A Student Again: Just Hang Out & Soak Up the Vibe

This wasn't one of my better days in jazz class. When I left home I took the wrong music notebook by mistake (is there such a thing as too much sheet music?), arrived late and couldn't locate a crucial download in my player. I didn't feel as though I made any progress on the pieces themselves, either. But I was still glad I'd come. One thing made the trip across town worthwhile: hanging around at Beacock's for awhile after class and soaking up all the happy music-making energy.

Several weeks ago there were tables set up in the band section for school kids coming in to rent instruments for the year. All the kids I happened to see looked excited as they inspected, chose and filled out forms for their clarinets, saxes and horns. The rental rush is over now but it was fun to watch while it lasted.

Something's always going on in each corner of the store. Today a group of teenage girls were browsing the pop artist vocal music books and doing their own rendition of Born This Way. Several boys were trying out the drum kits. Upstairs I could hear the garage band class for tweens warming up. I even saw a few other adults strumming guitars or examining sound equipment. They looked as though they were shopping for themselves, not one of their kids. 

When I'm having an "off" day like today, just spending a few extra moments drifting around the store and aimlessly browsing gets me back on track. Hearing kids play and seeing their enthusiasm challenges me to pick myself back  up and practice. Just being around music people gets me going again.

Some days, we take giant steps. On other days, especially the draggy ones, it's enough to just hang out in the right atmosphere and soak it up.

Inspiration Breaks: Time Out to Recharge

A photographer friend Once told me that whenever she feels like she's just going through the motions, her photography reflects her mood. To counter this, she takes a few days off to visit museums, cruise antique & vintage shops, browse through coffee table art books at the library - anything that provides a visual feast. When she gets back to work she's full of fresh ideas and the energy to work them.

No matter what art form you're into, it's likely that at some point you'll run out of steam. Pushing yourself to keep producing won't do any good. You'll actually be much more productive if you take time for an inspiration break. Better yet, schedule these breaks at regular intervals.

The optimal time to take an inspiration break, if you can manage it, is on your day off. If you work in a field like retail, your days off are probably week days, which can work to your advantage if you have kids in school; you'll have 6-8 free hours in which to explore. If you're off during weekends and have kids at home, you can do your exploring at home via books or movies, visit places that have something of interest for kids or plan shorter visits.

No matter how you manage to grab them, inspiration breaks are vital to creativity.