Re: Getting back on the horse


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Posted by Sean Chisham on March 11, 2003 at 20:15:53:

In Reply to: Getting back on the horse posted by Daryl on March 11, 2003 at 13:24:03:

I wasn't playing for about 2.5 years after my MM degree. I got heavily into the IT field and was spending as many hours learning new technologies as I was actually at work. I probably stopped playing mainly out of frustration and burnout. After about 3 years of undergrad I pretty much had plateaued. The last 2 years of school I did not inprove at all. I learned a lot those last two years, but did not really improve as a player. The results I saw in auditions pretty much reflected my product at that time.

When I picked up the horn again, it was for my own pleasure. I had no "real" aspirations of landing a job, just wanted to try to improve as a hobbiest. Well, like most of my "hobbies" it kind of grew out of control and I was keeping a log of my practice time, attending conferences, and seeking out lessons. My goal, like most all of my hobbies/obsessions, was to see just how good at it I could get with my resources on hand. I ended up buying an Eb and an F tuba during the next 2 years and became so much more serious that I actually tried a couple of auditions. I met much of the same results I had before.

Then it dawned on me that no one gets a job these days on accident. I couldn't just keep practicing like I always had and hope that things worked out. So I ramped up the practice routine even more. My daily goal was 5 hours of which I honestly usually only reached about 3.5-4.5/day. Those hours were compiled over anywhere from 4-6 practice sessions each day. Spreading out the practice time allowed me to almost always play on fresh chops. Few practice sessions lasted longer than 45 minutes. I can honestly say that the most important part of my partial/lucky successes was shear volume of practice.

I hear the arguments about efficiency of time and all, but I think that is basically bunk. You just can't get to all the literature everyday on only 2-3 hours. Audition lists are too large, in general, and solos are too challenging today. I have asked several people in my band how many hours they practiced when they were serious students and working up for auditions. None of them told me 2-3 hours. Most all of them threw out numbers in the 4-6 hours/day range depending on who I asked. Some even gave higher numbers.

I had less time in my day to practice with a full time job than I did while a student. Why did I practice more now then? Well, motivation. I disliked my career, in general. The jobs payed well, the work environments were generally relaxed and easy, but the jobs themselves were mundane and leading to carpal tunnel due to the hours behind a keyboard.

When I started to practice again, I found that I enjoyed the instrument much more. I began to love music. I felt obligated to play it well, if I was to play at all. So I did lots of listenning at work and after work at the local college music library. I tried to imitate the musical ideas I would hear from the great orchestras, singers, and soloists I would listen to every day. Practicing at home became my escape. When a formal student earlier, I would mountain bike and play with computers to escape the frustrations of juries and auditions. Not the opposite was true. I actually started to have the same love of music I had when in high school. This love had escaped me during college due to the drudgery of homework, and required playing for grades and acceptance at auditions.

Although I did want a playing job, I was comfortable, financially and emotionally, in my IT jobs that I did not feel forced to play. It was now something that I did for myself. Just like that high school sophomore who took his first audition for All-District Band in Missouri and to his surprise ended up actually getting in and as first chair and a couple of months later getting into All-State in 5th chair. As a 15 year old I did not have the burden of winning that audition in order to get a job to feed myself. I played the tuba because it was fun. That was my attitude when I auditioned for the Army Band.

I still consider myself a hobbiest who happens to get played to play. I am trying to not take myself too seriously about the music career and especially no longer baseing my self worth on my next audition.

Enjoy life. Live for yourself.
sean



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