Forced hiatus legacy.

Andy said:
Over the last few weeks, I've noticed that all my band members (absolutely including me) seem to be dropping a few silly mistakes. Not random errors typical of rust / unfamiliarity, but defined repeated pinch points. These are small errors in songs we've played 100's of times without fault, yet now seem to creep in despite identifying them & trying to deal with them. Little mental blocks that stubbornly hang around.

I'm sure there's something different going on, I'm just not sure what.

Anyone else notice something similar getting back to performing?
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Nope. Why? Because the band I'm in hammered songs all year last year. Even when we weren't gigging, we were learning and practicing songs. I've been playing with this band less than a year, and we are at the 70-song mark right now. I won't talk about how much gigging we did last year because every time I do, I get reprimanded by other forum members. I'll just say that we're on fire this year. If anyone wants any details, PM me.
 
PorkPieGuy said:
Nope. Why? Because the band I'm in hammered songs all year last year. Even when we weren't gigging, we were learning and practicing songs. I've been playing with this band less than a year, and we are at the 70-song mark right now. I won't talk about how much gigging we did last year because every time I do, I get reprimanded by other forum members. I'll just say that we're on fire this year. If anyone wants any details, PM me.
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That's great to hear :) Certainly in the UK, in person band rehearsal (apart from a very brief 4 week window last summer) was not possible. We filled that gap with a few remote recordings, but that only slightly relieved the malaise (although they did snag us a couple of nice gigs for this year).

As for how many gigs someone managed to pull off through this mess, I'm of the opinion that you operate under local conditions in place at the time, & make the best of it. Beyond that, if you feel there's still a significant risk to participation, you take a judgement based on specific circumstances that apply to you & the event in question.

My band made a decision not to play any indoor events this year. There were multiple reasons for that decision. Some health risk / lack of control in behaviour of others related, some fragility of maintaining schedules related. We'll assess next year's strategy based on information / prognosis at the time, although we do currently have two 1,000+ indoor events booked from May next year.
 
Andy said:
That's great to hear :) Certainly in the UK, in person band rehearsal (apart from a very brief 4 week window last summer) was not possible. We filled that gap with a few remote recordings, but that only slightly relieved the malaise (although they did snag us a couple of nice gigs for this year).

As for how many gigs someone managed to pull off through this mess, I'm of the opinion that you operate under local conditions in place at the time, & make the best of it. Beyond that, if you feel there's still a significant risk to participation, you take a judgement based on specific circumstances that apply to you & the event in question.

My band made a decision not to play any indoor events this year. There were multiple reasons for that decision. Some health risk / lack of control in behaviour of others related, some fragility of maintaining schedules related. We'll assess next year's strategy based on information / prognosis at the time, although we do currently have two 1,000+ indoor events booked from May next year.
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This is great to hear! :)
 
Andy said:
Over the last few weeks, I've noticed that all my band members (absolutely including me) seem to be dropping a few silly mistakes. Not random errors typical of rust / unfamiliarity, but defined repeated pinch points. These are small errors in songs we've played 100's of times without fault, yet now seem to creep in despite identifying them & trying to deal with them. Little mental blocks that stubbornly hang around.

I'm sure there's something different going on, I'm just not sure what.

Anyone else notice something similar getting back to performing?
Click to expand...

Ive noticed that it takes about a month of not playing a song, for mistakes to creep in. And, if a mistake gets repeated, then it tends to get “learned”. So with a long break from performing, a band can easily “un-learn” a song.

I think it has to do with how the brain remembers songs. Usually the brain remembers large things, like songs, in chunks. With irregular usage, the chunks can get corrupted, and those mistakes now become part of the chunk. You’ve got to make a conscious effort to replace the corrupted bits with correct ones, and repetitive practice will solidify the updated chunk.
 
Anyone noticing that they are ...noticing...long standing mis-perceptions of the songs you used to crank out a specific way?

I find that if i set a song aside for a couple months then come back to it I invariably hear it differently.
 
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I'm just getting back into things. I feel like a hockey player who spent the last year working out and doing skills drills - but not actually playing hockey. On the one hand, I feel like I've improved. On the other hand, putting it all together while playing with someone else... that's a bit shaky. I think that's partly because I'm doing some things differently, so it's a bit like I'm learning songs all over again - not going back to playing them the same way I did before. And partly because we lost our bassist. He's too busy fighting the space alien lizard people to practice regularly. And it's still too early, where I am, to start auditioning people. Technically, we shouldn't even be practicing yet.
 
I’ve got one to add to this now that I’m playing again after a long period of inactivity.

Having an issue when doing 16th notes on the hi hat, regardless of the tempo.

Getting a really bizarre thing occasionally where when I’m coming to the end of a four bar section on a song my brain just goes “nah mate” and I nearly loose control of what my right hand/arm is doing.

It happened a few times at the rehearsal the night before last. Sometimes I was continuing on the hi hat. Other times I was reaching to hit a crash or to lead onto the snare. Just kept happening at those precise times during songs and I couldn’t figure out the cause.

