A guestion about practice and instruments.?

Question:Hey guys(and gals) out there,I am a dude that plays the flute.And rocks at it.I've played for 3 years,more or less,and I have been to UGA and Orlando and multiple football games to perform.And I've always been 1st chair.However,a few weeks ago,I stopped practicing for some reason.I don't know why.And around 2 weeks later,I picked up my flute in class,and was scared have to death because I was supposed to be number one and I was afraid that I would sound horrible.But the strange thing is,as soon as I played the piece we were supposed to do,I played precisely as well as I did when I stopped practicing.Do any of you know why this happened? And if you have an experience,please do share.Enjoy your week.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hey guys(and gals) out there,I am a dude that plays the flute.And rocks at it.I've played for 3 years,more or less,and I have been to UGA and Orlando and multiple football games to perform.And I've always been 1st chair.However,a few weeks ago,I stopped practicing for some reason.I don't know why.And around 2 weeks later,I picked up my flute in class,and was scared have to death because I was supposed to be number one and I was afraid that I would sound horrible.But the strange thing is,as soon as I played the piece we were supposed to do,I played precisely as well as I did when I stopped practicing.Do any of you know why this happened? And if you have an experience,please do share.Enjoy your week.

First, being first chair does not mean that you have to be number one for everything. Principal chair really means having the ability to lead, balance and blend your section first with itself and next with the ensemble. I always had the mentality that first chair was awarded by a person's playing ability alone, until I was given the chair when there were other trumpet players obviously better than me in other aspects of playing (like range or sight reading abilities). Just because you are first chair doesn't mean that you MUST be better than everyone else at everything. But it GIVES you the responsibility to make the entire section better.

When you quit playing for a few weeks, all you really lost was muscle tone that you might have gained over that period of time. Really, what you loose when you do not practice daily, is the physical endurance NOT musical ability. I have known excellent trumpet players that quit over the summer but come back and pick up right where they leave off "musically". After two weeks of playing in camp, they are back to their original level of playing, physically. If you have learned your instrument and learned musicality, you will never stop being a musician. So your ability as a musician mentally will always remain at the same level for a long time. Two weeks isn't a very long time for taking a break, but some people that do not pick up their instruments for years and years might loose the ability to remember the fingerings for a simple scale is.

I have seen players not play their horn for a year and be able to play well for a small period of time when they do. Its not really uncommon.

Sounds like you've mastered the music at your level. Time to move up to something more difficult.

i play viola at my skool and i am also first chair. over the winter break i didnt practice at all and wen i got bak i was scared tht i would sound bad but i sounded goo still. its becuz we are good at it and know it well

i play bass clarinet and you know what is weird i never practice never ever but when i am in band class i know everything i am like the best in the band i think we both are just born to play.

It's like riding a bike...you never forget how to play. However, you can lose muscle memory. Meaning, your fingers may not remember what they're supposed to do. It's never a good idea to stop practicing for long periods of time, and if that happens you should at least pick it up a littlle bit no matter how much you don't want to.

You could just also need a better challenge in the music. It is possible that you are playing music that is too easy for you.

Either you were lucky or you have mastered your instrument....this is not unusual for prodigies.....they have the music going around in their head at all times.....they don't need as much practice as the rest of us mortals. The great cello player Jackie du Pre did this also, she hardly ever practiced, but could pick up her instrument even after a month of not playing and play beautifully....who can figure, like I said some of us are just lucky to be so blessed !!!!!!!!!