Posted by Rick Denney on February 08, 2004 at 02:22:04:
In Reply to: Re: Gene Pokorny's clinic posted by JayW on February 07, 2004 at 21:24:33:
He fit these under the more general headings of 1.) monitoring your abilities as you age, 2.) minimizing the effects of age, and 3.) knowing when the gig is up.
He recommended making reference recordings, but also recruiting trusted friends to evaluate playing, though with many warnings about using friends thusly.
He recommended staying in shape, and doing what is possible to keep the instrument from causing injury. This included staying focused on fundamentals (intonation, long tones, low register playing, etc.). It included using a stand, partly to counteract the damping effects of being older and rounder (which contacts the instrument over a larger area).
He also recommended staying connected to music in ways that didn't depend on faculties that will diminish over time, such as sight. This led to the recommendation to practice playing by ear. This, so that we can maintain involvement in music as we age, even if only for our own enjoyment and emotional well-being.
He spend some time talking about the importance of providing yourself with new musical challenges to keep the musical motivation fresh. This included doing new things, such as recording solo CD's or playing in a different venue whenever possible. It also included playing in different styles whenever possible, but with the warning to play those different styles actually using different styles, rather than applying the same old approach to all styles of music. The example he gave was the use of vibrato, where some players apply the same sort of vibrato to all music, whether Rennaissance or jazz.
He recommended listening to music outside the box, noting that we often listen to stuff we know we already like, often even limiting ourselves to just a few works from our favorite composers.
Finally, he suggested that we be honest about where our abilities are as we age, and not put our musical organizations in the position of having to push us out. This is tough stuff for aging pros, I'm sure, but it applies to hobbyists like me, too. There are always organizations where we will fit at our given abilities, and only pride will keep us from enjoying them if we have to back off to a less demanding gig. Or something like that.
It was all excellent and well organized, and highly applicable to hobbyists as well as professionals.
Rick "who took away much from the clinic" Denney