Yearly Chop Vacation


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Posted by Doug Whitten on May 21, 2003 at 10:36:17:

Each year I take 2 weeks off from the tuba. Being in the job hunt, I was really reluctant to put the horn away, but I did anyway. Today, I put my face to the horn again and it sure felt good. Sounded like crap at first, but it was good to be back "home."

For me, these vacations are essential to my tuba playing. Physically, the benefits are questionable, but mentally and emotionally it is vital. Usually the music that I had been struggling with comes quickly after a break. Most important is that I renew my love for playing. In my case, absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Long ago I decided to take these breaks because I was just not enjoying playing my horn. Grad school and beginning a teaching career just made tuba "something else" that I had to do. I decided to take a specific time away from playing (2 weeks)annually in order to reevaluate why I am playing. If,after 2 weeks off, I was dreading coming back to playing, it would surely be a sign that I should pusue a more sensible career. There was a time when I did put the horn away and thought I'd never come back. For the last 2 years, while in a non tuba related doctoral program, I decided to start playing again for the enjoyment of it. I quickly started to love playing again, and now, my 2 week tuba furlough is torture. But it is wonderful when I start playing again.

I am curious if other take a purposeful playing break. I don't mean inconsistent practice, but a predetermined time away from the horn.




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