Tuning Slide 4.16- When You Take Too Much Time Off

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

I just play music. That makes my whole day. I can practice and be happy.
— Trombone Shorty

Well, I’m glad I made it through the end of September and the beginning of October. If you remember I had a minor surgical procedure done at the end of last month. The doctor’s orders were clear, no playing trumpet for a week. The pressure could cause the incision to start bleeding again and extend the problem. You may also remember that as a typical trumpet player I looked for a way around it. I checked on a couple trumpet forums and they were just as clear as the doctor in stronger language. Simply put they said, Don’t be stupid. Don’t do it!

So I didn’t - for eight days. I broke an 18-month string of daily playing, practicing, and routine. I hadn’t missed that many days in a row since September 2015, right after I started this amazing journey into being a “real” trumpet player. The most had been three days, which as the oft-quoted meme says is when the audience begins to notice that the musician hasn’t been practicing.

So what happened? Did it truly affect my musicianship? How difficult has it been to get back in the groove and routine? Not a particularly surprising set of answers. They are almost exactly what most of us has been told many times. When you don’t practice everything suffers. But what was the most surprising was the reality of the word “everything.”

I noticed that I was off-kilter from the second day. The first day missed was, of course, the day of surgery. Everything was off-balance that day. I thought about missing the trumpet, but I did some extra focusing on watching some trumpet-related You Tube videos. The second day I noticed a sense of withdrawal. The trumpet was calling my name. I was then out of sorts all week, actually. Yes, some of it was from the aftermath of the surgery and the impact on my vision since it was eye surgery. But life just wasn’t right. Something was missing.

I wasn’t totally surprised by this. Anything that has become that much a part of daily life for so long will leave a void when it’s not there. But the void was more pervasive than expected. My mental focus wasn’t as clear; I was less grounded than I had been. I knew it wasn’t just the surgery. I therefore worked hard at listening to more music and spending time on You Tube. I worked on some of my compositions for the quintet and planning our gigs for later this fall. That helped since I was working on music. But I wanted to MAKE music, play it!

It was only when I got back to regular playing did it all make sense. I have written here many times about finding your song, making your music, expanding your musical voice. I have been working on these things with intent and intensity since that last long layout in September 2015. The Inner Game of Music ideas I have been exploring are about living intentionally and mindfully as much as they are about making music. Increasing daily mindfulness is something I teach and lead as part of my job- it is an evidence-based practice in the field of addiction treatment. I didn’t realize how much music helped me do that in my own life.

One of our human shortcomings I have discovered is that we often compartmentalize our lives. Each box, each compartment, each interest we may have doesn’t often connect with other areas. Here’s work. Over there is my family. Back in the corner is my music. Oh, I think I see a box for my exercising and physical health activities. I don’t often allow them to interact. That- in spite of one of those statements I have said on here many times:

How we do anything is how we do everything!

I discovered, much to my own surprise how much my music filters into everything I do. It fills my life, gives it a richness and a joy that is anything but work. It helps me relax in all I do. When I find myself being obsessive about my music- hyper-focused, overly intense, worried that it isn’t going right, for example- the rest of my life suffers. By not being able to play my music and allow it to feed and guide me, I was out of balance.

So what has happened since I started back? As I am writing this I have had just two weeks back in my daily routine. I have had friends who don’t practice on a daily basis. They seem to be able to pick up the trumpet and sound good. I have other friends who hear all their faults when they have to miss their routine. I was truly amazed at how both those things happened to me.

First, my sound did not suffer too greatly. Nor did my range. Why? I realized that it has to do with what I have learned from the Shell Lake faculty- it is in the breath and the consistency with which we learn to play with that breath. It is also the Inner Game trust of Self 2’s ability to do what it says it can do. When I picked up the trumpet again two weeks ago, I was not back where I was in 2015. I had a style, a routine, a training that allowed me to be able to do what I can do.

Second, however, my endurance and technique did suffer. I was not able to do the routine for 45 minutes like I was doing. I wasn’t even able to do two 30 minute sessions in a day. My range suffered when the endurance tanked. Today I was able to get past an hour of practice in two sessions. It felt good. My soul was renewed by that.

Third, I also learned that I had taken some stuff for granted. So I went back to some of the basic routine elements that I know help, such as ending my sessions with a couple of Concone etudes, a real confidence and sound booster. It extends the endurance while not challenging technique which gives Self 2 the opportunity to show me what I can do.

I hope I don’t have to do this again any time soon. It was frustrating, but at least I discovered that I am a far different musician than I was when I first set foot onto the campus as Shell Lake. Much has changed. For the better.

Now, if I could only apply this to my routine of exercise and fitness.