Slump

[tbdana]

I'm a playing slump, that expresses itself in both physical and mental ways.

Physically, my chops are a bit unfocused and I don't feel completely centered in. I'm also lazy breathing, where I take in and breathe out just enough air for the phrase I'm playing, and sometimes I either don't take in enough or I don't put out a strong steady stream. And mentally, I'm making reading mistakes. Actually, the breathing is a mental thing, too. But I like to read at least a measure or two ahead, and I'm finding that my eyes are landing on the note I'm playing and staying there like a concrete block, seemingly almost reluctant to move on to the next measure.

It's maddening. I know I can do better. As for the unfocused chops, a friend suggested it was swelling that's not obviously visible, and suggested I take an anti-inflammatory before going to bed. I did last night, and it seems to have helped.

This was frustrating until I realized it's just a slump. Somehow, putting a name on it made it better. And slumps are good news, because they mean I've maxed out my potential and fixing it means I'm about to take another step up.

But dang, I hate it when it's happening.

Do you ever go through physical/mental slumps? What do you do to get out of them?

[BGuttman]

All the time. It's a part of trying to play at or above your level constantly.

Relax. Do a practice session of all simple stuff. Don't push until you really feel ready.

Pull out some sight reading. That will help push the "read ahead" muscles (in the brain).

[Posaunus]

I'm a playing slump, that expresses itself in both physical and mental ways.

Do you ever go through physical/mental slumps? What do you do to get out of them?

Yes. What do I do? Take a break - an hour or two, a day or few. But not so long that I give up / lose interest.

I like Bruce's suggestion to sight-read something interesting. I've got lots of music that I should take a look at / revisit.

Or listen to recorded music that you know you'll love. Revitalizing!

Best wishes, Dana.

[tbdana]

All the time. It's a part of trying to play at or above your level constantly.

Relax. Do a practice session of all simple stuff. Don't push until you really feel ready.

Pull out some sight reading. That will help push the "read ahead" muscles (in the brain).

Almost all I ever do is sight read. Every single day. That’s just the nature of the work I do. So I was wondering if I should do just the opposite: avoid sight reading for a while and give my brain a break. Thoughts?

[TomInME]

I'm finding that my eyes are landing on the note I'm playing and staying there like a concrete block, seemingly almost reluctant to move on to the next measure.

I've been messing with equipment for about a year and listening a lot for what I sound like, instead of thinking about the musical line I want to produce and where the piece was going. Not saying your situation has the same cause, but the symptom (sticky eyes) was the same.

[elmsandr]

I'm finding that my eyes are landing on the note I'm playing and staying there like a concrete block, seemingly almost reluctant to move on to the next measure.

Yeah, I get this a LOT. For me, one thing that I worked on back in the Stone Age when I took lessons, was how to sight read… my various teachers would put something over the measure I was currently playing and gradually build that up to a line or two of the page. Even though I haven’t had another set of hands to do this for a couple of decades, I just close my eyes for a second and remember how that used to work and start again. Usually enough to bump me out of my rut and see the page beyond a lock note-by-note view. Maybe you need an extra set of hands to stop you and make you uncomfortable in a different way to change things up a little bit

Cheers,
Andy

[Posaunus]

Not sure whether I've been in a "slump" or just a bit bored, but I sure broke out of it today. Played a 2+ hour Dixieland session with my regular ensemble, but today everything clicked. New drummer kept the rhythm going, ensembles were (relatively) clean, solos were creative and appropriate. In particular, I was quite happy with my improvising (not the case, generally). Left smiling.

I guess all I needed was a good day behind the trombone mouthpiece.
Tonight is a big band rehearsal where I'll be playing 4th trombone, so it will be a totally different experience, but I'll try to maintain my positive attitude. Making music can be fun!

[tbdana]

Not sure whether I've been in a "slump" or just a bit bored, but I sure broke out of it today. Played a 2+ hour Dixieland session with my regular ensemble, but today everything clicked. New drummer kept the rhythm going, ensembles were (relatively) clean, solos were creative and appropriate. In particular, I was quite happy with my improvising (not the case, generally). Left smiling.

Glad to hear it, Dave. Days like that are what keep us coming back, huh? Otherwise, we'd just throw our horns in the ocean at some point.

[2bobone]

Here's a trick that I've used for years with students ------ . In order to get them to concentrate on moving forward and playing "through" the music I would turn the printed music on the music stand at about a 30 degree angle away from them so they would have to visually "read through" one note in order to get to the next note, etc etc.etc. It helped immensely in achieving a constant flow of air and maintained a consistency of sound as a bonus. It was an alternative to staring at a static sheet of music with no reason to travel through the composition as a musical journey. Try it ! You'll like it !