I’ve found that if I practice every day, my playing eventually gets worse. If I take a day or two off (or a day off every three days or so), when I come back my playing is at its best.
Is this just me or has anyone else noticed this?
Jeff
Kansas City
I rarely miss a day without practice …I get edgy if I dont play. If my playing is tired I stop and stretch…after 15 minutes I quit on a bad day…but when the pipes start going good…I simply lose tract of time. Overall, however, I don’t think practice every day will make your playing any worse…unless your repeating and reenfocrcing bad technique.
I also play every day and don’t particularly notice any deterioration in my playing by doing so. Usually, practice time is the first activity I engage in every day, so I’m fairly fresh physically and mentally. Otherwise, any problems with the quality of my playing on any given day are usually due to temp and humidity changes which affect my reed. As this has become less of a problem, I have been able to play more and more with greater satisfaction. The real problem occurs on that rare day when I’m not able to play. On those days, I’m transformed into a cranky curmudgeon not fit to be among polite company.
I know a few music performance majors that did the same thing, taking a day off every few days, or alternating days of practicing. They thought it helped them improve more quickly, and sometimes described the same feelings you had. So it’s not uncommon.
Dionys
A good thing to do If the practice starts to slow down , is to incorporate a given technique , say , a roll , into a tune . Rather than do it on its own. I am a quality practice type myself .
Jeff,
having a break during practise always is a good thing to do. In the case of musical instruments, you have to deal with two aspects of learning: 1) the pure mechanical ability to play the instrument, which in case of uilleann pipes can be quite a challenge - including finger movement, elbow work, etc. 2) Memorizing the musical patterns and establishing the connection between imagination and sound: what do I have to do with my fingers to get the note that I was thinking of?
Point 2 is the reason for your experience (and mine as well) that a day off practicing can make you feel better. If you learn a new piece the complex patterns of manipulations have to be “written” into your brain’s long-term storage, and this process physically needs some time. So to my experience sometimes it is even worth pausing for even longer periods, let’s say five to six days (that’s not easy, I know), especially when you have learned new tunes to the point where you can play them slowly, but without faults.
Depends on who you are, your level of playing, quickness for learning (“brain to cane” cordination), tolerance for repetition, and span of attention.
Interestingly, there’s a theory among good bands that you don’t over-practise…it drains the performance level. IF, and only IF, you know the tunes, your band will give a better performance if you go a few days from practice to performance.
Conversely, I know a few players of other instruments who perform (and travel) almost every day, and only get better (if that’s even possible. You think they want to jam on their days off? Nay.
I knew a performing recorder player who enjoyed playing 4-6 hrs. p/day. He felt he lost something if he didn’t. He was intense.
There IS a surge of new energy and focus that only comes from skipping a day of two. I took a ten year break once and got worse (if that’s any help!) 
[ This Message was edited by: Lorenzo on 2002-11-04 08:59 ]
Another reason I play everyday is that old 21 year learning curve thing…at 41 you wonder if you’ll have enough time to master the pipes…life is to short!
My arm/shoulder pain limits my practice. Not much fun sometimes.