The world is your practice room.

Musicians have a tough go when it comes to space. We need particular spots to practice our instruments. Those spots need to be large enough for our instrument, soundproofed (or at least not disturbing others), free of distractions, available at consistent times, and acoustically suitable for hearing details in our playing. We can't just practice anywhere.

Or can we?

Look, I'm an odd duck with a bit of an obsessive mind. So maybe take this with a grain of salt. I've been trying to find ways to integrate music practice into my everyday life, not as a separate chunk of time. It started like this: I got an egg shaker, put it in my car, and whenever I listen to music while driving, I practice my egg shaking. I try different rhythms, different techniques, and as many ways as possible to interplay with the music. I actually like the challenge of keeping the rhythm consistent while focusing on the road.

Don't do this at home, kids. Egg shaking—or doing anything distracting in the car—is dangerous. I just like to live dangerously.

Jokes aside, practicing music in the car, in those random spare moments of the day, is actually making me a better musician (and yes, I'm doing it safely, I swear). I am getting in the necessary reps to make rhythmic playing—even at this most basic level of a shaker—automatic.

You can practice anywhere.

I recently moved into a new apartment. My biggest fear has been the thickness of the walls: would I be able to practice music without disturbing others?

It was a big enough concern that I considered finding another spot altogether. While music playing has not been an issue with neighbors in the past several years, it's still a concern wherever I go to live. If I can't practice freely within reasonable hours, it hinders my life significantly.

I moved forward with the place I live in now. I trusted that playing sitar and guitar—both of which aren’t too loud without amplification—would be fine. But what about the new Persian drum, the Tombak, that I picked up recently?

I'm not a drummer, so finding a fully sound-isolated place was not an absolute priority. Not being able to practice Tombak wouldn't be a deal-breaker. But I really, really wanted to.

So I took it on as a challenge. How could I practice Tombak while not disturbing others?

There's actually a lot to learn from practicing quietly. There are many ways to isolate different elements of technique—left hand, right hand, finger strikes, finger snaps—without producing volume. I could mute the drum. I could practice finger techniques on a table. I could visualize the drum in my mind and execute whatever I was practicing (harder and more effective than you might think!). Absolute worst-case scenario, I practice the drum in my car.

You can practice anywhere. It may require some creative thinking.

So here's my invitation: if you find yourself needing to practice your craft but have issues with space, ask yourself: how can I use these creative constraints to my advantage? How could my practice be amplified, improved, augmented by these constraints?

You may find yourself practicing more intentionally and more efficiently than you would have otherwise.