After the "PLAYcation": Getting Back Into Shape

So perhaps your goal is to get back into playing shape. We’ve all been there – perhaps you enjoyed your summer break just a little too much away from your instrument (Hello! Beach calling!), or you suddenly have an adjustment in your work load or schedule that’s cramping your practicing style, or you experienced a period of “forced rest” due to overuse, illness, or instrument woes, or you needed to help a family or friend for a while…there are as many real reasons as there are circumstances in life, including joyful ones! But the issue remains – you just know you’re not getting around the instrument so that it feels like “home” when you play. What to do?
 
First off – a DISCLAIMER. Like all of my blogs, these are my ideas, and things that help me. I write these blogs in the hopes they may help someone else, too, or inspire a discussion and a sharing of ideas in the practice room hallway or over coffee with a friend. The important thing is to know you’re not alone! That being established:
 

1. See opening paragraph: we’ve all been there. You’re not alone. Everyone has experienced this. Notice if your shoulders release as you really let that fact sink in. Does it take the pressure off? Buying into that negative self-talk can really amplify exactly what is not positive, helpful, invigorating, energizing…it robs us of our strength. So let it go, it has no place in your practice room, next to you in the ensemble, in your lesson. Actively release and breathe through this action of letting go.
2. Along with No. 1, get your positive mojo in a groove! Move around, enjoy just being in your body dancing around, walking, responding to music…grateful for its ability to take you around, make music, and get in touch with one of humankind’s greatest achievements – expressing the soul through art! Reinvigorate your love for sound and your innate connection to music.
3. Also, make a choice to be positive. How can you frame your upcoming practice session positively? Be thankful for at least three things before you make a single sound. By noting positive aspects we may further release the great burden and weight of negativity.

 
PAUSE for commercial: why am I writing about emotional and mental connections? You’re interested in getting back into shape so you can sprint in the upper register with the best of ‘em! Well, I believe the above are crucial steps to opening up your heart, mind, and (then) body in order to release unnecessary tension. When we are not “in shape” this is especially important. So be strong and take one step at a time.
 

1. Right – be strong. Take one step at a time. By just picking up your instrument and spending time with it again, you are investing in yourself. Think basics – start with just breathing and feeling the air move in and out, just as you would do while playing. Try exercising before you play to help awaken your body.
2. Maintain the goal of making music. If you seek the shelter of the familiar, turn to your favorite go-to long tones exercise, play each set as musically as possible. Crack open a thesaurus and explore possible adverbs. Try these out – can you play two notes together…. Inquisitively? Skeptically? Lovingly? Courageously? Apologetically? Frantically? Beseechingly? Angrily? Stoically? You get the idea. By creating a context of meaning we can distract ourselves from the panic and distress of not sounding as great as we could have if we just hadn’t…breathe and let it go!
3. Try playing things you LOVE to play – beautiful tunes and melodies that bring you joy, remind you of happy experiences, or just take the pressure off in general. I love cycling through a melody and transposing it into different keys as a tone + phrasing exercise (again – create the context of the line, and the body may experience a sense of ease…and suddenly the tone is more resonant).
4. Sight-read music, especially easier, confidence-building pieces. There are tons of free melodies on www.flutetunes.net to read.
5. Remember there are tons of etudes out there! Like No. 7, just grab a collection of easier etudes to read down. When I’m working on getting back in shape I always turn to etudes and plow through a number a day, even if they’re fairly simple. The next day I’ll try to do more complicated etudes, or perhaps more etudes. Their sequential order of keys and predictable structure get my brain and fingers reigned back in to center and working together. The deep breathing and constant playing can be very challenging at first, so be sure to take a break after you reach your goal (which could be just three lines).
6. Of course, it’s also time to get back on the fundamentals (see last month’s blog). At first, select your go-to scale exercise and the order in which you play your scales. Try working on 5-note scales (just the first five notes, descending and ascending) for smoothness. Standing in front of a mirror can help you see any unevenness or wild and crazy fingers. After playing a few days, change things up (either the order of scales, or the pattern you choose to play).
7. Again, no matter what you’re playing, make a musical phrase. Giving your mind this assigned goal will displace any residual woes of how much better you used to ________ when you were in shape. Be mindful of what you’re saying with your instrument.

 
Try a mixture of the above ideas – 5 minutes of this, 5 minutes of something else, and then read through an etude, and take a break. Then for your next session later in the day, start again with some music-based tone exercise and build your way up to faster finger activity. Build on this tomorrow, and then again, step by step, you’ll be back to where you were in no time.
 
It’s very important to come up with a plan – small steps of just 30 minute sessions at different times of the day can then progressively build up to longer sessions of 45 minutes after a few days. Even if you feel great, take breaks in between your practice sessions spread out over each day. You may feel tightness and fatigue in your muscles after your “playcation,” so take care to stay connected to your body to monitor how you feel, what you see, and also what you hear.
 
Finally, and to look at this from another perspective, try welcoming your break. Many professional and serious flutists actively take planned breaks over the year, just as professional and serious athletes pursue “detraining.” The mind and body accrue tremendous fatigue – or worse – if the state of training is constant. Be open to the possibility your time off will help you emerge stronger and refreshed in the long run!