Do you practice with scratch mimic drills?
If so, you already know how friggin’ powerful they are, am I right?!
But if not, let me share why you should!
I highly recommend you get down with some strategic scratch drills.
First and foremost, the best scratch drills are deliberately designed to make you stronger, more nimble, and more accurate.
Think of a scratch mimic drill as an interactive way to develop muscle memory and coordination on auto pilot.
Simply listen and watch the technique done correctly and then try to copy it as best you can when it’s your turn.
Each round you’ll actively learn on 3 different levels by listening, watching and doing.
Even if you don’t execute it perfectly, you’ll still be hearing and seeing it done correctly which helps you to learn by osmosis and improve when you try it again.
You don’t even have to worry about what to practice next. Just follow along and have fun as you go along for the ride!
An effective mimic drill will progress gradually in a structured way, so that each skill builds intentionally on the last.
The more you do the drill, the easier the new techniques and rhythms will become automatically, without you having to think about it.
And as you build your muscle memory and coordination with strategic skill stacking and repetition, even difficult techniques will become easier —
YUP, even the ever elusive 4-finger Crab with the pinky hittin’ that crossfader.
Same goes for your record hand too…hello double-time Prism Tears! ✨
The strength and agility built through scratch drills is truly invaluable to all aspects of your scratching.
So now you might be thinking…
“Sounds great, Shortee…but how do I actually use the scratch drills to get the best results?”
Here’s 4 steps to get the MAX potential out of every scratch practice drill:
⚡ 1. Find the tempo that you are able to perform the techniques in the drill.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you need to be able to get through it. If you need to slow down the video, go for it! This tempo is your baseline ‘speed limit’.
⚡ 2. Do the drill as many times at that tempo as you need to feel confident with the techniques.
Repeat the challenging sections until you can copy them exactly.
⚡ 3. Once you’ve gotten a hang of the drill, add it to your practice routine each day.
This helps you integrate the techniques as you build muscle memory, strength, coordination, and dexterity.
You can also use the drill as your warmup to loosen up before you move on to other techniques for the rest of your practice session.
⚡ 4. Increase the tempo of the drill in small increments to build your speed with ease…
- First, find your ‘speed limit’ where you can execute the entire drill consistently as described above.
- Then increase the speed of the drill just 1 BPM at a time until you can perform it consistently. This small incremental adjustment tricks your brain/body so that you may not even notice the speed increase.
- Repeat this for a few cycles and BOOM, you’re suddenly rockin’ the drill 5-10 BPMs faster without even trying!
Ready to take a stab at a quick scratch drill to test it out for yourself? 🔪
Play the video above to slay this 1-minute FORWARD STAB practice routine with me!
🎼 This is a 2-BAR Q&A MIMIC DRILL which means I scratch for 2 bars & then you copy me for 2 bars. Easy peasy!
♾️ Loop the video for a few rounds for a motivating mini practice sesh.
🥁 The beat I’m rockin’ is called “Heat Wave” available on our Urban Assault scratch beats album, “Bionic Beats”.
I hope you have fun sharpening your Forward Stabs with me in this mini mimic drill!
Have a blast practicing this week and let me know how it goes! 😻
xo,
Shortee
ps — Ready for more than a minute?
This clip is from a longer 2-bar scratch mimic workout where I run through 58 different Stab rhythms in a solid 17+ minutes of intentional practice.