Top ten tips for a great attitude

1. Get enough sleep
   1. If we wake up in the morning craving carbs and not exercise, chances are we need more sleep
2. Get enough exercise
   1. Walking to the fridge doesn't count. Go see the Doctor, get a green light on how to best proceed, and start.
3. Dump the added sugar
   1. It's not helping us feel like practising
4. Schedule regular practice times
   1. Practice partners really help us keep a regular schedule
5. Hang with people who support your dreams
   1. Life is short, hang with those who encourage our remaining dreams.
6. Sign up for some lessons
   1. A good reason to practice: accountability. And, it's really fun!
7. Revisit your goals
   1. Are our goals concurrent and up to date?
8. Make some plans
   1. Step two after revisiting our goals.
9. Marshalling our resources
   1. Get the ducks in alignment
10. Get started

Cheers,

David
​
Time Power: The best book I've read on the subject. 

No more need be said.

Cheers,

​David Story

A recurring theme in my studies of middle age technique rebuilds is the importance of good posture.

​It is encouraging to hear from musicians after a career threatening injury. Injuries caused by bad technique catching up with overuse. In this  five minute audio interview drummer Terry Clarke talks about his rebuild in his 50's.

Main take away: Good posture is the first step. 
​

Biography of Terry Clarke

Boss Brass
Jim Hall
300+ Jazz albums

​For more info.                     www.canadianjazzarchive.org/en/musicians/terry-clarke.html

After Big Sid some blazing time broken up in smaller sections. Max is his mature years, still blazing.

The 90+ group

1. Chuck Berry
2. Tony Bennett
3. Roy Haynes

The 80+ group

1. ​Willy Nelson
2. Wayne Shorter
3. Ahmad Jamal

What do they have in common?

1. Good genes
2. They are still playing

Have they had a life of clean living?

Nope, many of them have lead hard lives: booze, drugs, jail, IRS problems and more

Go figure.

Do you have good genes?  

​If your parents lived to 100 they've given you a genetic advantage.

As we all know lifespans have increased greatly over the last century due to advances in health care, clean water, better and more nutritious food. Not to mention a great reduction in childhood diseases.  But, as the following science article makes clear longer lifespans due to medical advances don't correlate with aging well. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4822264/

So, the obvious conclusions to aging well as a musician I drew from this article and my own experiences?

1. Make adjustments to your playing ergonomics as need be.
2. Maintain good social bonds with other musicians.
3. Eat right, unclog the plumbing.
4. Sleep right, give your body a chance to rest.
5. Exercise right, there are not too many old fat guys in the home, just skinny wily old ones.
6. Reduce stress, have some fun.

Cheers, 

David Story

​Pacing ourselves
"Things ain't what they used to be" Mercer Ellington

That's for sure. But, I'm encouraged by the numbers of mature musicians who are active and healthy. I plan to be one of them.

Some of habits that I hope will help me stay in the game.
​

1. Getting enough sleep: A constant challenge given my busy schedule. I’m learning to say no. But, if I let down my guard, cluttering activities move in and upend my best intentions. How do I know I’ve gotten enough sleep? Easy, I feel happy, energetic, optimistic and full of beans.
2. Limiting alcohol intake: Thankfully easy for me. Alcohol and aging are not good buddies. Apparently, drinking guidelines commonly assumed to be healthy are not. Or were designed for younger adults. Check out these guidelines from the National Institute of health. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/alcohol-use-older-people
3. Warming up before practising: A real necessity to avoid injury. My aches and pains have been greatly reduced with daily stretching. Learn this from professional. Flabby bodies need guided help. You don’t want to pull out the proverbial back. Call your local YMCA or city recreational centre, they have the experience.
4. Staying hydrated: An area needing my attention.

Practice regime drums

i.Monday Jazz band practice, total 2 hours plus.
ii.Tuesday rudiments and very light practice, total 30 minutes.
iii.Wednesday is lesson day with Terry Clarke and Rock band practice, total of 3.5 hours.
iv.Thursday is practice day at home, 1 hour. Once a month I attend a Jazz jam and play about 30 minutes
v.Friday another practice day at home, 30 minutes.
vi.Saturday afternoon, optional hour if time allows.
vii.Sunday another practice at home, or jamming out, 1 hour.
viii.Total hours: 10. 5+ hours a week

Practice regime on the piano
i.Monday to Friday about 30 minutes a day
ii.Saturday afternoon, 1 hour
iii.Sunday 1 hour
iv.Plus, about 2 hours of professional reading a week
v.Total hours: 6. 5 hours a week

That is a lot of wear and tear on a 57-year body. So, I’m going to bed and hitting the gym early in the morning.

Cheers,
 
David Story
www.davidstory.ca
 
 Coming up: A conversation with Terry Clarke, drummer extraordinaire. The interview has taken place, I'm busy transcribing it.

Exercises for musicians. There are sites on-line full of info, The Musician’s Survival Manual is one. 

A quick look on YouTube will reveal lots of other viewing choices. Longevity in musical performance is going to require stamina and good physical fitness. To last we are going to have to be in shape, or we risk injury and premature retirement. Having been down this road myself a few years ago I offer the following thoughts.

