caffeine/stimulants before playing

[pies]

Does anyone do this?  I usually try to get some caffeine in me an hour or two before practicing.  My fingers and hands and essentially entire arms feel much looser and agile when I do this.  Is it just mental or does it have such a physical effect?

[michael_langlois]

I always drink coffee during my morning practice session.  I find myself very alert as a result, not to mention the fact that the caffeine makes early morning sessions possible...

[dan101]

Caffeine sure helps me in the morning with teaching and practice. I try stopping my caffeine intake around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, or in keeps me up at night.

[jinfiesto]

I wouldn't rely on artificial energy for a performance. I just don't think it's wise. But for teaching and practicing... All the time. Anyways, for performances, I usually plan out my sleep and my meals for a couple of days before the performance. This almost always helps. A little protein on the morning of the performance, some carbs at lunch followed by a nap, and then a little practice. I usually take a truffle or some kind of chocolate for the performance. That, or trail mix. After, It's time to pig out .

[viking]

I definitely drink lots of coffee in the morning while I practise.  Without it, I just dont have the mental concentration.

[invictious]

Tried a cup of coffee before a cello recital, was a disaster.

My mind was racing, all my notes were quarter tones, my bowing was messed up all the way, I was hyper, randomly laughing and cracking up.


Bah...don't remind me....

[term]

 I'm resistent, i drink 4 cups per day, can still sleep, and it has no effect on my concnetration. I can work with or without it, but i just like the taste.

[rc]

I like the taste too, but too much gives me rumbleguts.

For practice I prefer tea, it's a lot softer on the stomach but still gives a caffine boost.

[pies]

I take 200mg caffeine pills

[amelialw]

I read somewhere that musicians should avoid taking caffine/stimulants, so I don't rely on those, in fact I hardly ever drink coffee.

[pies]

I actually use the caffeine before I lift weights but its effects still linger when I practice

[indutrial]

I read somewhere that musicians should avoid taking caffine/stimulants, so I don't rely on those, in fact I hardly ever drink coffee.

Heavilly-concentrated doses of caffeine (e.g. No Doze pills or coffee) are almost too much and can cause someone's behavior to peak and valley in negative ways. I think modestly caffeinated alternatives like green tea to be vastly superior. The point should be to perk someone up and maybe efface the lingerings of bad sleep, not to throw the person into overdrive.

[felia]

i quit caffine half year ago.
now, i can sleep easily. I don't feel excited and out of control too often. I don't  feel out of controlled during the performance .
Don't take too much of caffine.

[michael_langlois]

I really believe that the effects of caffeine on one and one's playing are dependent on one's individual body chemistry.  Therefore, it is difficult to do more than offer our own experience with coffee, tea, etc., as you may enjoy (or not) completely different results.  Whereas a morning cup o' joe allows me to be more alert, a friend of mine finds himself jittery and unable to work, and yet another friend is entirely unaffected.  The only prescription I can offer (though unsolicited outside of the replies to your initial post) is that you see what works for you.

Best wishes,

ML

[netzow]

In my case it might be better if a gave a the stimulant to the audience.

[viking]

I actually use the caffeine before I lift weights but its effects still linger when I practice

You definitely shouldn't lift weights if you're a pianist.  I know from experience, as I chose piano over a college football career.  I experienced years of lifting weights in my early teenage years, and when I quit I never felt better.

[pies]

Yeah, I probably shouldn't.  Most of my lifting revolves around olympic lifts, which are awful for the fingers and wrists.  My fingers do seem less sensitive and controllable from the years of abuse.
But then again, I'm a math and engineering major and piano is therefore largely an extracurricular activity.

Oh, and I've never felt better physically due to lifting weights. 

[viking]

Totally respectable.  I should actually start running more to get a little bit extra energy into myself.  Good luck with the engineering. 

[indutrial]

Running, swimming, biking, and doing stretch-based flexibility exercises like Yoga are all great for musicians. Lifting weights is far too unnatural and it can damage your hands and wrists. Besides, I've not seen many body-builder-esque concert pianists.

My girlfriend's dad is big into lifting...has been for years, and when I tried to show him how to play four chromatic notes on guitar, his fingers had almost no flexibility. It was like trying to teach a statue how to be limber.

[shingo]

     I loved the taste of coffee and had about 2/3 cups a day for the last 5 or 6 months. However recently I found myself becoming outragously tired and drinking more coffee didn't help one bit, often resulting in a viscous cycle, so I decided to cut it out all together.
     I found that having one before a practice session was effective especially when I knew I wasn't feeling as 'pumped' for the session as I can be some times. Having said that I always have cups of tea during my practice sessions (cup and saucer size) but this is ritualistic as opposed to a stimulating effect.
     Anyway, I am about to embark on my daily practice, all this talk about coffee has got me lusting again  .

[guendola]

I drink a lot of coffee in the morning and changing that while practising would be a bad idea. But drinking extra coffee doesn't do any good. I feel nervous and my timing goes down the drain. Also leaving out the coffee would be bad. I think the best is not to do anything special for piano playing - well, maybe eat a banana, potassium is vital for nerve regeneration after each impulse. I you believe in bananas, it will at least have a positive placebo effect

[mennea]

nothing beats a tablet of IBUPROFEN, (advil, or other mfg's) . kills the pain, and oddly, in my case, makes me think better, work harder, and feel more cheerful....go figure....
(of course, don't overdue it. one tablet every other day is plenty)

[ted]

As I get older, I increasingly like being in a constant, placid state of mind. I have been through stages of liking the effects of alcohol, caffeine and so on but they seem to have completely lost their charm. Very recently I had a medical reason to stop coffee suddenly. I felt a bit peculiar off and on for the first week or two but now I don't fancy it any more. I don't think it had much effect at all on my playing one way or the other, at least not in the quantity I used to drink it.  I often wonder if the widespread grumpiness, hyperactivity, neurosis and anxiety around the place is not due to circumstances but to the vastly increased general consumption of coffee over the last few years.

[mattgreenecomposer]

I usually like to have a gin or vodka tonic to take the edge off...

[Petter]

I usually like to have a gin or vodka tonic to take the edge off...

I second that. Red wine preferably. Damn wine boxes.

[Bob]

Not before a performance.  I'm already alert enough for that.  I don't want to lose control over that nervousness.

The rest of the time, whatever.

I do think in the long run, it allows you to wear yourself down.

And since you're focused and can do more, you expect more of yourself as a standard.  Eventually... point being you become more efficient.  Lean, mean, and efficient.  But I think that affect your personality.  A little warping going on with the stress. 

Cheers!    I can stop anytime I want.  I'll just have one more.  I have some more things I need to get done today.   Just one more...  one more....