Unsnared Drum Lab focuses on designing musically meaningful, technique-building exercises. But technical development unfolds over weeks and months, aided and abetted by epiphanal and functional individual practice sessions. How do we connect short-term work with long-term goals?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach: every person needs a custom roadmap.
This reflective exercise has worked well with my students over the years. I invite you to try it.
Unsnared Drum Lab Resources
Four habits to cultivate for life-long musical learning.
Effective, flexible, and individualized practice habits mark the pivot from talent to skill that demarcates the professional from the student. To clarify my own thinking and help my students avoid repeating my mistakes, I developed a flowchart outlining the key phases of a productive practice session.
These principles are not rules. They are observations, questions, mental models,
and recurring ideas that have shaped my own practicing, performing, teaching, and
writing. Some are broad philosophies; others are specific reminders. Many overlap.
Several reappear throughout the book in different contexts. I hope they become part
of your vocabulary, too.
A set of tools for addressing issues in each stage of the design thinking process. When your practice stalls, use these prompts to diagnose the problem, design a response, and decide what to try next. You won’t need them all.
Choose from:
Physical edition: Beautifully designed, with glossy cover, lay-flat spiral binding, and heavy paper.
Bundle of Physical and Digital Editions: The physical copy is great. But you are mobile and travel light. Why not have both the digital and physical editions of Unsnared Drum Lab?
Unsnared Drum Lab reimagines snare drum practice as a creative act. Through adaptable exercises, diagnostic tools, practice strategies, and creative prompts, readers learn to design custom-fitting studies that build flexible technique, reduce stage fright, and support efficient, durable learning. Drawing on canonic repertoire and contemporary research on skill acquisition, the book offers students, teachers, and professionals a fresh, incisive, and witty alternative to rigid technical systems and one-size-fits-all exercises. Additional chapters explore practice planning, creative problem-solving, and transferable learning strategies drawn from a wide range of disciplines.