atty1chgo
818 posts
Jan 31, 2014
5:35 AM
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Miroslav Vitous, virtuoso jazz bassist (founding member along with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter of Weather Report), on taking a break from playing:
"At the same time, I needed a break from playing because I had played and toured all my life. I was able to get rid of some of my old playing habits. The only way to get rid of old habits is to have a reasonable amount of time off from playing. Your hands will forget to go the way they’re used to and you can teach them how to go new ways. It’s a very complex thing to change after years of playing. I also learned about choosing sounds and putting different sounds together. It was an incredible education. Without all of this, I could not have done the new album."
-- Question - Has anyone discovered this while taking a break from blowing the harp?
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jbone
1483 posts
Jan 31, 2014
5:41 AM
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Definitely.
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robbert
267 posts
Jan 31, 2014
9:15 PM
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When I take a break from playing with my regular band mates(not longer than a two week period at a time, usually)there is often some new quality, or element that can occur.
It may be a small thing, but small things end up being significant when there are enough of them, or a small change can lead to new sound or approach to the music we are performing. Usually, it seems to be an 'improvement' or a deepening of what we are doing.
A break for me in playing is switching from diatonic to chromatic and back in my harp studies, or playing a little guitar, or percussion, or singing. Or I might spend time working on harps, rather than playing, or tussling over some theory...there's just endless stuff to study, all of which feeds into playing one way or another.
There are so many aspects to being a musician, that it's sort of an endless, wonderful, strange journey and whatever I'm looking for seems breathlessly unattainable...always just slightly out of reach...
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joek18
34 posts
Feb 01, 2014
3:47 AM
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Just took six months off from performing. I'd found myself repeating patterns too much, leaning on tricks, etc. I practiced during the break but changed up the backing and listening tracks randomly, playing with "non-harp" songs much more. Not sure how much it helped but my action is returning quickly.
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harp-er
502 posts
Feb 01, 2014
3:40 PM
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My experience with taking a break from playing is that upon returning, there is a freshness and a fluidity that seems new.
In general, it seems to me that taking a break from whatever it is that one is considering taking a break from, is a good thing, rather than something to be feared or worried about. I'm not talking about some casual taking a break, as in, for example, I think I'll take a break from work today by calling in sick, or some such other similar thing. Even seriously thinking about taking a break reveals, to me, what I want to call a kind of intuitive intelligence, prompting the person to pay attention to some deeper need.
I think most people worry about this sort of thing, as if to say: I'm falling down on the job; I'm not meeting my responsibilities, etc. I say Nonsense! Better to listen to oneself, and act accordingly.
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jbone
1484 posts
Feb 01, 2014
7:35 PM
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The unconscious mind goes to work when we take a break. When we go back and play again we find new stuff coming to the front of our mind. a-HA moments there.
I have taken a break for 2 weeks up to 13 months. Depending on what you know when you stop and how long the break is you may amaze yourself with what comes out when you get back with it. My 13 month break was not really by choice but I just did not have time since I was trying to do a business by myself and it took every spare minute. Once I let that go and got a regular "civilian" job I got back to playing as quickly as I could. I had retained a lot and found myself with an open invite to play with some guys whenever I wanted. No pay but it was an opportunity to experiment a lot with different harps, keys, positions, etc. I made a lot of progress during that next several months. I doubt I would have made the same leaps had I not backed off for a time.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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MP
3086 posts
Feb 02, 2014
5:28 PM
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It has always had a positive effect on me. I could have written most of the above posts.
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Ugly Bones Ryan
50 posts
Feb 09, 2014
5:32 PM
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Taking a break never helps me. I did it once and now I basically have to reteach myself how to warble. I can still do it but not half as well as I used to. My advice, don't do it.
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Martin
609 posts
Feb 10, 2014
7:50 AM
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I took a ten year break from playing the harp. I honestly don´t recommend that.
A few days of every now and then won´t do much harm. It roughens you up a little bit and can create a feeling of freshness when you return, but I think that effect can be achieved with some variations in your practice regime and contribute to better long-term results.
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