Posted by Dan on August 13, 2000 at 18:49:25:
In Reply to: some thoughts posted by Neil MacQuarrie on August 13, 2000 at 18:34:47:
Neil;
I'd consider myself to be a fair musician, but I know exactly what you are talking about when you talk about taking time off. Surprisingly enough, my most inspired moments of growth take place when I'm NOT behond my tuba, but instead doing something else. Of course, the growth is built on years of constant practice and made manifest in my hieghtened enthusiasm for playing. When I return in force to playing, I bring that new insight and maturity into the foundation I layed years ago.
I'm not saying that "not practicing" is the best way to grow as a musician, because if it were I would be an excellent vocalist as well! What I'm saying is practice doesn't always have to do with muscles and valves. I took some time and really got into web programming, and in the meantime also taught myself to type correctly; the result was that I suddenly had better coordination of my hands. Slight, but noticable to me. By making myself a broader, more well-rounded person, I un-intentionally helped my playing!
Dan