Music, Math and Coffee
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 by Billy Roberts | Vision
I’ve been off caffeine for barely more than two months, but my most solid creative efforts in life have come without coffee. As a music major, during my first time through college, coffee was only something I turned to late at night if I had a major project that I had put off until the last minute. The inspiration that I needed did not come from caffeine, but rather through natural adrenaline as each deadline approached. In math and all other studies, the sense of urgency that followed procrastination also helped me to learn what I needed to know, at least long enough to pass each exam. However, relying on natural rhythms just didn’t seem like enough to get me through a second bachelor’s and a graduate degree when I went back to school to study mathematics and secondary education
As a math major, I figured out that caffeine helped provide structure to each day when part of the daily routine. However, as I got beyond calculus and linear algebra and into proofs that took time to process, I began to appreciate the power of slow thinking. I continued six ounces of coffee each morning, but I found that even on days when I didn’t have tea or soda at lunch I could learn quite a bit in the afternoon if, instead of worrying about how much I was learning, I would simply read and let it all soak in. I did occasionally have an iced coffee before a major exam or project, but I knew how to time it so that I would be at my peak when I needed the most mental effort. I always needed a good break afterward.
Music, like math, is best absorbed slowly. Part of the reason that coffee had little appeal to me my first time through college is that music is naturally energizing. Assuming that you have the discipline to practice regularly, once you pick up the horn or start singing, your body goes from there. Even in music theory, where sometimes it seems like all you’re doing is listening, you have to learn to soak it in before you can analyze. Maybe that’s why I did so well with mathematical proofs, once I got past the shock of realizing that upper-level math requires more slow thinking than quick computations. It took a totally different mindset from the fast thinking that people often associate with intelligence. Still, for several years after graduation I felt that I needed caffeine in the morning and sometimes at lunch in order to have the mid-morning and mid-afternoon focus that I wanted at work.
After several months of drinking only six ounces of half-caff coffee each morning, and occasional tea or soda later in the day, I finally eliminated caffeine altogether. My twenty minute daily wake-up ritual consists of savoring a small cup of decaf coffee as I read through a chapter of Scripture. During my first month without caffeine, I was less focused at times, but I gradually noticed a steadier energy state throughout each day. Most importantly, I was no longer falling asleep every night reading to my kids at bedtime. I noticed during the second month without caffeine that I no longer had cravings for it and that my mood was consistently more pleasant throughout each day. My personality was back to the laidback me that people were accustomed to before the pressures of going back to school, taking care of family, and inadequate sleep took their toll.
I’ve started to see that my mind can do as much or more through regular daily disciplines than through relying on a two-hour window of caffeine-driven inspiration each day in order to get things done. This process has brought me full circle to truths about teaching. It starts with listening and understanding your student. You have to be your own teacher before you can teach someone else. In the end, the greatest strength I have to offer my students is to help them learn how to process information themselves, whether it is in math, music, or other disciplines. Learning the French horn goes far beyond learning notes on a page. You have to learn how to sing through the horn. And, in singing, the voice is usually there, waiting to be discovered. The goal is not just to find your voice, but to release it.