No major issue and I already know the remedy. Lots of good old fashioned practice, I guess.

Looking forward to squashing this brain bug (…….or brain fart!!)
 
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Andy said:
I can't pinpoint the issue - doubt I ever will. I was more interested to learn if others had noticed the same specific issue. Rusty away from playing regularly I completely get, but these little mental blocks make no sense, or at least, I have no reference point.
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Hi Andy - having recently gone back to band practice after a long hiatus, I’ve noticed the same phenomenon in my own drumming. It’s weird because I can feel myself tense up before a transition I’ve navigated (successfully) scads of times before. It’s kinda like I have a different impulse now that doesn’t always shoehorn in straight, and despite knowing in my mind what the right part is, I can’t always seem to summon it in time.

Though straining to remain optimistic, sometimes it actually works out. I’ve noticed in almost equal measure a certain streamlining take hold over parts that were previously more awkward.

Weirdest damn thing man.
 
MikeM said:
Hi Andy - having recently gone back to band practice after a long hiatus, I’ve noticed the same phenomenon in my own drumming. It’s weird because I can feel myself tense up before a transition I’ve navigated (successfully) scads of times before. It’s kinda like I have a different impulse now that doesn’t always shoehorn in straight, and despite knowing in my mind what the right part is, I can’t always seem to summon it in time.

Though straining to remain optimistic, sometimes it actually works out. I’ve noticed in almost equal measure a certain streamlining take hold over parts that were previously more awkward.

Weirdest damn thing man.
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Mike - first up, amazing to see you here again!!!!! Really miss your input.

I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing this, but if it's of any comfort, a couple of gigs in, & things are improving.
 
The thing I notice the most is my time is slipping. All things being equal, my tendency is to lag.

I got a sub call yesterday at 7AM to do an outdoor gig right on the shores of the Delaware River, under a pavilion. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening, and I played with a band that I haven't played with in about 20 years. So that was really cool


It's alarming to me that when I'm playing, I feel my meter (or feel) is fine, but on listening back to my recording...yea lagging. Not every song, just certain ones.

I have no problem remembering arrangements thankfully. My mind is a steel trap that way. Only with music though haha.

I have to watch my time and I'm not thinking as fast as I did when gigging regularly, especially on the occasional fill.
 
GetAgrippa said:
Stressors mess up memory, etc. so I think this pandemic stress has people off balance and in a slight fog. You can only be scared to death so long before the scaring alone kills you. Look at studies of care givers of terminally ill- it takes a terrible toll on them too.

Socialization is my recommendation because we need social outlets least we be talking to a deflated soccer ball named Wilson. Plenty of studies on social deprivation/isolation- I can only imagine the long term impacts in developing youth. Why no one entertained these known risks is unconscionable. I’ve been ashamed of scientists during this pandemic and hope people learn a lesson while science can be good scientism can lead to a whole lotta problems- especially with such narrow focus and making decisions from a process that quickly changes so 180 degree differences. It’s been a shit show.
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It not only affected people but animals as well. The people at the zoo stated that (when the pandemic started) The zoo was closed (save for very minimal needed personnel) and the animals started to get depressed because they were used to lots of people there all the time and all of a sudden silence....so, the zoo keepers decided to make up for that by making a big deal every time they were around the enclosures so that the animals got some of the reactions they were used to. The good part is that the penguins got to walk around (with a zoo keeper) and visit other animals which helped both the penguins and the other animals.
 
Cmdr. Ross said:
I chalk it up to age in my gigging life. After 45 or so, I started to forget the little things. I'd miss a crucial stop in a song or forget how a song started altogether. Literally a blank mind as if I'd never heard the song at all.
And these are songs I played more times than years I've been alive.

Now approaching 51, I'm 70/30 wanting to go out & play again. I'll do it, but once I see that I'm back to missing things like that again, I'll back off or just stay home & play there.
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Wow..i was going to post again and describe a situation on stage with myself but your post almost mirrored what I was going to say.
 
brentcn said:
Ive noticed that it takes about a month of not playing a song, for mistakes to creep in. And, if a mistake gets repeated, then it tends to get “learned”. So with a long break from performing, a band can easily “un-learn” a song.

I think it has to do with how the brain remembers songs. Usually the brain remembers large things, like songs, in chunks. With irregular usage, the chunks can get corrupted, and those mistakes now become part of the chunk. You’ve got to make a conscious effort to replace the corrupted bits with correct ones, and repetitive practice will solidify the updated chunk.
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You just lit a candle in a part of my mind that was dimming...what a deeply needed positive outlook. So comforting how words and how they are organized can alter ones perspective..loved it.
 
Bozozoid said:
You just lit a candle in a part of my mind that was dimming...what a deeply needed positive outlook. So comforting how words and how they are organized can alter ones perspective..loved it.
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Very kind of you to say. Thank you.

(To be fair, claiming that musicians *can* re-learn a song, after un-learning it, is a lot different than saying they *will*.)
 
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