Staying in the game: The best practices, attitudes, metacognitive strategies, and intrinsic motivations of aging musicians
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LIVE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Staying positive in difficult times

4/26/2020

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Take care of yourself.
  1. Sleep 8 hours a night.
  2. Eat well, no junk food.
  3. Stay sober.
  4. Go for long walks.
  5. Stay connected online to your friends. Reach out.
  6. Curate carefully mental inputs: Newspapers, radio, TV etc.
  7. Practice and start to resolve those pesky issues in your playing.
  8. Take some online lessons
  9. Exercise carefully
  10. Netflix

​David
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Exercise after 60

4/25/2020

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Your high school track days are over. Remember that as you consider how to maintain fitness after 60. Recovery is neither quick nor easy. So, rule number 1 is don't get injured. Rule number 2 is seek some professional input before starting to exercise again if you have been inactive. First stop is your doctor. No point dropping dead in the first week. 

Here is the recommendation for  a seven-day cycle: 6 days of activity, one day of rest from
Dr. Stuart McGill is professor emeritus in Spine Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo. He's our age, these are his recommendation.  Check out his article on the CBC website. https://www.cbc.ca/life/wellness/how-to-change-your-fitness-routine-to-stay-strong-and-mobile-as-you-age-1.5471940

​
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Cycle 1: 

Day one: strength training
Day two: something else, like biking, walking, something to "get the old ticker going"
Day three: mobility training
Day four: something else
Day five: Strength training
Day six: rest
Day seven: mobility training

Cycle 2

Day one: Something else
Day two: strength training
Day three: something else
Day four: mobility training
Day five: rest
Day six: Strength training
Day seven: Something else

and so on

I’m going to try this new routine over the next six weeks and see what happens. 

David

​
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Dealing with music making withdrawal symptoms

4/18/2020

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Reach out and stay connected. I've sent and received a number of messages from friends and music making colleagues this week. 

Jim and I had a coffee date on Zoom to talk jazz. A little awkward to start but good none the less. 

Pete and I agreed that after this passes we will reconnect and play some music after so many years apart. 

Tim and Rory and I are in contact. We all miss the monthly jazz trio sessions. 

William, Gordon, and I continue to make our "Cinematic Noise" videos via file transfer. 

It all helps. 

David


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Entering 5th week of captivity: Staying positive

4/13/2020

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Fifth week, wow. An unknown number of weeks to go. Let's stay busy with positive activities. 
  1. Rest
  2. Exercise
  3. Practice
  4. Eat well
  5. Keep up our network by virtual networks
  6. Plan for the future
  7. Reconnect with your spouse
  8. Enjoy Netflix

This will end.

​David
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How do we maintain our practice regime during the pandemic?

4/11/2020

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I had been doing the following things on a regular basis.

  1. Worked with Piano coaches with whom I met monthly for both classical and jazz piano pedagogy studies.
  2. Worked with a Drum coach I saw weekly.
  3. Consumed music podcasts about coaching, customer service, marketing, and music pedagogy.
  4. Participated in numerous online groups involved in professional music and pedagogy.
  5. Practiced piano and drums daily. I usually rested on Sunday.
  6. From time to time I played in a professional setting.
  7. I attended live music events most weeks.

I did the following things on a yearly basis:

  1. Attended summer music workshops around the world: USA, Canada, Italy, and Poland
  2. Took music and cultural holidays around the world. Last trip over New Years was to New York City.

How did I practice in my studio?

  1. I had an overall goal in both the piano and drums. These were lifetime goals.
  2. I had yearly goals which were posted in the studios.
  3. My studio space was well organized, it was easy to get started.
  4. I followed the direction of my coaches/mentors/teachers.
  5. I worked on the following areas:
    1. Technique
    2. Etudes
    3. Sight reading
    4. Repertoire
    5. Ear training and Transcriptions
    6. Score study
    7. Metronome work
    8. Theory
    9. Student work
  6. I journaled my progress in various ways.
 
Now what? No jamming for the next few months or even longer. No face to face, mano a mano interactions of any sort.
 
A few assumptions before proceeding.

  1. This will pass.
  2. I want to be here when it does.
  3. Music making will resume in some form or another, though there will be some changes in how our cohort goes about it. Some bands may never start up again.

The plan is simple

  1. Stay healthy, follow the suggestions of legitimate authority. Eat, sleep, and exercise like a champion. Be here and be available when all this passes.
  2. Keep the business going. Financial stability has never been more important.
  3. Enjoy this extra time with my spouse, an unexpected gift.
  4. Practice diligently, research, and network, so I will be a stronger musician when this event passes. So, I will work on the following:
    1. Classical piano, going deep on student repertoire, get back in shape. My goal is musicians' hands not teachers' hands.
    2. Jazz piano, exploring both the bebop and post-bop idioms. Second build up my collection of standards and original work. Finally master the art of spontaneous modulations. 
    3. Create electro-acoustic work with my friends online.

​Best,

David Story
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What can a four year old teach us?

4/6/2020

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How to live in the moment. Shaan, age 4, is learning to rock on in the midst of everything that is gong on. His dad loves KISS, so we are playing appropriately titled etudes as he learns skills at the piano. Music he can show off. He doesn't see work, he doesn't feel stress, he sees fun.

Maybe we should be learning some new music that gives us the same thrill. Think way back, which piece of music from your youth do you wish you could play?

Now time to get busy, dust off your ax and jump right in.

David 
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WTF is going on?

4/5/2020

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  • This will pass, but not in the near future. Corvid-19 is real, thousands are dying each week.
  • I'm in the 3.6 percentile. Which means, 4 out of 100 of my cohort dies if they catch it. Or, in a 20 chamber gun there is one bullet. Would you pull the trigger if someone offered you a million dollars do to so? I don't think so. 
  • Goal one? Be there when it does pass. 
  • How? Listen carefully to the experts. I don't have an epidemiology background, so my thoughts on the subject are worthless. You likely don't have one either. So, stay home, stay isolated, practice your instrument, make love to your spouse and be patient. 

David
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    Author

    David Story: Professional pianist, drummer, composer, and educator. Well into his 5th enthusiastic musical decade, David works with adults pursuing musical dreams in the autumn of life, while he maintains an active presence in the Toronto arts scene.

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