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Re: Feeling Good and Playing Well

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2010-11-07 06:29

I'm 10 years away from being able to walk completely in your shoes. I don't know what kind of chronic health problems you may have. At 63, I have to say I honestly don't feel a lower level of energy for things I'm enthusiastic about. I'm mostly just a little more selective about what I'm willing to take on. I haven't yet experienced the need to "budget" my energy so much. It's more a matter of deciding which activities are worth doing despite the small chronic aches and pains and the occasional acute flare-ups that some of those underlying chronic results of aging (stenosis, degenerated discs, arthritic knees) bring on.

Squeaking and poor tone are rarely, for me, the result of low energy level (although if the low energy is extreme, as when I'm sick, I need a good reason like an impending performance to make myself get past it). Squeaking and poor tone, at least in my experience, don't result from lack of energy - they're caused by technical/mechanical problems (most often reed-related or caused by problems in my instrument) that I can correct. Missed notes tend for me to be more a result of distraction than low energy level (although feeling acutely tired can be a distraction). I have certainly performed successfully when I was tired and have never found that I needed to limit my activity level in preparation for playing.

I guess my bottom line is that I simply don't feel "older" at 63 and find that, except for the aches and pains that seem to multiply as I celebrate birthdays, the problems in my playing are the same ones I've always had and I need to deal with them in the same ways I always have. I'm not in my seventies. I may re-read this response in 10 years (if I have a reason to look it up) and find it very foolish. Before you assign responsibility for playing discomforts to "low energy" you should check out your reeds and the mechanical condition of your instrument and make sure they aren't to blame and that you aren't distorting technical aspects of your playing to overcome mechanical problems that have an identifiable cause. If you're having problems mainly at lessons or at ensemble events, consider that nerves - anxiety resulting in trying too hard to play well - may be a partial explanation. Be sure you aren't misinterpreting the symptoms you hear in your playing and letting a mis-diagnosis of "low energy" prevent you from finding the root causes.

Karl

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Feeling Good and Playing Well new

CarlT

2010-11-07 00:13