"Playing a musical instrument throughout life may help fight cognitive decline as we age. Older musicians perform better on cognitive tests than individuals who did not play an instrument, according to a new study published in the April issue of Neuropsychology."

"The preliminary study was correlational, meaning that the higher cognitive performance of the musicians couldn’t be conclusively linked to their years of musical study."
Link: http://www.futurity.org/aging-musicians-have-sharp-brains/

We look forward to further research.

Doing it because you want to. Doing it because of its own rewards. 

​I heard an interview awhile back with a former NHL player talking about parents who want their kids to live the dream and make the NHL. He said something to this effect. "If the kid's head is not in the game, no amount of training is going to help". And, that is a decision the player makes for himself. Parental pressure isn’t going to do it. 

If you are a mature adult musician who has stuck with it for decades you are intrinsically motivated. The question at our age is often, “how do I stay fresh and excited about what I’m doing?”

A list of thoughts:

1. Change bands
2. Change genres
3. Learn new repertoire
4. Takes some lessons
5. Go to a concert and hear the world’s best in person
6. Go to a jam, meet new people
7. Learn a new instrument
8. Commit to a new practice regime
9. Find a performance coach
10. Go to music school as a mature student
11. Pursue an advanced degree in music
12. Teach
13. Move to a new town; a change of scenery is always refreshing
14. Stop be musically “safe”. Nobody really gives a shit anyways. Your friends are more bored than you are. Something new and exciting will thrill everyone, including you.
15. Learn to improvise if you don’t already. You can learn to improvise in Mozart as easily as Ellington.
16. Make a new demo and put it on line
17. Make a video and put it on line
18. Start a blog called, “the new musical me”
19. Start working on your weaknesses
20. Change the radio stations in your car
21. Give up reading the paper on line and take up reading about music again
22. Update your professional photo

​Cheers,
David Story
www.davidstory.ca

No rotator cuff injury. That was a close call. I got a second opinion from a physiotherapist. Good move on my part. These arms need to last at least another decade of professional music making, maybe even 15 years. That's a lot of $$$ on the line. No time or place for screwing around or fooling myself.

I'm happy to report that icing and stretching is doing the trick.

What's the take away from this experience?

• In important matters get a second opinion.
• Warmup before playing.
• Be sure my gear is set up ergonomically.
• Get my ass back in the gym on a more regular basis. Weight training twice a week, Cardio five times a week.
• Get more friggin' sleep.
• I'll be honest, I was scared. The experience of being frightened demonstrated to me my love and commitment to the music, the instruments, my profession.

For more information check out these links:

Drummers upper body workout: http://drummagazine.com/a-drummers-upper-body-workout/
How injuries occur in playing the piano: https://books.google.ca/books?id=43wThWiJe20C&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=pianist+fitness&source=bl&ots=7FIADFgF6p&sig=PtZqL0mANnwtxEEbTBggRsGbXZY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR-63j5vfQAhVP_WMKHUrWDe0Q6AEITjAI#v=onepage&q=pianist%20fitness&f=false

Icing
Resting
Dreaming
Waiting

​Poem 2016