Uhhhh. Ummmm. "Raises hand slowly. Liquid courage? Yes. There is a difference in my playing from coffee in the morning to having a few and feeling like I can play...lol

I'm more responsible drinking now than I've been in the past when I was playing guitar in a rock and roll band. Even then, any indulgence was after hours and if we had a hotel, not while playing. In social settings I don't think the few drinks I have aren't a significant factor.

Caveat, I come from a long line of drunks and recognized my problems and cleaned up my act some 30+ years ago.


I have more issues trying to play when allergies have my ears all waxy and I can't hear clearly.

My technical abilities definitely slide downhill when I indulge. In other words, if I'm playing in any sort of situation where my ability counts, I respectfully say no.

I think I have never tried this or there was no difference.
... Wait a minute, I 'm going to find out , I was just in need of a good Trappist beer :-p Chimay blue or Rochefort 10, anyone? :D

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Originally posted by Quincy

I think I have never tried this or there was no difference.
... Wait a minute, I 'm going to find out , I was just in need of a good Trappist beer :-p Chimay blue or Rochefort 10, anyone? :D

 

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I'll bet that MOST of the people who have read this topic but not responded, have jammed  a time or two while under the influence.. I'm just not afraid to admit it...and it isn't all that bad.. and can be fun..!! I only drink at our Tuesday night jam.. Other times we just don't or the host doesn't allow it.. It is all good music.. I agree with  a previous comment that if I'm going to be performing at a Dance or otherwise, I lay off...

Oh, I've jammed plenty whilst under the influence, just not so influenced that I feel it hinders me. 

I learned early in the 70's that playing fiddle and drinking dont mix well. Playing bars with free booze was a good way to either become a alcoholic or the die in a ditch with a van full of band equipment. These days no one is allowed to have ANY drinks until right before the last set or show of the day. Most of my guys dont even bother.

A good friend who is always at CLifftop is normally a "Heavy" drinker, but at CLifftop he goes cold turkey. He says, the alcohol just doesn't improve the experience... I admire him for that...

A little helps calm Essential Tremor, which I have somewhat in my bow arm, go figure. My version of the Apostle Paul's Thorn in the Flesh.

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Originally posted by Flat_the_3rd_n7th

A little helps calm Essential Tremor, which I have somewhat in my bow arm, go figure. My version of the Apostle Paul's Thorn in the Flesh.

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If you 'google'  THISTLE shot glass, you will see that  you can both have a thorn in your side AND a healthy slug at the same time!!

I'm a cheap drunk. I learned long ago to never have any alcohol before a performance or presentation or where my playing or speaking may be scrutinized. In addition, if I am going to be driving, I never have more than one drink and finish it at least 90 minutes before I leave. (Got to give time for the liver to work.)

However, at informal sessions where I don't have to drive .... after few drinks I am the most incredible fiddler on the planet --- in my mind!

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Originally posted by Fiddler

I'm a cheap drunk. I learned long ago to never have any alcohol before a performance or presentation or where my playing or speaking may be scrutinized. In addition, if I am going to be driving, I never have more than one drink and finish it at least 90 minutes before I leave. (Got to give time for the liver to work.)

However, at informal sessions where I don't have to drive .... after few drinks I am the most incredible fiddler on the planet --- in my mind!

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"IN MY MIND"?   I'll bet in the minds of others also!!!

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Originally posted by Quincy

I think I have never tried this or there was no difference.
... Wait a minute, I 'm going to find out , I was just in need of a good Trappist beer :-p Chimay blue or Rochefort 10, anyone? :D

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Belgium is one of my favorite places on the planet, not the least because of the sheer deliciousness of the food & drink. Nobody brews up better beers or ales. You sit down at a sidewalk cafe. You point at a fellow patron's beer or idly point at the menu.  Whatever you order, you can't miss.

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Originally posted by wrench13

I learned early in the 70's that playing fiddle and drinking dont mix well. Playing bars with free booze was a good way to either become a alcoholic or to die in a ditch with a van full of band equipment. These days no one is allowed to have ANY drinks until right before the last set or show of the day. Most of my guys dont even bother.

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I hardly take a drop nowadays, but there was a time - well, let's not get into that, but the point is that I don't recall it ever being an issue in relation to fiddling. Probably because if I'm somewhere with my fiddle, I'm fiddling, and if I'm not, I'm guarding my fiddle and bow with both hands, and it is an effort to figure out a spot to place the bow where it won't risk having something spilled on it or worse. So even if I have a drink in front of me, it will take me quite a while to get through it.

Tuneweaver - When you say "I'll bet that MOST of the people who have read this topic but not responded, have jammed a time or two while under the influence.." I think you're vastly underestimating the number of people, both here and in the greater population, who don't drink at all, or only very little. I also wouldn't agree that "it isn't all that bad" either.

Maybe I lost the bet?

I don't drink before or during a gig, but I do enjoy a couple of beers when I'm just jamming with friends, and it enhances the experience for me. Very rarely, I'll "have a little to much," but that's usually in some kind of setting where we play until dawn and pass around a bottle. Those days are mostly behind me.

I notice that most of the younger kids I jam with these days don't drink at all, but they will partake of various cannabis products. They call that "California Sober", I believe.

"The smoker you drink, the player you get"

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Originally posted by pete_fiddle

"The smoker you drink, the player you get"

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"I'll drind ta dat"..

What I Normally do is figure that if I limit myself to just ONE, low alcohol beer per hour.. I do ok.. However I do still make an exception at our Tuesday jam.. maybe 3 'shots' in two hours... I probably only drank  3 beers per YEAR until I was almost 60 years old.. Late bloomer is guess... Not makin' up for lost time and I DO keep it in perspective but I enjoy a few from time to time..

An orchestra sits down to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Interesting aspect of this piece, it's long but the string bass players don't have anything to play until the very end. Rather than sit there in the back bored, three bass players notice bar across street, and decide they could sneak out for quick one, return before anyone noticed.

After putting down a few shots, one realize they might be losing sense of time, worries if make it back on time; speaks up "maybe we should finish up so to get back?"  - "Not to worry," says another. "I used string to bind together some of the pages of sheet music on the conductor's stand; that will buy us time for another round."

Back at the concert hall, and the symphony is almost over; but the conductor fumbling with his sheet music (from the string); the bass players stumbling in, trying to sneak in back. Orchestra member asks, "what's going on?"

Another replies, "It's the bottom of the Ninth, the score is tied, and the basses are loaded."

 George, that gets a 

Stephane...Or "The old Frog" as Johnny Van Derrick used to affectionately call him, had a "Livener", before he went on stage (By all accounts)...What's good enough for the goose ...etc

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Originally posted by Brian Wood

 

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My exact sentiment,