I’ve been training for a bike race coming up in the spring. I hired a personal trainer and I have daily exercises I need to do to help build muscle and increase my endurance. Some days, however, life gets in the way and I can’t get on my bike, or I don’t have time to hit the gym. When I spoke to my trainer about it, he told me that for every 6 weeks, there is going to be a week where you just can’t perform, and that’s normal. Sometimes your body needs the break anyway. He ensured me that I will not lose ground on the work I have already done.
I believe it’s the same with music.
Recently, I took a week or two off from practicing. It wasn’t really on purpose, I was feeling a bit under the weather and decided to rest as much as I could to get back to my healthy self. I literally didn’t even pick up my fiddle for over a week. And what I found was…I missed it. When I finally picked it up after a week, it sounded better, it felt better and I was reminded of how much I love playing music.
So even though practicing daily can definitely help you improve your playing, taking a break is equally important, even necessary for your health and well-being. So take that break, enjoy the time off, and come back even better than before.
After my short musical break, I learned this lovely tune called If Ever You Were Mine. I hope you like it.
If Ever You Were Mine: Tune 51 of 52
Only 1 more tune and I would have completed learning a tune a week for a full year.
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Session Obsession 