Embracing the Pause: 3 Crucial Lessons From my Musical Break

Have you ever considered that a break could be the secret ingredient to musical mastery? Join me, as we dive into the unexpected journey of stepping away from my oboe after wisdom teeth surgery, only to return with newfound perspective. In this episode, we explore three key things to remember when taking a pause. Together, we'll celebrate the growth that comes from embracing the ebbs and flows of our musical journeys.

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Transcript

Your host, Eleanor: 0:00

This past October I got my wisdom teeth out. They were all for impacted and I had to get them out on a bit of a short notice. I was quite nervous about it, but not about the surgery itself exactly, rather the time after. How long would it be until I could play Oboe again? I had a concert coming up about a month later and I needed to be in the rehearsals for that. To be honest, I was quite nervous. So I got my wisdom teeth out, rested for a few weeks and learned a few key things about taking a break from our instruments and, to be honest, when I was resting I was realizing these things. As I was resting and I was getting more and more excited. To tell you about it on the podcast, I was like, oh my gosh, this is going to be an amazing podcast episode. So this episode has been in the works for a while and long awaited, at least by me, and I am so excited to get into it. So let's dive in.

Your host, Eleanor: 0:54

Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. I'm your host, Eleanor, and after countless practice sessions, a ton of broken reads and seven different music school acceptances in three different countries, I have learned a thing or two about savoring your practicing, becoming your best practice companion and actively working towards your musical goals, and I want to share this with you because I want you to become your best musical self. Are you with me on this? Let's get started. Hey, and welcome back. Fun fact, before we start, this intro music that you just heard was one of the first things that I recorded when I was able to play again after my surgery. To be honest, I could probably have re-recorded it by now so that it sounds nicer, because back then I was still adjusting. I mean, I could tell that the tone of my playing was not as silky as I usually can make it when I'm not post-surgery, and I can also hear that the articulation was a bit aggressive and that created the notes to be a bit blocky. But to be honest, I find it cool because if it wasn't for the fact that I have this podcast, which for me serves as a bit of a journal, and the fact that I also have a proper practice journal, I wouldn't be able to compare this little recording to where I am now and see, oh my gosh, I have improved here or I have done this or something like that. But I find that really interesting. Anyway, let's dive into three things I learned through taking a break. Number one we got be patient with yourself because we need breaks. This one is so crucial.

Your host, Eleanor: 2:38

The time it took before I could play again was longer than I expected it to be, so I had to be really patient with myself in the process, even in rehearsals. I attended the rehearsals but I couldn't actually play, so I just sat there and I took notes and, to be honest, it was kind of strange because I was just sat there in the oboe section and I was like I feel like I should be playing. This feels wrong, but it was a necessary part to the process because I was healing. It's also good to remember that it is okay if you come back not as strong as you left. We will all come back differently. I mean, probably we will come back stronger in some ways and not as strong in other ways, because that's just how life works. But it is okay if you come back and you're not as strong at something than you hoped you would be. Now, remember, my whole mouth had to recover from the surgery, so waiting until it was all healed was crucial. So I really had to be really patient with myself because I had to wait until my whole mouth was healed, because oboe blowing you know that has a lot to do with your mouth.

Your host, Eleanor: 3:43

And even without the reason of the surgery, I needed a break. This is something that I realized while I was taking a break, but before then I had gotten into a practice rut. I was focusing more and more on my technique, really trying to get things cleaner in general, and I felt so stuck with it because I wasn't actually seeing myself improve. I was also trying to get my articulation faster and there was some improvement with that, but not as much as I wanted to see, and that was really frustrating. All in all, I found myself extremely frustrated Because of the surgery. I had to step away and take a break from practicing. But even without the reason of the surgery, it was so beneficial that I took a break Because when I got back it felt like a fresh start. While I was resting, it felt like all of that practice that I did before the surgery was still percolating in my brain. The break also gave me time to cool down so that I could be less frustrated and more patient with myself, which is always a plus.

Your host, Eleanor: 4:45

It is okay to be where you are right now. So if you are stuck in a rut, it might actually be a good idea to consider taking a break, because it kind of helps to reset you right. Every situation is different, but maybe that's something to consider. Number two this is a big one, and it is celebrate where you are. Instead of rushing all the time to improve, sit down and think where you are now. It's okay to be at the level you are now, even celebrate it, acknowledge how far you've already come and give yourself a real pat on the back for that. We are always trying to get better and go on to the next thing really fast, but sometimes we need to sit down and realize how far we've already come. This is a time of reflection and thinking about how we practice.

Your host, Eleanor: 5:40

There is also value for this in writing a little journal about where you are musically versus where you are now, acknowledging how far you've come and the challenges you've got through, and also looking ahead to the next challenges. It is still the beginning of the year, friend, and I have the perfect cheat sheet for you for just that. This guide will challenge you to think about where you are musically now compared to where you are musically last year compared to where you want to be this year. It is completely free, just for you. It is in the show notes. So make sure that you go check that out, because I think that it is really helpful for kind of resetting your practicing and also resetting your year, because it is still the beginning of the year. It is still a better time than ever to really sit down and get your goals ready for this year. So if you want to go check out that guide, it is in the show notes. To the podcast Number three, this is also a big one. We are more than our instruments. I'm going to say that again, we are more than our instruments. I think this is something that every musician needs to hear two times, five times, maybe ten times a day, because it is so easy to attach our value to how well we play our instrument. But at the end of the day, that's not how it works For me.

Your host, Eleanor: 7:10

During the break, I focused on other things. I mean, I did do work. I did work for the podcast, I wrote blog posts, I worked on creating content, but I also did hobbies. I needed a sweater. Knitting is something that I really enjoy when I'm not playing the oboe, I love to knit. It is a great hobby.

Your host, Eleanor: 7:33

I also learned some languages. I mean I worked on learning languages. A hobby of mine is learning languages and I absolutely love doing that. So I focused on some Japanese grammar that I was really interested in. And I learned some vocabulary words in Swedish and French. And I focused on some German speaking. I really enjoy conversing in German. So I hit up some of my German friends and we hung out.

Your host, Eleanor: 7:58

It was really really good and it showed me that I am more than my oboe capabilities. That is a big thing. I am more than my oboe capabilities and this is a big reminder for all of us. In fact, I challenge you to get a sticky note and to write on the sticky note I am a human first and a musician second. I have said this before. I will say this again until the eternity I am a human first and a musician second.

Your host, Eleanor: 8:29

That is so important. Remember this. Breaks are productive, breaks are beneficial. So that is it for the podcast. I am so grateful that you hung out with me. That is so amazing. And if you want to check out that guide for getting this year set and ready to go, check it out in the show notes. It is in the show notes waiting for you, so make sure that you go and get that guide. Alright, well, thank you so much for listening to this episode. I am so grateful that you hung out with me today and I hope that you have a great rest of your day. Bye, bye.