A new school year and season is upon us at last! As we once again throw ourselves head first into the seemingly bottomless pit of practicing, rehearsals, and performances, I have a few simple tips to help start things off on the right foot:
1. Hydrate
Water. Drink it. Drink lots of it. Your body stands a much better chance of proper recovery if it is not also fighting dehydration. Be careful of your caffeine intake as well, as it will only dehydrate you further. I feel slightly hypocritical saying that because of my own, sometimes desperate, need for coffee. However, I also fully admit that my playing has the tendency to improve when I stop taking it intravenously.
2. Eat well
Lay off the junk and fatty fast food. Yes, it's convenient, but the over abundance of salt and fat in these foods will only sap your energy and exacerbate any dehydration (see item 1). Eat more fruits and veggies, lay off the salty snacks, choose lean meats over fatty ones, and make sure to eat 3 regular meals a day. Skipping meals and eating poorly makes us lethargic and inhibits our body's ability to properly recover.
3. Sleep
I have already covered this topic more in depth in another post, so I won't bore you too much. We need sleep to recover. Rest your mind and your body. Exhaustion will only lead to ineffective practice and performance.
4. Balance
Be sure to balance your practice time. We are not super heroes. You will get much more out of practice sessions that cover a wide range of fundamentals, etudes, excerpts, and solo work than you will out of just playing Strauss 2 straight down for 3 hours a day. Not only is that an ineffective use of your playing time, but no one who hears you is impressed. Any time I hear someone trying to practice this way (the Strauss 2 method), my first response is not, "Wow! That's impressive!" It's typically, "Wow. You're an idiot."
5. Breathe
Run, or participate in some other aerobic exercise, regularly. Do "Breathing Gym" exercises every morning to jump start your focus on your air. Take up yoga to learn how to focus on your breathing. Take a 5 minute time out sometime during the day to take a few deep, cleansing breaths to relax. Air is our friend and it's completely free. Use as much of it as you want.
