Posted by Leland on February 08, 2004 at 00:51:41:
In Reply to: Gene Pokorny's clinic posted by Interested party on February 07, 2004 at 21:16:42:
More keeps coming to mind...
Stay healthy, stay in shape (not only does it help aerobically, but it avoids pushing the tuba away with your gut), don't smoke, stay limber, get glasses for music reading AND WEAR THEM...
Listen to all kinds of music so that your vocabulary stays large.
He mentioned one player whose performances were studied by a musicologist. The researcher found that the recordings of technical-type pieces from his early career differed very little from those near the end (one in particular was played 18 seconds more quickly than 40 years prior, but was otherwise identical), while performances of less notey works had a noticeable increase in emotion and were more poignant as time went on.
The tuba stand would certainly help avoid the troubles seen by many longtime tuba players who have had trouble with their knees and feet because of years of holding a 40-pound weight in their laps.
Heck, let me dig out the handout, which is titled, "Boy, I Never Screwed THAT Lick Up Before!!"
(my comments are in parentheses)
Finding Objectivity:
- Record Yourself
- Find a "Guardian Angel"
- Or Don't find a Guardian Angel
(Recording yourself is self-explanatory. He talked about finding someone whose ears & opinion you trust, to let you know when your playing is faltering. Or, on the other hand, since that person is probably also a good friend, you may not want to risk a friendship by having to deal with negative comments.)
Ways to Keep Yourself Musically Vital:
- Give lessons
- Finding pieces that are musically but not technically challenging
- Try playing more and more by ear
- Be unpredictable musically
- Find players in your ensemble who you can use as a role model, a hero
- Find players in your ensemble who are examples of what not to do as well
- Listen to music... A LOT
- Have new projects in the firebox
(that is, have fresh things that you've been working on and can perform fairly readily)
- Perform Music Appreciation presentations in schools, churches, for community groups, etc.
(If you're only around the same curmudgeonly characters at work, you may lose sight of the excitement felt by the general public.)
- Find an identity for yourself outside of your teaching or performing position
(Nobody can be a musician 24 hours a day... find something else for your brain to do on your off time)
- Look for hobbies and other outlets NOW so there is not an identity crisis when you leave the orchestra
(What are you going to do when you retire? Sit at home? Of course not!)
- Look for friends outside of your music circle of acquaintances
(It's sure nice to have people to talk to without the conversation turning into a discussion about work)
- Take advantage of sabbaticals
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There's more, but this was the basics. It's best to hear it from Gene himself.