Posted by been there on March 09, 2001 at 22:18:23:
In Reply to: Re: How do you deal with this? posted by Alan Herold on March 09, 2001 at 18:45:19:
I totally agree with what Alan said here. I am a college student, and I have spent all of this year so far struggling with the problems you described. Although my practice habits in the past have been very consistent (3-4 hrs a day), this year I can't seem to get in half an hour a day with severe frustration (this is a problem, because I am a performance major!!). I am struggling with depression, which I am sure is a large factor in the problem.
Recently, things have been going a lot better. The best advice I have received is to re-discover why I love music, and why I am a musician. When you go to the practice room, take out something you LOVE to play, not something you "need" to play, or a new concept you are working on. Today, I spent half an hour playing nothing but Bach Cello Suites and basking in how gorgeous they sound on the euphonium. Then I played through some of my favorite excerpts, and by that time, I felt ready to tackle the solos I am working up for my jury. I ended up getting in nearly 2 hours, which I can't remember happening in about 6 months...
So, the summation of all my rambling is this: do something FUN that lets you express yourself as a musician and a human being, and everything else will eventually fall into place. Good luck!