Maybe I Need a Break

My last few practice sessions have been very frustrating. I'm making progess--I can see this from session to session--but I've just felt really tired and cranky, and I'm getting angry quickly.

I think part of the problem is that I haven't been exercising. Between work, family, home, piano, travel, and volleyball, I haven't had a lot of time for it. And when I'm not exercising, I get cranky. And stressed. And tense.

I think all of that is coming out in my practice sessions.

I'm also very frustrated that I seem incapable of playing through the Chopin Nocturne without making some really huge, noticeable error--either a series of harsh missed notes, or a complete memory lapse altogether. I think I have this piece memorized backwards and forwards, but when I turn on that phone camera? My mind goes blank.

Usually, I just take a deep breath and try again ... or not. But today? Not today.

So, friends. That is my state of mind. I'm going to be in North Carolina this weekend, and I think I may leave the keyboard at home and just give myself a few piano-free days. I don't like piano-free days, but I think I may need a couple. I've been going at it pretty hard lately.

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Picking Up the Pieces

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