Day 350: hit a wall; keep going

Being at a music workshop where we practice intensively, it is natural that some of the students hit a wall at some point. Today was kind of a  “wall day” for at least several of our students. Just today I found: a student falling asleep in the practice room , a student walking around the halls like a zombie, a student near tears with frustration…  I saw plenty of other examples wall-hitting but you get the idea.

After two weeks of practice coaching, private lessons, performance classes, and masterclasses, everybody is at least a little tired. Unfortunately in the practice room this can get discouraging, especially for kids. They feel burnt out. They think they’ve practiced everything they possibly can that session or that day or that week. (They are wrong.) Perhaps worst of all, they can feel the proximity of the upcoming performances, so they know they SHOULD still be putting in the really good work.

So how do you put in the good work after you’ve hit a wall? How do you keep working when you feel totally spent? I think you just have to get creative. You have to change up how you’re working. One student felt burnt out because she was working on the same movement of the same piece hour after hour; it was definitely time to do something completely different. Some slow methodical work on tone or vibrato would fill out that practice hour and stop her from losing her mind. Another student felt like there was nothing left to practice, but hadn’t tried any technique or scale work at all that day. Somebody who struggles with rhythm hadn’t done any clapping or metronome work at all.

There is always something else to do. Hit a wall. Then keep going.

 

Day 317: for Claudia

This entry is for Claudia. And when you read her name please think of the first syllable as “cloud” because because.

Claudia is a very dear friend of mine in the truest sense. Do you know the type of friend that you know for a long amount of time, and then they feel like family even if you don’t talk for a year or two? Claudia is that person… a dear, dear friend, one I value and cherish and will certainly be friends with in 30 years, even if we accidentally don’t speak between now and then. It’s kind of funny, and maybe hard to understand for readers, but this friend who I speak to sometimes daily and then other times once every year or two is one of the dearest people to my heart. We just have a strangely strong connection, and recently this friend wrote to me with a sincere and common and understandable question.

Claudia wrote me asking about practicing and motivation. She’s recently hit a big lull. I don’t claim to be an expert on these topics, but clearly I’ve been reflecting upon them for the last 316 days if not longer. (Longer.) My dear friend Claudia is asking me how to get back in touch with her instrument that she loves dearly when there is all the other baggage around performing and playing and practicing. And I get her questions completely.

This will probably take at least a couple of entries, but to start:

We all strive to feel more motivated, pretty much in every area of our lives. And excellence in music requires a stupid-uniquely-tremendous amount of work and tenacity and thoughtfulness and work. For most of us, I think, the issue is beginning to work- just getting started, and this takes creativity.

My immediate answer for Claudia is two-fold. I think we need something small to jump-start our work for today, and something larger to keep us going tomorrow. The something small can be a hot cup of coffee or a brisk walk in cool weather or listening to an inspiring performance. The something bigger is an over-reaching goal… perhaps the preparation of  a larger work of music, or the mastery of a series of etudes. A while back I learned and performed the Bach cello suites in one year, and most recently I’ve been striving to complete the entire Flesch scale book in a year. The possibilities are endless, but some over-reaching goal is helpful if not completely necessary.

So to begin: find a way to jump-start your work for today, and have some type of bigger-picture goal to chip away at. It helps if it’s a personal goal that you care about.

Day 292: hurting.

So…  apparently I have a small injury. Yesterday, I began having some pain in my right arm. I immediately stopped playing because  I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t want to make it worse. Since then I’ve taught in creative ways, with singing and clapping and explaining. (But that’s not too bad because I already did all that, I just demonstrated (on viola) in addition.)

Today I’m hurting. Kind of a lot. I don’t know exactly what the problem is. Maybe a pinched nerve in my neck. (I’ll keep you guys posted.) It doesn’t mean I stop studying or learning or growing. Right now my full time job is healing and keepin’ on keepin’ on.

When we hurt, it doesn’t mean we stop. Period.

Day 282: Life happens; keep going.

Life happens. It is happening. For better or for worse.

