A Little Cheer

Life has been really hard lately. I'm not going to go into details here ... it's just been really hard. Following our 10-day vacation, I ended up having to be away from home for another week due to a family emergency. I got back last Thursday, worked from home on Friday because I was still a wreck, and sort-of recovered over the weekend. I'm still so tired--exhausted, really--and just when I think I can take a breath, something else happens to amp up the stress and anxiety levels.

It also hasn't been a great month for piano. I got back from vacation on July 30, ready for a productive August, but I had to leave home after several jet-lagged recovery days. Oh, and a friend of mine visited for a week, which was great, but that also meant I didn't practice much. All in all, it's been nearly a month since I've had a good, focused piano practice.

I was able to practice a little on Friday, but I found myself at a loss. I was in kind of an "Okay, now where was I?" state of mind. And even after I figured out where I was, I wasn't sure where to go. I practiced my usual pieces, but I felt very unmotivated and, really, kind of depressed.

So I'm looking at two new pieces, both of which are PWJ courses:

Amazing Grace, Level 2

This is a slow-blues-gospel-style piece. I love this course because it's not just about learning to play what's written. It's about learning techniques for playing your own arrangements in this style. I've watched the course before, but this is the first time I've actually taken it. (I went though the Level 1 course one weekend when visiting my parents.)

Jingle Bells Rag

I knew I wanted to learn a Christmas song this year, and this arrangement is a fast, bouncy rag, similar in style to "Bare Necessities." It doesn't look like it's going to be as difficult as Bare Necessities (partly because it uses so many of the same techniques), but it will still take some work, which is why I'm starting it early.

So, I'll continue playing and practicing my other pieces, but my three main pieces for the rest of the month are going to be Solace, Amazing Grace, and Jingle Bells. I'll continue my Blues work, and I may be moving Bare Necessities to maintenance. I still need to get it up to breakneck speed, but I think that will be a good "maintenance" goal.

After such a difficult week, I'm hoping that all this bluesy, jazzy, ragtimey music will bring me some much-needed cheer.

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Picking Up the Pieces: A Piano Practice Journal

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