A Musician Describes his use of Marijuana for Creative Purposes by Anonymous
Over the years, marihuana has served as a creative stimulant to my work as a performer and my more occasional inspirations as a composer. Almost all my choral pieces and songs have been composed partly or wholly under the influence: melodic and rhythmic ideas just pop into my head during relaxed and happy moments – “points of creative release” – and these seminal ideas are formed into a whole composition over a period of days to years.
Marihuana has also helped me as a performer to gain insights into the meaning of musical masterpieces. Practicing new repertoire while using marihuana is not a good idea, since the keen mental concentration needed to learn notes is somewhat impaired. But once I have learned a piece fluently, marihuana enhances my understanding of what it means as an entirety.
On an average practice day, I work in the morning after drinking a few cups of coffee. In the late afternoon I often have a little workout in the gym, then come back to the piano, smoke some marihuana, and practice enjoyably and productively for one or two hours. I never try to perform in public while stoned, but I often listen to music after smoking marihuana, as do many other musicians I know.
I recently saw a television special on the life of Louis Armstrong in which his lifelong affection for marihuana was pointed out. He found it both an inspiration for his music and a balm against life’s trials. It works the same way for me; it’s one of my best friends (although I would prefer to take it in another form than smoking).
Everything you said and more…I do however think your missing out on an endless state of being by not performing music “high” it will open up your music and even gain new ground. Some musicians(not saying you are) can’t get around this mental block projects by your subconscious preconceived notions that it will cause a loss of performance. Your audience will appreciate the gesture! Try it…they will like it! It does help for the musicians in the band are medicated or at least can channel their spirit to be at one with the music(rare).
As a concert classical soloist, I use pot very sparingly to increase the enjoyment and tolerate the boredom of long practice sessions that often include a lot of repetition.
Note: For musicians, pot can act as either a ADD drug to keep one focused, or as a learning impediment, depending on how you use it. If you want to get the benefit, do as follows.
1) If your goal is to get 4 hrs of practice in a day, DON’T start the session by getting stoned. Counterproductive! Practice as much as possible, at least 2-3 hrs, take a break, do no more than ONE HIT, then return to practicing. If you practice another 2 hours, take one more hit and move on to different repertoire.
2) If you use this method as your default, the effectiveness of pot wears off. The way pot works best is very occasional use, so as to create a freshness or air of novelty in your playing. Pot can be easily abused and made ineffective if overused!