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How do you guys deal with “hitting a wall” in your playing? Such as losing all motivation to practice or touch an instrument?

Thanks!

bloke wrote: 1. Don't quit.
2. If no scheduled performances nor schedules lessons, set the instrument down for a few weeks.
3. Become more engaged in other disciplines and other interests. Take on non-tuba-playing projects which have been put off by procrastination or other reasons.
4. Re-embrace the tuba when your own desires to do so demand it. You'll probably find that you're playing as well as you did when you put your instrument(s) away, if not better...and with your "wall" having fallen out of your way.

+1

For me, I practiced probably less than 20 times on two years. That all changed when I entered region competition and heard this one amazing tuba player ( he made 2nd chair state in a 5A band). At that moment, I knew that I would do whatever it takes to be like him, walk in and make state thinking the audition was easy. It was a "moment". You'll know when or if you get it. Whether it's a audition, listening to a heavy tuba emphasis piece at a concert, or hearing a solo on tuba that changes you on practicing, it should come.
BTW, after that, I started practicing every day without fail.I got way better than I should've been for only having 3 years on tuba.

I’m a big fan of TED talks. Two come to mind. “The power of quitting”, and it’s opposite,”grit”. Both highly recommended.

1. Putting the horn down for a time isn't quitting; it is taking a break. Breaks work wonders. I would take week or two-week long breaks during college once a year. I don't think it hurt my playing at all. I took 3 years off to get a law degree and picked it back up after. I think I got to be a far better player after all that than I was when playing 8-10 hours a day in college. I just took another long break as a result of moving, starting a new job, and having a child who I doubt would appreciate me practicing while she sleeps. I'll get back to it soon, and I'm pretty confident I'll still be able to hack out Bordogni #1.

TLDR: Tuba will always be there when/if you want it.

2. Is it the tuba as a whole? The music you're playing? Other things going on in your life? (NOTE: NOT seeking that information; for you to ponder yourself).

2a. If it is the music you're playing, then play what you want for a while. Pick out a piece you like and focus on that. No scales, no exercises, no etudes, nothing. Just sit down, get the lips warm, and work on playing a piece that inspires you. Don't make it a chore.

3. Schedule yourself time to go to a conference or schedule a lesson with someone with whom you've never studied. See if that shakes the feeling. In anything, you can get in a rut. It is a huge motivator and can clear out your head to spend a day or two in close contact with like-minded people.

4. If you have the resources, rent, borrow, or otherwise work your way into a larger-than-normal room and play in there. You'll get to hear yourself resonate in ways that you don't when practicing at home. I would guess a majority of people on this board, when finding themselves alone in a concert hall, wouldn't take the horn off their face. It's a fun experience.

Tuba can be a pretty confining instrument. The body of music written for it is as small or smaller than anything else out there. We don't have the luxury of ready-made 5 centuries of music written for our own instrument's quirks. And it is physically demanding. That can result in frustration. Trying to power through can be counterproductive. There is nothing wrong with taking breaks, and taking a break doesn't mean you stunt your growth. There are A LOT of ways to work on being a better player that don't involve the horn - listening, reading, singing, going to concerts, score study, etc. And there is also nothing wrong with investing available time and/or resources into doing any of the above if you really want to keep tuba an active part of your life.

Doc wrote: Technically true, but why would someone look at music in such a limiting way? That's looking at it as a classically trained, classically minded instrument player (I am one, too), and many of us would be bored to tears if we only played pieces written for tuba (much of it is not amazing or inspiring music). If you look at the tuba as merely the vehicle for expression/communication (and you can love the tuba as the instrument of your voice), and you don't limit yourself to playing "tuba" music, the possibilities become enormous. If you hear a beautiful melody/song/tune, play it on your tuba. It doesn't matter which instrument it's "written for." If you haven't developed your aural skills to the point you can play by ear, then you have some different-than-normal, get-out-of-your-rut training ahead of you.

I had a long response, but I'll try to be concise: I agree. We should play everything. But there is an extra level of frustration sometimes when using another instrument's music. A brilliant and satisfying phrase for an oboe player may be a source of immense frustration for a tuba player. It would be nice to have tuba rep as extensive as violin rep. But given that we don't, we should all play what music we can from any source.

And to your point - Engaging in that exercise CAN be very satisfying.

Doc wrote:aw heck, you already know what I'm talking about.

Next time you're in New Hampshire, we can chat about it over a venti at Starbucks. My treat.

Thank you everyone for your responses!!

The biggest issue in my situation is that I am currently at a pretty large music camp and still have a week and a half to go. I’m a lot more motivated than I was a few days ago, but taking a short break would probably be best for me however I cannot do so because of the activities at this camp, and I must prepare for an orchestra auditon in late August.

Find a nice secluded spot out in nature, bring a piece of lexan/long clothespins/etc. to deal with the wind, and plop yourself down and play only the fun stuff that makes YOU happy.

If that doesn't work, just put the horn in the case and forget about it for a while, until you ache to play again. A few days, a few months -- whatever. It doesn't really matter. If you're really any good, it won't matter how long since you last played -- years, even -- you'll be just as good as ever within a couple of days of picking up the horn again. If you AREN'T any good, then why waste all of your energy worrying about something that is out of reach for you, anyway?

Well, as many of you know, I ACTUALLY HIT A WALL.
And coming out of the coma, I found that playing for fun is a whole lot less pressure!

Thanks everyone for your replies!!!

I’ve been at a music camp for the past 3 weeks or so, so pretty much my plan of attack was to just play whenever I really had to. I just spent all my time enjoying the new people I met.

As for just blantantly quitting, I don’t plan to, especially after I made 1st chair in the NC 9/10 all state band this past year.

Thanks for the encouragement and tips!

Take a break, try playing with a different group, learn a new horn in a new key.

I was getting tired and picked up a little Eb Helicon. Took me a while to learn the fingerings and master it good enough for tuba christmas, but it got me engaged again.

Good luck

Hi,

I recently came back to being a tuba performance major after a break of 2 years. I’d like to give some of my thoughts on this.

1. Someone said record yourself and I ABSOLUTELY believe you should do this. And at the end of the day after playing what you’re required to at your music camp, if you are able, take a break from practicing and listen to yourself. I am a big supporter of being your own worst critic but when you get like this only concentrate on the things you do well. In my daily practice I record myself and critique myself harshly. But I think that taking a step back and just enjoying music that Me, Myself and I created can do wonders. This is actually what brought me back to the tuba.

2. If there are other tuba players at the camp, make friends with them and try and learn some pop song melodies and bass lines by ear. I think this is just a super fun thing to do and will improve your ear which I believe is invaluable.

3. If you cannot do any of that and you need to keep going, remember what made you fall in love with the instrument to begin with.

4. These are just my 2 cents. Everything that has been said before is phenomenal advice as well.