During a recent interview I was asked "Jae, how do you maintain a high level of drumming considering all the things you do?" That's a really good, perceptive question. My answer is I mastered time management and learned to distribute energy smartly with how I connect the proverbial dots. Meaning, within this allotted time I make sure that the things I do enhance each other...which initially was an interesting challenge.
When we age, we either do less....continue doing what we've been doing until we can't or have had enough, or we take on things we've always wanted to do when other things slow down. In my case nothing much has slowed down. I had to decide though which things are the most meaningful for me so I could manage time and energy in the most effective way. That's particularly important for boomers. I figured out how to refine the things I love doing to a point of getting them to parallel the other in unique, constructive ways.
Creating at any level starts with thought processes. Keeping this area in our brains active and vital. If you can't create mental imagery of an idea, seeing it clearly, then creating will prove to be very challenging. Creating takes vision and a willingness to try things. Often times things outside of our comfortable zone. Reaching. Thinking out of the box. Some for example may not see the parallels between creating a recipe in cooking with composing and writing music. Or how my jazz broadcasting career helps my drumming. It's a cyclic process that continuously evolves and reaps benefits for me.
When I sit in the jazz programming chair I hear some of the greatest musicians in the world playing their instruments. I hear how they utilize their ideas in conveying their artistic intentions. Over time I got to a place of looking at someone else's idea with my sensibilities. I ask myself, how can I take this idea and make it mine?
We all have influences but great artists always found their way to do it. When I'm writing music I might be thinking of a continuity of notes in a melody structure with the harmony and rhythm. Same with a fish filet. How will I season it? What spices? Herbs? Notes? Chords? The cooking is the rhythm. See the paralleling?
For us boomers that do several things, remember, there's only so much energy to go around. I had to let things go that weren't moving me forward. That's key. Zero in on what truly makes you happy and where you can be the most productive within the time you allow yourself. This gives you a better piece of mind too which keeps you healthier.
Jae Sinnett hosts Sinnett in Session, The R&B Chronicles, and Students in Session on WHRV FM. He also shares his love of the culinary arts on Cooking with Jae on Facebook every Sunday at 6 p.m. Plus, catch up with past episodes.
