How does your mood and/or the weather affect your playing?

[G.W.K]

Hi all,

I had a strange converstaion with someone recently and they said that several things can make their perfomance alter from usual. This person usually plays a wide range of music, but when it is raining or they are in a bad mood...they begin to play either fast, depressing or boring tunes. But when happy, they play a wider selection that usually includes bright, quirky tunes...

Does this happen to other people or is this person just mad?

LOL

G.W.K

[counterpoint]

It does affect the playing very much!

There is nothing strange about it.

[pianistimo]

the weather?  all the weather does is make my leg get semi-arthritic.  other than that - i like bad weather.  that's a good reason to stay inside and practice.  in fact - i prefer it to be dark, raining, and lighting striking here and there.  although, the last time that happened the fire alarms went off.  so much for forgetting about the computer and practicing.

[ted]

I am in more or less the same mood all the time and take little notice of the weather so these things have no effect on my music, at least at the conscious level.

[elevateme_returns]

when its raining i like to play the chopin ballades. especially with the sound of the rain against the window

[Bob]

Not really.  I try not to mood effect practicing.  Energy level does, but not mood so much.

[quasimodo]

Weather obviously has physiologic consequences when it's extreme.
About mood, I wouldn't say it's the mood per se which influences me but bad mood, or more exactly the reason for my bad mood affects my concentration because I tend to think about that instead of my playing.

[slobone]

The weather affects me but maybe not in the way you're thinking of.

Once the really hot weather sets in, I have to install an air conditioner in my window. It's on all the time, so it drowns out the outside noises, but I'm sorry to say the reverse is not true -- as far as my neighbors are concerned, it might as well be an open window.

I try not to be too self-conscious about whether they can hear me practicing or not -- otherwise I'd go nuts. So I just go ahead and do what I have to do. But I do have to restrict the hours during which I play.