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I'm not sure if this is more of a topic for the "Off Topic" catagory or not.It seems to me to have some relevance to playing in general.


During the past two weeks I've been dealing with the issue of a group of teenagers coming on to my property to fish in the little pond behind my house . Despite my constantly telling them to "get off my property and stay off " I finally had to call the police on tuesday afternoon. The stress of dealing with the the rotten,mouthy kids, their stupid,mouthy parents and the police had left me really stressed out for the past two days.
Even though I really didn't feel like it I decided to pull the ole euphonium out and do some practicing last night. I knew I have a peformance in 4 weeks and I am not prepeared for it so I needed to practice. Long story short --- even though I wasn't in the mood or even wanted to play,after 2 hours of trying work out all the difficult passages I felt great. Not only did I feel great but darned if I didn't play really well. All the hard stuff that I been worried about is really starting to come around. While it's not perfect I've made more progress on the music in a shorter time than I ever expected. I went to bed last night unstressed and in a very good mood .
I am not sure why but my concentration level was at an all time high. The better I played the more I wanted to play and the more I played the better I got and the cycle seemed to be fuled by this heightened concentration level . I can't recall ever experienceing anything like this before. It's a wonderful thing and I would like to continue it but I can't explain it.
Any comments on this ?

Many, many times I'm in a state of high stress when I get to rehearsal. Rehearsals are on weekday evenings, and my job is often stressful and demanding. Invariably, I'm relaxed and happy by the end of the rehearsal.

And every time I sit down to squeeze in 15 minutes of practice, I end up practicing for at least an hour or more. That would not be the case if it didn't make me feel good.

Rick "thinking target practice at the pond during normal trespassing times might discourage visitors" Denney

I think the easiest observation to make here is that spending some time with an instrument was an easy way for you to get your mind from something you don't like doing (dealing with mouthy kids/parents) to something you like doing (playing euphonium and making music). I have had times where, not in an egotistical way, I have come to the horn just feeling like it is wonderful to be able to be even halfway decent at an artistic craft. Sometimes you have to really appreciate that the sound and the music is coming primarily from your own efforts, and it's a nice activity to invest your mental energy in.

That being said, I've definitely had practice sessions where an occurrence that put me into a bad mood effected most or all of the effort I put into playing euphonium. Most likely, this is a result of abandoning any goals I would normally make for a practice session (even if it's simply to "learn the tricky parts" of some band music) and just grinding away until I want to throw the horn in a dumpster. If you consistently make practicing a therapeutic part of your day/week and avoid making it a chore or a losing battle, then you'll continue to benefit from it.

See the new Italian study http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/ ... 5900.shtml" target="_blank

Now, I know that it isn't the same type of music, but it just might be music in general's effect on the brain/mood/blood pressure.

Note, also, that the type of breathing they used in the study is exactly the same as one uses in playing; quick intake, and long release.

If you were to practice outside near your pond it might solve your original problem.

I'm sure you've heard the terms left brain and right brain; the left brain is the one that thinks in the past and the future, and the right brain has awareness in the present. The right brain is plenty intelligent but it doesn't have language; that is the left brain's area.

For millenia people have learned various forms of meditation to get out of the left brain and into the right brain. When in a state of deep meditation, verbal thoughts simply disappear and a wonderful sense of peace sets in, as the left brain quiets. You're still full awake and aware, but there are no words running through your head. For me, and clearly for many others, practicing can be a form of meditation, in that it gets me out of the left brain and into the right brain, with the equivalent sense of peace and lack of anxiety. Cool that you found it; some people never do.

MA

it helps me as well.. I always feel relaxed after a good practice, which doesn't come as often as it should since I am teaching full time now, as for the turds trespassing... Here in the south its called a shot gun. my too cents,
Jeremy"wishing I had someone on my property where I could squeze some rounds off" Thigpen

Playing tuba is always really relaxing for me until someone invites a trumpet player over. Actually, the first trumpet player is never the problem, it's always the SECOND trumpet player.

I wonder if it's illegal to shoot paint balls at people who are clearly trespassing on your own property...?

Reading what Mary Ann had to say as well as everyone else reminded me of why I started to play again in the first place. It was the passing of my father. While I wasn't as close to him as I would had like to have been his death was tragic for me. He was prononuced terminal in April and past in August. Just that fast. Way too fast for me.
I was only playing the bugle at the time. Just for my son's Cub Scout pack and a few special events. I'm not really sure why but months after my dads death I decided I was going to start playing euphonium again and this time I would actualy own my own horn. Perhaps this was a sub-concious way of trying to deal with the shock. Maybe I was faced with my own mortality and this was kind of a mid life crisis thing.I was 41 when he died ,after all. My wife thinks I went nuts ......

I absolutely use playing as stress reduction...I'm the cop that would have to come out and deal with the kids at your pond I find that a good half hour of scales and etudes works wonders for dealing with whatever garbage the shift threw at me, and a longer practice with more interesting stuff (and a trumpet player, but she's nice) puts me in a better frame of mind.

I got back into playing music a little over a year ago (following the deaths, 8 months apart, of my Mother and my Mother-in-Law and a bout with breast cancer) as I was going through a stressful time at work (being put on a "management plan" by a Sergeant who didn't have the b***s to confront me directly). Playing music, joining a couple of bands has been a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I came back to music, even though I kick myself for waiting so long

Ally"off to play the tuba following a two hour wait at the doctor's office to get a glucose tolerance test which they didn't do because they don't do those in the afternoon because it is a fasting test, and don't realize that some people are day sleepers and are fasting at 3:00 p.m."House

i had a similar experience. after packing my apt. up to move and dealing with final loose ends i needed a break so i took a stroll up to the music building. after only 5 minutes of blowing through some long tones and flexibility workouts i was completely relieved. i then proceeded to play through/transpose bordogni's. it was a very nice way to realax and i'd recommend it to anybody.

-casey

Playing the horn as a stress buster? Yep.

Every week I drive 45 miles to play with an orchestra. My favorite part is before the rehearsal when the cell phone gets turned off and the rest of the world cannot get hold of me. I just play and put aside everything else. I've had a few people bitching that they could not reach me but tough - I need it for my sanity!

I have three teenage children and am a partner in two businesses. My tuba is my sole refuge at times. When I go to my study, close the door and start practicing, all my stresses recede. It is just me, my tuba and the music. I experience the same stress reduction at my community band rehearsals. It really is quite amazing, and priceless.

On a more physical level, I've noticed that some vigorous tuba playing can help a lot with the early stages of a tension headache.

The practice of yoga and various martial arts includes a lot of work on breathing. (I don't know anything about these matters, but that's my impression.) We can only imagine, if the tuba had been invented, say, by the Chinese and taken up by Shaolin monks as a way to self mastery through vigorous controlled breathing.

I relax much better when playing the piano than when playing the tuba.

PWtuba wrote:I relax much better when playing the piano than when playing the tuba.

Must be some type of defect....

I often use practicing as therapy. After a long and stressful day of school I will come home and practice for a couple of hours. It really does make me feel more relaxed and I get a lot done while doing it!

Hmm it can be the beneficial for u but we are not sure about the results some doctors do suggest physical therapy in this scenario which also not so much beneficial in this scenario....