Weekly Studio Update - Practising when Tired - 20/01/20

What a hot sleepy day! I'm in need of a burst of energy after seeing the one and only Elton John live in concert last night - and incredible performer who played for over two-and-a-half hours. And he does that multiple nights in a row! A late night always leaves my energy a little short the day after so I've had to come up with some strategies over the years for continuing to do the things I love, like make music, when I'm feeling fatigued. ​

---

For a lot of people, the answer is simple - coffee! I find that caffeine doesn't sit all that well with me, so what's the alternative to relying on stimulants to keep motivation levels high? For me, it's acceptance. Accepting that I'm tired is a beautiful thing, as from that point I know that I can co-operate with it rather than trying to deny or minimise it. Think about using the word "and" in place of "but" when describing the difficulties that tiredness creates. How does, "I have to work but I'm tired," feel compared to, "I have to work and I'm tired"? One of those words creates an idea that the tiredness will be in conflict with your duties, one of them reframes the two to be compatible.
So, if it's been a long day and it's time to practise, consider how you approach your playing with your energy levels in mind. Being tired is certainly a factor in how you might play, but it shouldn't necessarily be a barrier or obstacle to your practise. Here's some approaches that you could try when you're feeling sleepy:

• Play your pieces as quietly or slowly as possible
• Treat your session as a "recap" rather than trying to learn new sections
• Play for short amounts of time with rest breaks in between
• Improvise a melody or some chords to the theme of "tired" 
• Go to bed! Nothing helps learning like a good night's sleep.

Things I've been watching/listening to this week:

1. Inside The Song with Graham Coxon from Blur - "Song 2" - a brief behind-the-scenes interview unpacking one of the most famous rock songs of the '90s.
2. Janis Joplin - Little Girl Blue - a documentary on Stan about the 60s rock/blues singer Janis Joplin. Being that she's an influential figure in rock history, I admit I didn't know much about her or her music. Now I do!
3. The Hook Club podcast has a new episode with a recap of my (and Vinnie's) highlights and lowlights of 2019 pop songs.