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A Day without Practice

Yes, life has returned to what it was before, now that my "fall break" (two days off from work) has ended. Yesterday morning I spent about 20 minutes at the piano, going through scales and a bit of Schubert. This morning, I had about 12 minutes, which I devoted mostly to scales and Hanon. I started to play through the Bach but I was distracted and playing too fast. So I played it through slowly, just so my brain wouldn't have those fast mistakes be the last thing it remembered ... and then I was done for the day.

And that, friends, is a slice of life as an adult piano student.

Now I'm at work. I've actually been at work for a few minutes, but no one is at the office yet, so I figured I could take five minutes for a quick piano blog post.

Work has been really hard lately. It's been difficult to think. My mind lacks its usual focus, and I'm struggling to get through the simplest tasks. When I finished work yesterday, I was so completely exhausted. I took a short walk around the block (because I hadn't exercised all day) and then I took a "headache shower" (hot shower with the spray beating right into my forehead and temples--very healing), put on some warm pajamas, lay down on the couch, and went to sleep. I think I slept 12 hours.

The only time I sleep that long is when I'm depressed.

On that walk, though ... my brain went to music theory. It went through all of the different versions of seventh chords: "Okay, starting with C major. Major seventh is C, E, G, and B. Dominant seventh is C, E, G, B-flat. Minor seventh is C, E-flat, G, B-flat. Diminished seventh is C, E-flat, G-flat, B-double-flat. Next is C-sharp. Major seventh is ...

And so on. It was an enjoyable exercise that, 30 years ago, would have given my theory-hating teenage self a headache. So, the fact that I thought it was fun yesterday ... I don't know if that's a sign that my brain has gotten sharper, or if I'm really losing it.

I usually try to take some time at lunch for practicing piano or voice (usually voice if it's mid-day), but today I have back-to-back meetings all day. Picking my daughter up early so I can get her to taekwondo for 4:15, at which time I'll fire up my computer and get another hour of work in. And then we have church at 5. Actually we have dinner at church at 5, and then Anne goes to children's choir while I help teach a pre-school class at 6, and then we have choir practice from 7 to 8:30.

By the time I get home at 8:45, I will probably crash into another coma.

Tomorrow is just as busy. But the good news is that I have a piano lesson after work. So, even if I'm not able to squeeze in a few minutes of practice between now and then ... I'll have an hour-long lesson to look forward to!

(Of course, Hurricane Michael is headed our way, so all those plans for tonight may change.)

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