiful, well-enjoyed piece. If you do this, I believe you will find your performance to be a better one. Part of what we play involves our hands and feet; the rest comes from our heart and our mind. I know I definitely don't want to psyche myself out because I get too nervous or because I didn't have as much time to practice a piece. I want to psyche myself up for a great performance.

Non-musical tasks. As percussionists, it is important for us to be equally adept with both our right and left hands. It is not a bad idea to be as ambidextrous as possible. To accomplish this, I work on gaining strength, control and independence in my weak hand, resulting in more balanced ability between my hands, all without being at my instrument. I can open doors with my left hand, wash dishes with my left hand, work a screwdriver, brush my teeth, use a fork, etc. I have even tried writing left-handed. It can also be a great form of comic relief! Just be sure you do safe things! I had a student come to me and say, "I loved the idea of using my left hand to gain independence. I used the meat slicer at work with my left hand yesterday!" YIKES! Be creative, yet safe please. Think of what common tasks you are using your strong hand for that you could substitute with your weak hand. No sense in making your strong hand stronger and leaving the weaker in the dust. Take advantage of time away from your instrument to gain control and independence.

Finally. As I practice away from my instrument, my focus is not so much on the technical needs as it is on the overall musical scope of the piece. There is virtually no technique needed when practicing without your instrument. You can get away from "I have to spread my 3rd mallet extra in order to reach this interval while at the same time rotating my wrists so I don't keep clunking that wrong note and crescendo the first 3 beats, then repeat back to letter C", etc. Later when I am with my instrument, I can apply the technical, creating a stronger overall, improved and better-prepared musical performance. Do indeed practice on your instrument, but also try and use score study, counting, singing, mapping, air time, reflection and non musical tasks as well as ideas of your own to improve your playing. There are so many ways in which we as musicians can practice and gain more insight into our instrument, craft and music as a whole. Look for ideas and concepts to continually grow as musicians, being creative and opportunistic.