Unsnared Studio
Summer Cohort!
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I take an acute interest in musical learning—and a very, very close interest in my nemesis, the snare drum.
Here’s why:
For years, I struggled with how long it took me to learn music and with the gap between what I could do in the practice room and what actually showed up in performance. That chasm led me to study how musicians (and experts in other fields) build skills, and why certain forms of practice led to deep, flexible musicianship while others produced tension, inconsistency, and burnout.
I started obsessively refining a set of techniques that fundamentally changed the way I practice, teach, and perform: forcing improvisation and creativity into my practice, withholding repetition, scouring the literature on motor learning and deliberate practice, and studying the habits of master musicians across many genres.
These ideas are now distilled into my forthcoming book Unsnared Drum Lab: a collection of exercises, experiments, practice strategies, and creative frameworks centered on the snare drum and informed by research into learning, performance psychology, and skill acquisition.
Its central thesis:
Creativity in the practice room is the best way to develop custom-fitting instrumental technique, perform well under pressure, and learn music more effectively and efficiently.
And by technique, I mean any musical skill or craft. The result is more like a laboratory for creative practice than a traditional method book. I can’t wait to share this book with you this summer.
Unsnared Studio: This June
So why am I telling you this?
The book has a fatal flaw (it’s not typography!). These kinds of creative practices are best experienced in real time, through the kind of “studio talk” that sits at the center of elite artistic learning: experimentation, observation, feedback, adjustment, and the sharing of ideas among curious musicians.
So this June, I’m opening Unsnared Studio: a small online cohort designed for percussionists and educators who want to take a more active role in shaping how musicianship is built and perform better under pressure.
We’ll explore technical development through creativity in the practice room and all its impacts on your musical learning and performance practice.
You might find it valuable if you are working on challenging repertoire, feeling stuck despite consistent practice, looking for more control in performance situations, and interested in building a more flexible, creative, and self-directed technique for yourself and/or your students.
Wait
While my book is about the snare drum, the underlying principles of Unsnared Studio apply to percussion playing in general, and I encourage you to bring repertoire and musical challenges for all percussion instruments.
Details
The cohort is organized around how musicians actually learn: in spurts and stints, with experimentation, frequent feedback, and constant adjustment.
Each session combines my presentations with live diagnostic work on real playing. We’ll take apart excerpts from your repertoire, identify why they aren’t working, build custom exercises to address those issues, adapt those exercises as your needs change, and test those changes in conditions that more closely resemble performance.
This kind of program might not be for everyone.
But if my own story resonates with you, and this sounds like the kind of work you’ve been looking for, I hope you’ll join us.
A few practical details:
Small online technique-building cohort for percussionists
3 online meetings across 5 weeks (June)
Weekly guided practice prompts, discussions, and feedback
Includes an advance copy of Unsnared Drum Lab
Focus on creative practice, technical flexibility, improvisation, and musical fluency
The cohort is designed for work in progress: no need to refine material before taking part
You can learn more about the cohort, schedule, and enrollment options here:
I hope you can join us, and be in touch with questions!
-Mike