Picking Up the Pieces

Yes! I have practiced George twice in three days! A veritable record, after my five-plus year sabbatical from piano! Tonight's practice focused on measure 12, where we have a series of two-against-three with the RH playing the triplets. I worked really hard on (once again) getting my muscle-memory back, but I also focused on not getting just  the muscle memory back. I want to know exactly what I'm playing; I want to be able to dive into the middle of a measure and pick up as if I'd started at the very beginning of the piece. So I worked hard on both understanding what I was playing and retraining my fingers to play the right notes. It was a fun practice. I love focused practices where I can work on just one measure, or a half a measure for a good thirty minutes or more. (And that's about how long this practice lasted, after doing some D-flat major scales, inversions, and arps.) I realize this isn't a very long or interesting update, but at least it's ...

Yes, that the first thing I read when I opened up this blog. I haven't published to it in over four years. Sadly enough, I haven't even practiced  piano in over four years. My kid just turned five. Coincidence? I think not. But I can't blame my lack of piano-interest on her. I'm not blaming it on anyone, or anything. Life just yanked me into a new phase, one that's been nothing like I ever imagined. When I last posted, I had a one-year-old child and was working full time as a technical writer at a software company. Since then, I've taught numerous classes as an adjunct English instructor, changed residences twice, been unemployed, written a novel, and worked several jobs. (I quit the technical writing job for good in 2012.) Add a couple of nervous breakdowns major depressive episodes into the mix, and piano just hasn't been a presence (though it might have helped stave off some of the depression). Motherhood has been hard. Of course it's been hard. ...