Take Some Time to Sharpen the Saw

Jun 27, 2020 | Welcome Column

Ah, you can’t miss it now, but then again I think I started seeing displays go up in September. Yes it is that time of the year where most folks are running around preparing for something, shopping, dealing with a bunch of other people doing the same, and getting together with family in some form. There is a National Holiday you know and well, it might be time for folks to remember what a holiday is. According to Merriam-Webster a holiday is “a day on which one is exempt from work; a vacation; a period of exemption or relief”. It would appear that a lot of work and hectic activity is going into the holidays – you know days of no work. While it might just be all of the preparatory activities that make it seem that way, I suspect some work pretty hard on the actual day or days as well regardless of how or what you celebrate.  Perhaps it is time for folks to take a little time to sharpen the saw instead.

If you have ever chopped wood with an axe you know how nice it feels when you have a nice, sharp axe as it sinks deeply into the wood with every swing and wood chips fly in all directions. If you cut wood for long or if it is a hardwood like oak or hickory the cutting edge will eventually get dull. When the axe gets dull it doesn’t matter how hard you swing the thing, the axe bounces off with little to no wood chips. Of course the harder you swing the more your whole body vibrates like a cartoon character as the energy from the swing gets reflected back through the axe handle and works its way from your hands through your whole body down to your feet. You might as well be swinging a sledge hammer at the log; you know, this nine pound hammer is a little too heavy…. You really can beat yourself to complete exhaustion and barely make a mark on the log unless you take the time to sharpen the axe. It doesn’t take very long to sharpen the axe, but that little bit of time can make you so much more productive when you go back to chopping wood. Holidays are supposed to be that time that we take to sharpen the saw so that when we go back to work we can be more focused and productive just like the work the axe does on the log after being sharpened. How often have you been just as tired or maybe even more so after a holiday or vacation; I know I have. I have also heard plenty of folks say “I had to go back to work to get a break”.

You have probably figured out by now that I am advocating that everyone take some time to rest over the holidays instead of getting sucked into the hectic rush that frequently traps a lot of folks this time of year. However, that is just one aspect of sharpening the saw. Sure, when we work we need to take some time to rest, but the same holds true for everything else we do, to include music. Have you ever been working on a tune or technique and feel like you just can’t make any more progress? Again, I know I have. I also know that when I get determined to work it out and try harder it often feels like I make negative progress; the harder I keep trying the worse it gets. It reminds me of swinging a dull axe at a log except instead of the physical vibration that shakes you to the core, it is the awful cacophony resonating through the room to the point that even you can’t stand to be in the same room as your own playing.  It is one thing when everyone in the house leaves when you pick up the instrument because you have been working on the same tune for six months, but it is a whole new level when you wish you could leave too. Something I have noticed over time is that if you have been working hard on something for a long time and seem to have plateaued, that taking a break to sharpen the musical saw so to speak can provide what is needed to continue to make progress.

It doesn’t mean you should give up nor does it mean that you will never “get it”. It does mean that playing music is like most everything else you have to work at in life; you need to take a break every now and then. Sometimes this break can be playing a different tune or working on something else for a while. It could be a great time to pick up a different instrument; most folks find that picking up a second instrument actually helps them with their primary instrument. This is likely in part due to the fact that they are taking a break from their primary instrument. (Admittedly, working at another instrument might sound a lot like working through your vacation time doing something other than your primary work.) Then there is the taking a vacation completely from music for a week, but not more than two before going back to work on whatever you had been working on. You should not be surprised if after your break that you are playing better than you were when you were swinging that dull axe so hard.

In fact, those that are into weight lifting and other physical training have discovered that they need to take days off or at least change up the muscle groups being worked so that there is the opportunity to rest and recover. Schools take breaks to allow students to relax and recover. It might sound obvious, but music is both physical and mental; we should expect that we need to take breaks every now and then to allow for similar processing and recovery. Even though we enjoy playing music and primarily play to have fun, we all want to play better. Most of us work at learning new things. In the midst of working on things we enjoy we shouldn’t forget that if we take a break every now and then we will likely make greater progress than if we just keep working at it. So take some time to relax when you get a chance to take a break from work. Take all of your vacation days and do something relaxing and rejuvenating. Take a break during this time of year that always appears so hectic. Finally, don’t forget to take a break from music every now and then to break through a plateau. But don’t stay away too long. Some of us will want to keep pressing, but we would do well to remember how it feels to swing that dull axe and take some time to sharpen the saw.

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