1. Before starting an exercise program have a physical. Tell your doctor about your intentions. You don't want to drop dead in the gym.
2. Join a class, or if you can swing it hire a personal trainer. Interview these people. You need someone experienced working with our age group. A young buck, in a bout of youthful enthusiasm might just injure you.
3. It took years to get into the bad shape you find yourself in. It will take time to rebuild. Avoid boot camps. These are for wimps and the uncommitted. And, a great way to give yourself sore, no very sore muscles. Or worse.
4. Working with a trainer 6 years ago I lost about 25 lbs. I've kept it off. Trainers coach, inspire, and cajole us forward. Ernie Schramayr's gym in Hamilton had great trainers at the time.  I went twice a month to get new exercises, check the nutrition patterns, and measure the shrinking blubber. I remember the first day. "Mr Story, on the mat let's find out what I'm going to be working with. Now give us a few push ups" Me, "yes sir!" I could do one and then bang face plant. "Ok Mr Story, we'll start here"
5. Inform the gym about your injures, past and present. You don't want to make things worse.

To be successful we need big enough reasons to persist. Changing course in life is harder than turning an ocean liner around. So...

Possible big reason list:

1. I don't want to die.
2. I want to play as long as possible.
3. I'm tired of huffing and puffing on stairs, when playing, or loading the car.
4. I'm tired of being tired.
5. I'll be more attractive in the job market. Let's face it. Positive energetic folks attract attention. Even if we are 60. No, especially if we are 60. Or older.

Final thoughts.

1. If you can, surround yourself with people who support your quest. Who we associate with influences us, so find some fit musicians, and join them.
2. Working alone with YouTube might work, but I doubt it. There is no feedback. There is no personal program. There are too many quacks selling crap and hope to the desperate. 
3. Some really important findings on Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults. The site? Psychological science, a journal of the Association for Psychological science. This article has been cited numerous times. Always a good sign.
   

​​Good luck

David Story
www.davidstory.ca

A possible paradigm shift here. Assume for a moment this is correct. What would be the consequences of such a belief? Let's think about the training of professional athletes over the course of a career.

A professional musician often has a longer career, thus their bodies train many more years and hours than the greatest Olympian. Most professional athletes are done before grey hair sets in.  Not too many middle aged flabby guys and gals running around the field last time I checked on TV. But, down at the local concert hall… Different story.

Consider the following areas and the role these play in training and maintaining a healthy athletic body. 

1. Nutrition
   1. Calorie count
   2. Nutritionally balanced foods
   3. Junk food
   4. Caffeine
   5. Sugar
   6. Dining times
2. Exercise
   1. Core
   2. Cardio
   3. Specific exercises for your sport (instrument)
   4. Warm up routine prior to practising
   5. Cool down routine after practice
   6. Exercise and physio teams supporting the body
3. Booze
   1. hmm
4. Cigarettes
   1. We all know the answer to this
5. Sleep
   1. Circadian rhythm
   2. Mattress
   3. Screen time prior to bed
6. Hydration
   1. What colour is your pee?
7. Practice regime
   1. Regularly scheduled appropriately to the sport
   2. Thoughtful
   3. Grateful
   4. Deliberate
   5. Coaching and journaling
8. Family and peer support
   1. The role of family and peer support is a good open question.
   2. Positive peer groups supporting their struggles, ambitions, and triumphs
9. Recreational drugs
   1. Despite all protestations to the contrary, they can't be good for you.
10. Psychological health and stamina
    1. Stress reduction strategies
    2. Visualization
    3. Meditation
    4. Coaching
    5. Counselling

These are some of the questions I will be researching in the coming year. I really believe that successfully dealing with each of these points is crucial to a long career with our instruments.

I promise to quote the sources of what I find.

Feel free to chime in.
​
Cheers,
David Story
 
 

Hope is not a strategy. This is a blog celebrating action. The kind of effective action that follows careful deliberation and reflection. Which may have been brought on after an unsuccessful, or discouraging experience in the practice room, stage, or gym. We are grownups after all. The time of fooling ourselves is necessarily over. Because, guess what? Time is almost up.

I'm looking forward to exploring this topic in some depth. Feel free to join in. But, now it is time for bed. Tomorrow I've two jams to attend. One as a drummer, one as pianist.
​
Here is an interesting start to our explorations: Time management

Premise: Practice time is precious and very limited. It's limited by the limitations of our bodies, and demands on our time from life. Therefore wasting it with non-deliberate practice is counterproductive to our goal: playing as well as we can with the limitations we now have.

Step one: Taking stock. "How do we spend our time, when we are in the practice room? Do we carefully plan out the time, or do we jump willy nilly from one activity to another. It has been claimed that 90% music students play a piece through once, not even stopping to correct mistakes. ( http://www.escom.org/proceedings/ICMPC2000/Sun/McPherso.htm )

Tactic: At your next practice simply record yourself on your phone. Just put the recorder in the corner and forget about it. Later in the day listen back. Ask yourself this:

​1. How did you spent your time?
2. How focused were you really?
3. How do you really sound?
4. What did you really accomplish?
5. How did you really work on problems?


Cheers,
David Story
www.davidstory.ca