FFECTIVE PRACTICING FOR MUSICIAY Evel PRACTICING ANYWHERE Now lev explore the flip side of the coin. Although it’ ideal to practice in an environment that feels nice and comfortable, complete with all the resources we need, we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking this is the only way to be productive “The feasibility of practicing an instrument is usually determined by three factors: the size of the instrument, the volume it produces (what the neighbors call “noise”), and its portability—or immobilicy, as the case may be. The bigges, louder, and more cumbersome your instrument, the more limited your practice opportunities may seem. But we can drastically ‘expand our practice options by being resourceful and identifying smaller, quieter, and more portable alternatives, THE IRONING BOARD IN CHICAGO | will never forget the time I was invited to perform at Drum Festival in Chicago. Master drummer Steve Smith and I were scheduled to close the show with a duo piece using brushes as an encore. As usual, there wasn't ‘much time to prepare, and since we hadnt seen each other in a while, wwe planned to meet backstage for a rehearsal while the other acts were performing onstage. Since the sound generated by a couple of snare drums would clearly be too loud during the show, I resigned myself to the idea that we would just discuss the form of the piece and agree on certain cues. “At least it's better than nothing,” I thought. When I entered the backstage area, there among the usual sagging couches and Hollywood light bulb mirror was Steve, smiling with brushes in hand. “Hey, Benny. Remember when we did ‘Salt Peanuts’ with Jeff (Hamilton) a couple of years ago? Come on around the board here. Let’ play it.” Before I could stammer, “The, uh, board?” he started co casually play a swing beat on an ironing board that, to my cars, produced the sweetest brush sound I had ever heard. This stupid household item, which can be found in most hotel rooms, delivered all the nuance and responsiveness you could ask for. It was beautifully quiet and, as an added bonus, even stood at a comfortable height for play This! is resourcefulness. The opposite of “I would ifI could, but I can't.” ‘To finish the story, char night we actually ended up performing the pice ‘on the ironing board onstage—and Steve, the itoning board, and myself received a standing ovation (I believe in that order) Ever since that experience, I tend to view hotel rooms and green rooms as merely a big playground of surfaces that offer different degrees of rebound for different practicing purposes. You might say, “Well, sure! Drummers have it easy here. What about my upright bass?” I hear you, but at least you donit need a PA and an electrical outlet. No single trick or piece of ‘equipment will work for everyone, everywhere. But I do encourage you to think of some options for your particular instrument that you might not, have considered until now. a