Relaxation From Playing May Increase Your Skill

[jonathan2994]

I don't know about any of you, but when I play bass for a long time, my fingers just get weaker and number everyday from exhaustion, so when I take a 5 or so day break and play again, I can ****ing shred like I never imagined. I'm taking my first break in many months right now, and friday, I'll start playing again. Do you think I should take days off to heal my finger muscles from playing? Wouldn't I become a better player that way?

[Llama's Rage]

similarly, when I come off of playing my 6 string with insane string spacing from the weekend and I go back to my robelli with near-guitar string spacing, i can shred like nothing else

[Dell]

I find when I stop playing for a few weeks its harder for me to play when I pick up again. I play best after a few days of playing an hour an evening.

[Winemule]

Moderation in all things. Work six days, rest on the seventh, blah-blah-blah. Intense work followed by short rests has worked for me. Psychologists call the rest period "incubation." It's quiet time when your brain and muscles digest what they've learned. You break for a day, and when you come back, you've retained the knowledge, which in turn energizes you.

[sleestak]

I could go months without playing in the past, but for the last couple of months, I have dedicated myself to getting back into playing shape.

A band I am jamming with is looking for a permanent bassist so I have been working on a bunch of their songs. Every day I play for about an hour and a quarter, same song set, just to get all the subtle nuances down.

When I first started playing again a few months back, my arms and fingers were killing me after 45 minutes or so. Now I can rip it up for a couple hours and have no problem, plus I am playing a helluva lot cleaner and better.

I guess practice isn't so bad after all!

George

[jonathan2994]

so should i set days to practice and days to rest? like a workout routine or something? because when i get off my resting periods (probably 4 or 5 days a year because I never can resist playing), I can play so much better than ever.

[beaumcrunner]

marijuana helps tremendously!! no joke... it really does

[bassbo]

kinda helps us become a legend in our own mind. Been there bunches.
Steve

[The Clap]

Originally Posted by beaumcrunner

marijuana helps tremendously!! no joke... it really does

No disagreements here, but there are more reliable ways of relaxing that don't require combustion. So long as you can't only relax whist faded...

[mlowe]

Hey Johnathan,

When you workout you break down the muscle tissue right? Then you eat protein and it's builds them stronger while "you rest". Maybe the physical stregnth your building in your fingers and arms playing bass are the same.

Maybe when your recouping your accuracy isn't quite as good as after the repair period.

Of course this wouldn't be forever, only if your still in the creation stage.

Just thinking out aloud.

Could be talkin out the butt crack too????

Cheers

[scourge]

I never play.. And I'm awesome!

[Ozzyman]

Do you guys have healthy diets?
No, seriously...
Drink tons of water and get plenty of protein.
And how much do you guys sleep at night?
Sleep is the best time for your body to heal. You shouldn't need to take a break for 4-5 days. Your body is taking too long to recover.
It's better to have a steady continuous practice than over intense short broken up ones. Maybe try rotating the techniques you practice. Similar to alternating upper and lower body work out sessions.