It’s hard to predict what the next big glitch will be, but I think it’s fair to say there is pretty much always one coming. Sometimes the unexpected glitch will be something truly horrible: something life-altering and tragic and completely unfair. (Hopefully those are very rare.) More often, the glitch will be an everyday kind of problem. The kind of occurrence that has you telling your best friend, “being an adult is too hard!” And you would be right: it IS too hard. (This glitch is often a money problem, maybe something to do with your car or taxes. or utilities. Or maybe it’s upset family member or a friend’s forgotten birthday. It doesn’t matter. It’s an adult problem and it’s annoying and aaaaaggggghhhh!!!)

My point is, these things are all around us. I feel like we encounter at least a couple of them every single day. And it’s okay. WE WILL BE OKAY. The small stuff will end up being pretty small, and it’s helpful to remember this as often as possible.

Life happens. 99% of the time, we will be okay. And even if we aren’t okay, giving up IS NOT how we get back ourselves on track.

Glitches happen, and they can get in the way. But let’s keep at it: life happens; keep going.

Day 275: keep trudging along

When we set a goal to practice a certain amount or for a set period of time, or simply to take on the life of a working musician, there will be lulls. There will be periods here and there where we don’t feel like working, or where we totally feel like working but life is completely getting in the way. (And what is that even about??? We hit a great bright spot of motivation and then something horrible gets in the way like a physical injury or a family emergency. When the awful thing finally and joyfully passes and we are able to move on, the motivation spurt has dissipated. Why universe WHY???)

I am on day two-hundred-and-seventy-five of a year-long practicing project. I’ve never done anything like this and it has been tremendously rewarding. But OF COURSE there are days when I don’t feel like working. It doesn’t matter; this is real life. It’s like clocking in at work. You know you are doing it, and so you make it happen.

As for the bright moments: it’s up to us to make them happen. I’m in great need of one, so it’s now my job to find it. I will listen to great recordings and look to attend exciting performances. I will play playfully. I will teach, because in my world that gives me the strangest and most wonderful inspiration. And I will keep trudging on, because moving forward is the only way to move forward.

 

 

Day 258: TENACITY

This is me checking in. Recently I recognized I’ve been at a bit of a standstill with viola. I knew it was time to get back to a serious practice regimen.  Since then I’ve started getting up earlier and even putting on some pants. Basically, I’ve just been getting back to what we all know we need to be doing: daily scales & arpeggios. Slow, focused work on rep. Starting earlier in the day and putting in the time…

I was in a rut, and I pulled my way out of it. It’s only been about a week of this great practice, and I’m already noticing progress. It feels good to be advancing once again, but I know it takes continuous work to keep up this kind of momentum. Still, I’m optimistic. I feel an awakened sense of excitement about my work. Sometimes I forget I actually love what I do. This week I remember, and I’m grateful.

We need to be tenacious. It’s easy to fall away from great work and great progress. Let’s be tenacious and let’s hold ourselves accountable. Check in with a  teacher/mentor/colleague/friend. Find a practice buddy or an online forum. Keep a practice journal or record yourself playing regularly to track progress. Whatever it takes, let’s keep going. Let’s be accountable. And let’s remember, especially when it gets tough, that we actually love this stuff.

Day 250: move forward

The way I see it, the only thing to do is move forward.

Making great progress? Wonderful! Keep moving forward!
At a standstill? Time to move forward!
Feel like your losing your skills? Getting out of shape? Better get moving forward!

Lately I’ve been at a bit of a standstill with viola, just busy with other things. It’s time to move forward.

Day 226: the weeds

If you find yourself in the weeds, in a spot where you can’t exactly feel yourself progressing and you certainly don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s okay. I think we’ve all been there at some point; I was there just today.

Here’s my plan of action for when this happens; maybe it will work for you?

1. Keep at it. Don’t get discouraged.

2. Spend more time thinking about the problem and less time just sawing away. Wrap your brain around what is happening; your hands will follow. Eventually.

3. Try changing up your approach. It certainly won’t hurt, and it just might be the exact thing you needed. Work slower. Try a different rhythm. Try isolating the actions of each hand. Practice SMARTER.

4. Keep going. Really, this is the most important thing. Just keep at it.