Your Guitar Can Save Your Life
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 07:40PM As this past fifteen days for me has been hospice for my father, his funeral and also the thanksgiving weekend, for which I am always the shopper and the cook, I didn’t practice my guitar very much.
Nothing like the daily routine that always recommend to everybody, but still, as a rule, I practice because I want to be able to do what ever I want on that guitar.
And I sing everyday because I want my voice to be fluid and completely available to me. Consequently, I try to maintain a practice routine.
But I never realized, on a number of levels, how valuable a routine could be to your very life. Yes, your guitar could save your life… or at least your sanity. Okay, your practice routine could save your life or your sanity. Really. And you don’t have to choose one. It could save your life and your sanity.
By doing as much of my routine as I could, it really helped me to get through a very difficult and emotional time.
There are times when you don’t feel like it; there are times when you feel like “what’s the use?” There are times when nothing seems to matter.
And it’s during those times that a routine can be so invaluable because the habit of it brings you to it and through it, no matter what your emotional state.
It turns out that your routine can actually save your sanity; help you maintain control at a time when it feels like you have no emotional control.
It also will help you with your own self image by having a practice routine, because as you practice, you get better and the better you get, the better you feel about yourself.
And the more you have a practice routine in place the closer you are to becoming the artist that is inside of you.
I was watching an awards show that included many celebrated artists. Some of whom inspired me in their youth. They all sang songs that had made them famous and the songs were still as wonderful as they ever were.
The disturbing thing to me was how badly many of them sang or played.
This is so mysterious to me. If you play and sing all your life, shouldn’t you be better than you were, not worse? At least until you become so old that you are physically incapable of doing what you once could?
But no matter what, doesn’t an artist keep working towards a goal that they’ll never achieve? So what happened to all these icons?
No routine…obviously.
Reader Comments (6)
James,
Perhaps the poor singing was due in part to no routine stemming from a lack of passion for the artform that made them famous.
Their singing and playing should, with constant practice,
seem as natural and effortless as breathing.
This lacking would lead me to believe that the pursuit of fame and money is more important to them than their artform. You always
express to your audiences how much you..."love what you do"
...that feeling comes through in your music and shows.
Miki~
I agree about routine being a lifesaver...and a sanity saver, When you lose a loved one, time seems to get all out of it's orbit so to speak, and in an odd way, just stop. It's disorienting and, well, weird, and nothing seems quite right. Getting back into a routine isn't just a help, it's a necessity. It gets time moving again and lets us move on too,
On the subject of "oldies"...I kinda feel the same way sometimes when I see someone from "the past". You can always tell the ones who have kept on singing/playing and the ones who were talked into doing a "special performance" (aka "dragged out of retirement"). The former usually do well and are fun to listen to. The latter inspire comments like "the years have not been kind". Often they never expect to perform again, but the lure of the spotlight--and the money--bring 'em back...ready or not! (Mostly not.) So sad...
Eva
James,
I once had a teacher tell me to "always be a student of my profession" in all aspects of my life (work and play). It's great to see the application of this advice shine through in your words. It will help me to remember when I allow life to dictate instead of doing the daily things I need to for sanity and self-improvement in work and play to stick with it, otherwise the by-product will eventually turn sour.
Connie
so impressionable picture, it looks like art picture and it make me think what kind of life has this guy and how he cans be there in a very dangerous place, for sure this guy if he has girlfriend he needs Buy Generic Viagra because to be there all the he is so nervous
Amazing keep it up practicing your music and your guitar if it is what you like and have your passion
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I love so much the music and like you love the guitar I love to play my violin and think in what happy i am with it
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