- Drums
- Clarinet
- Violin
- Piano
- Ukulele
The trouble is I am most definitely a musician by nature. For example, my heart warmed and broke a bit when one day looking through old report cards, I noticed that my kindergarten teacher wrote that my five year old self came alive when the piano teacher came to perform in class. Oh, to see that little self!! She still exists. My deepest connections are with other musicians. I am most alive when on stage or rehearsing. Yet, I am left unfulfilled. Many of my friends have MA's and DMA's in music and play at levels I only dream about. I crave proficiency in a melodic instrument. My job struggles are such that I can't afford lessons but even when I could my lessons would occasionally (often) end in tears of frustration regarding my sleepiness. My very understanding teacher would be a wonderful listener but neither of us knew or knows the answer to overcoming this lack of attention or of maintaining flow in practice. Additionally, until I have health insurance again, ADHD medication is not an option.
Are any of my readers musicians? If so, what has worked for you to attain knowledge and build upon it?
I do not know what you go through but in doing a brief amount of research, one site was talking about how much easier it was for her daughter to practice as soon as she had another person to practice with (someone without ADHD). I wonder if you would find it easier in that scenario too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sites seem to indicate certain types of music can have a significant effect on attention span and mental calmness. I wonder if practicing certain types of music would be easier for you than others. Lastly, is there something that says you can't practice 15 or 20 minutes at a time or however long you are able to maintain focus?
Not that I have any experience to she'd upon - just rambling thoughts. Steph
Ren, thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI've learned a few things in the past few years that have helped me progress in my singing and stage presence. One is to always sign up for an open mic in my city. I basically don't practice unless I have a public performance goal. Also, the performance has to be in the very near future, not six months away. I've also been going to more music jams at private homes, which has helped adrenalize my brain to practice.
Another aid: when I sit at my computer to do work or any work where I sit still, I play quiet non-melodic techno beats. It seems to both calm and focus my brain to work.
Ten years ago I took a music theory class at a community college. Thirty or so students started the class (many wrongfully assume music theory is easy) and by the end there were five of us left. Trouble was, we were in four part harmony by that point and all became confusion in my brain. I knew..KNOW!!.. that I am intellectually capable of complex music theory but I rarely can get into a state off flow or mental absorption to retain the necessary building blocks of music knowledge. It's profoundly frustrating.
I forge on and I retain my hope that there is a way to augment my musical talents and knowledge.