One of the most common questions I hear from students is:
“How many hours a day should I practice?”
When I was younger, I was obsessed with improving. There were periods of my life when I practiced 8 hours a day or more. From my early teens through my years at Berklee College of Music, music was my entire focus.
Today, between performing, teaching, creating courses, and running Jazz Video Lessons, I no longer spend 8 hours a day in the practice room—and I don’t need to.
What I’ve learned over the years is that improvement doesn’t stop when you put the instrument back in its case.
In fact, some of the most valuable practice can happen when you’re away from your instrument.
Whether you’re commuting, walking, waiting at the airport, or riding the subway, there are many ways to strengthen your musicianship. Great musicians don’t just practice when they’re holding their instrument—they stay connected to the music throughout the day.
Here are eight simple techniques you can use anywhere.
1. Silent Practice
If your instrument allows it, try going through fingerings without producing a sound.
As a saxophonist, I often do this while waiting for a flight or sitting backstage before a concert. I’ll finger scales, arpeggios, ii-V-I patterns, or even entire melodies.
The goal isn’t to replace regular practice. The goal is to reinforce efficient movement and strengthen the connection between your mind and your fingers.
Try this:
- Finger through a major scale in all 12 keys.
- Practice a jazz standard melody silently.
- Review an exercise you’ve been working on recently.
You’ll be surprised how much you can learn without making a sound.
2. Practice Without the Instrument
This may sound strange at first, but it works.
Close your eyes and imagine playing your instrument. Visualize every movement. See your fingers moving through a scale, an arpeggio, or a melody.
I sometimes call this “air saxophone practice.”
The key is to be precise. Don’t rush through it. Imagine every note clearly.
This type of visualization forces you to slow down and concentrate. Many students discover gaps in their understanding because they realize they can’t clearly picture what they’re trying to play.
If you can’t visualize it, chances are you don’t fully know it yet.
3. Visualize the Music
Mental practice becomes even more powerful when you visualize the actual music.
Imagine a page of sheet music in your mind.
Can you see the melody to Autumn Leaves? Blue Bossa? All The Things You Are?
Can you hear it internally while following along in your imagination?
Try visualizing:
- A melody you’re memorizing.
- A scale exercise.
- A transcribed solo.
- A chord progression.
Because the process is slower than physical playing, it often reveals details you’ve overlooked.
This is a fantastic way to strengthen memory and deepen your understanding of the music.
4. Sing Everything
If I could recommend only one mental practice technique, this would be it.
Sing melodies.
Sing chord tones.
Sing guide tones through a progression.
Sing lines you’ve transcribed.
You don’t need perfect pitch. You don’t even need a great singing voice.
What matters is developing the connection between your ears and your musical ideas.
Jazz improvisation is ultimately about hearing music before you play it. The stronger your internal hearing becomes, the more naturally your ideas will flow through your instrument.
As my teacher George Garzone often emphasized, the goal is to hear first and play second.
5. Transcribe Without Your Instrument
You don’t always need your instrument to work on a transcription.
Listen to a short phrase from a solo and try to sing it back. Then identify the rhythm, the contour, and the chord tones being used.
You can do this on a train, during a walk, or while commuting.
The goal is to strengthen your ears and your understanding of the language, not just your fingers.
Try this:
- Listen to one phrase from a solo.
- Sing it back.
- Identify where it lands in the harmony.
- Notice whether the player is using scales, arpeggios, chromaticism, or motifs.
This kind of listening develops your improvisation long before you touch the instrument.
6. Analyze Standards Mentally
One of the best uses of “dead time” is reviewing tunes.
Think through a standard away from the instrument.
Ask yourself:
- What key is it in?
- Where are the ii-V-I progressions?
- Which measures contain dominant chords?
- Are there any key changes?
- Can you visualize the form?
For example, while riding the subway you might mentally review the harmony of Beautiful Love or There Will Never Be Another You.
The better you understand the structure of a tune, the easier it becomes to improvise over it.
7. Practice Piano Away From the Piano
Even if you’re not sitting at a keyboard, you can visualize one.
Imagine playing rootless voicings.
Visualize guide tones moving through a ii-V-I.
See the notes on the keyboard in your mind.
At JVL, we often talk about learning harmony at the piano because it gives you a clearer picture of how the music works.
A few minutes of mental keyboard practice can dramatically improve your understanding of harmony.
8. Internalize Rhythm
Most musicians spend plenty of time practicing notes and not enough time practicing rhythm.
The good news is that rhythm can be practiced anywhere.
Try:
- Tapping quarter notes while walking (visit this course).
- Feeling different subdivisions (visit this course).
- Clapping rhythms from a transcription.
- Sing and write different rhythms (visit this course)
- Counting measures of a tune internally.
- Practicing metric modulation mentally.
A strong sense of time follows you everywhere—you don’t need an instrument to develop it.
The Real Goal
Most musicians think practice begins when they open the case and ends when they put the instrument away.
The truth is that musicianship can be developed throughout the day.
You can train your ears by transcribing.
You can deepen your harmonic understanding by analyzing standards.
You can strengthen your visualization through mental practice.
You can improve your time feel with rhythm exercises.
The more often you engage with music, even for a few minutes at a time, the faster you’ll grow.
Remember: your instrument is only one part of the equation. Your ears, your mind, and your understanding of the music are always available to practice.
So the next time you’re away from your instrument, don’t think of it as lost practice time.
Use it as an opportunity to train the most important instrument you own:
Your mind.
What about you?
Do you use any mental practice techniques away from your instrument? Share your favorite method in the comments below.
