break
2 days off the tables infront of the computer. 2 days dedicated to the spinningdrum site, dedicated to design and information gathering. A bit obessive about it really, which means I was at it all day & night, formulating, shaping, mixing, reformulating remixing and tweaking the site repeatedly. It was much needed, as was the practice break. Wednesday, I hit a wall after an intense practice stretch, Hard to explain, but I needed a breather – a step back before re-attack.
I remember some jazz great musician/producer saying that he only took the first two or three takes of a song in the studio, and then after that he didn’t feel the musician’s were fresh anymore. Must be the same prinicple at play – repetition good for motor control and memory, but bad for freshness and peak performance? So what gives? What is the freshness factor?
Well, upon my return I felt better than ever, don’t know if I actually was, but things did feel quicker, faster and sharper: chirp more reliable, juggling more precise. I was easily and fluidly finding rhythms within rhythms and every stroke was backed by a stronger percusive sensibility – one that was quicker and more intune.
So while dedication and routine do pay off as the working musician invariably becomes a small muscle athlete; apparently, it’s not all about motor control. It’s not only about building mental and muscle connections for complex and relentless scratching, but also about the fluency and harmonics of your musical tongue – the one that plays through your fingertips.
One Theory:
Perhaps it’s about dreaming – organizing cerebral data floating in the mental ether.
Maybe it’s how the sponge between your ears expells fresh contents into coherent thoughts and abilities.
Maybe it’s how the blocks of your knowledge and ability base are laid.
Anyway, I know I dreamed lots last week – lots of dreams and some of them causing me to wake from what should have been sugar plum slumber. For instance, I had one in which I lost my mixer. I lost it in a huge dj store full of mixers, and I kept picking up every mixers turning it over then saying, “Nope this is not my mixer!” Anyway, I forced myself to wake from the dream just to cease the stress. Weird! What does that one mean?
Well, too much time behind the Xone 02 were my thoughts.
So like I said, I’m back after a break for 2 days.
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