Deliberate Practice focused attention on the right things for a long time. A good working definition. As aging musicians, we might consider the following areas for focus:

1. ​General health and fitness. Further steps are impossible if we can't get off the couch, or are too sore and flabby to play.
2. Drawing up a list of skills for refinement. Here is my drumming list for the next year.
   1. Rudiments and the drum kit in Jazz and Rock
   2. Double bass drum technique in Rock
   3. Samba on the drum kit
   4. Afro-Cuban on the drum kit
   5. Fast swing on brushes and sticks
   6. Triplet subdivisions
   7. Shuffle in Rock
   8. Repertoire development and maintenance
   9. Personal solo style
   10. Demo tape for Siena Jazz Summer Program 2018
3. Find a coach. More on this in a future blog. My coaches are Terry Clarke, Jazz and Tony Nesbitt-Larking, Rock.
4. Create a practice schedule and put it in the calendar. Firewall these times. Get everyone in your life on board to support and encourage you. If you have not been practicing regularly, please ramp up the time 10% per week until your body adjusts to the increased demands you are placing on it. Every summer that I've attended the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshop in Kentucky many of the bassists are bandaging fingers by the third day. A cautionary tale.

"In one way, I think of myself as a tenacious loser. I mean, the Met was my 28th audition." Jason Haaheim, Principle timpanist of the Met Orchestra NYC. An inspirational story of commitment, dedication, and focus. A great read to start the day. http://jasonhaaheim.com/how-did-scientist-become-timpanist-met-orchestra/ He makes the important point to focus on the process not the outcome. Outcomes are the result of successfully working through the process.

Cheers,

​David Story
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Musicians and booze. Old school thinking that persists. Me, I never drink on the job. Ever. I won't hire folks who do either. 

Back in the day, drinking was very common in the music business. Those who persisted are now unhealthy, incapacitated to varying degrees, or more likely just plain dead. Don, Bill, Kurt, Steve, my personal list goes on and on.

​Imagine your child's grade school teacher proudly declaring that it helps them relax and get in the zone before class. ​Or lawyer, doctor, bus driver, etc. Unthinkable, dangerous, and the quick cause of sanctions.

​I'm not impressed. If you are an alcoholic, you know it. Slay the dragon before it kills you, what's left of your career and/or family and "stay in the game".

​David Story

"No fool like an old fool"

1. Muscle fatigue leading to tendentious
2. Annoyed spouses who feel abandoned
3. Exhaustion from lack of sleep
4. Anxiety caused by realising time is running out
5. Lack of clarity caused by running around in circles
6. Burn out
7. Broke from spending too much $$ on instruments, lessons, workshops, books, magazines, DVDs etc.
8. Becoming really boring to those who have to listen to us discuss the minutia of music study.

We could go on.

​I think it is really important to compartmentalize our musical lives with the rests of our lives. Planning regular practice times and sticking to them helps. Learning how to practice effectively and healthily is imperative. Being easy on ourselves while effectively dealing with our goals is important or unpleasant consequences are sure to follow.

​Ask yourself the following

1. ​Do I sleep 8 hours every night?
2. Do I exercise and control my weight?
3. Do I drink too much?
4. When was the last time I went out with a loved one and had fun in a non-musical setting?
5. Does anxiety around music practice lead to nervous ticks, unhealthy eating or worse?

 
Cheers,

​David

Stretching has become one of my tactics to stay in the game. I play drums and piano. I practice daily, I play and jam regularly. I'm going to 58 years old this week. I'm still in the game. 

• ​I stretch away from my instruments, concentrating on my legs, arms, and upper back. 
• ​I try to sit upright at both instruments and not let my head lean forward. 
• I stretch before and during breaks when I'm practicing and rehearsing. 
• I paid for professional advice on what, when, and how to do it. 

​For the past number of years I've attended the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshop in Kentucky. Full of weekend warriors who 3 days in, sometimes after just 2 days were already suffering. Stretching and proper warmups may have helped some, but not all the discomfort they experienced. 

​A word to the wise: Don't wait until you have inflammation and tingling fingers. Carpal tunnel, repetitive strain injuries and worse are no joke. You don't have to be a mature musician to suffer from these problems.

Best,

​David 

Social isolation as a musician is musical death, or at least a lonely purgatory. As we age the musical colleagues and scenes we were part change, die, or mostly likely, just fizzle out. Not a good situation. If you are a jazz or rock musicians who remembers the glory days of gigs, gigs, gigs, fun, fun, fun, $, $, $, you know what I mean. Most jazz fans are either dead, in the home, or too old too tired to go out.

But,...

Here are some thoughts.

1. Be the oldest guy in the band. Why not? Learn some new repertoire and join the younger set. If they are thirty plus, they'll hardly notice. My 83 old father is the oldest guy in his choir. The rest of them try to keep up. If they are twenty somethings, join them at public jam sessions to start.
2. Take some lessons with a much younger musician. That will shake it up I promise. Their energy and enthusiasm will wear off on you, if you let it. I'm learning double bass drum pedal technique right now from a musician old enough to be a son. 
3. If you can swing it, go to a summer music camp for adults. There are dozens of great ones. Heck, even Billy Cobham has one every summer in Mesa Arizona. There are jazz camps all over the USA and Europe. I've been to a few. Summer 2018 I plan to go to Siena Italy for a swingin' two weeks. This summer Jamey Aebersold in Kentucky.
4. If there is no `scene`in your town, start one. You won`t be the only musician sitting at home wondering what the hell happened.
5. Let the good old days go. It`s a new day. Having goals for the future gives life direction and meaning. Looking backwards, not so much.

Cheers,

David Story
www.davidstory.ca