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Monday, July 3

Tonight's practice was abominable. It lasted all of 10 minutes.

I was on the road all day yesterday and most of today. It was a very long road trip. On the way from Louisiana to North Carolina, we started out on I-10 and decided to go to Gulfport (Mississippi) and Hwy. 90 to see the damage from Katrina. I have many happy memories of weekends and holidays at the summer home of a friend's family and wanted to see what, if anything, remained of it.

Well, nothing was there. A few boards of the bingo hall on the corner were still there, but only the cement foundation remains of the house. That's all that remains of anything, actually. It was a sad drive.

I got back home this evening and, after a short run, decided to try practicing.

Mistake.

I'm too exhausted to play even a half-decent scale, much less anything by Liszt or Bach. I muddled through a couple of scales and arps before I quit. Tomorrow's a new day. I'll try and start over my practice session then.

Until then, it's sleepytime for me. I've lost two days of practice, but I worked on piano so much last week that I don't feel too bad about the missed time (other than that I've missed being with my favorite musical instrument in the whole world!).

Good night!

Comments

Nathan said…
Waterfall -

Liking the blog very much, I can relate to your situation, having graduated from a conservatory but working the job in corp. america for now. The p/f you are working on is a very happy piece.

I was wondering what else is part of your recital repertoire... one of the things I began doing recently that I never did as a student was to book myself for shorter 15 minute recitals with another 20 minutes of lecture and Q/A after I was done for captive audiences such as retirement homes. I would do this at a few locations each month. It took the perfectionist pressure off me while allowing me plenty of low stress pre-performance opportunities. I would videotape myself and review it later for additional input.

Completely unsolicited advice I realize but may fit a future situation of yours. Thanks for the blog, a refreshing read.
9:48 AM
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