Helene Aftermath

Well. Life got seriously interrupted last week. Hurricane Helene devastated our little part of the world, and then it went on to devastate my old home (Asheville, NC, and surrounding areas) even more. We were without power for 10 days.

There were a few bright spots in those 10 long days: I got to read a few books, clean the house, and stay home from work. But mostly I was a melancholic mess. The word "shellshocked" kept coming to mind. That's how it felt. I just felt lost and overwhelmed and sad. And I didn't have a piano to play since my current piano is a digital.

Fortunately, our family is safe, and our trees that fell did not hit our (or anyone else's) home. Many of our neighbors can't say the same, so I'm grateful that we were spared.

The top of one of our pines snapped, landing on our neighbor's trampoline. (The trampoline was fine!)

Our Eastern Redcedar tree. I liked that tree and was sad to lose it.

We drove to my mom's house in Brevard, NC, this weekend. Miraculously, she never lost power or water, so we were able to visit and get all of our clothes washed. We also brought groceries up for my sister's family, as the stores haven't been able to restock a lot of their dairy and produce.

When we got home yesterday, our power was back. I had a lot of work to do (putting away clothes, going grocery-shopping, making dinner, etc.), but I was finally able to fire up the digital piano last night.

Masterclass Canceled

The hurricane hit on September 27. The masterclass with Orion Weiss had been scheduled for September 28, so of course it was canceled. Yes, it was disappointing, but there wasn't much anyone could do about it, so I didn't dwell on it. The piano store is still closed due to damages, and I haven't heard word from my piano teacher, Eric (whose house was hit by a tree) in a week. I don't know when I'll go back to regular lessons, and the masterclass isn't going to be rescheduled.

October Goals

I had such a great plan for October, complete with detailed spreadsheet! I still do, only I already have six unplanned non-practice days under my belt, thanks to the hurricane. I'll outline those goals in the next blog post so this one isn't so long.

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The Rusty Lock and Key

I'm in a room. There's a door in front of me. On the other side of that door is a whole world of adventure and imagination and joy and delight, but for the moment, I'm locked in this gray little room. The door itself has a lock that is all rusted. I've tried to open it in the past, but I've never gotten very far. Sometimes I try to scrape the rust off the lock. I also have a rusty old key that I occasionally try to polish. Each time, after I've made a little progress, I'll put it into the keyhole in hopes of opening the door. It turns a half a millimeter or so, but the brief excitement at my progress dies quickly when I realize, once again, the lock isn't opening. I set the old key aside, and from there I can forget about the door, the lock, and the world outside, for months—years, even. But then something happens—I hear birdsong, or I catch a glimpse of color—and I pick up the key and start picking away at the stubborn rust. That dark little room is my ...

Dance of the Digits

Note: I've expanded significantly on this post over at my other blog, A Sort of Notebook . I am loving Liszt. I love the way my hands have to "share" the melody. I have so much to write on that, but I'm borrowing a computer and don't have enough time to do it justice. Suffice it to say that I've practiced three and a half wonderful hours today, and about two hours on Liszt alone. What I find wonderful about Liszt is that it pushes one hand hard, but not too hard. Then the other hand gets a turn to be pushed. But it's never both at the same time, and never one hand for too long. It's hard to explain. When I have more time to write, I'll word things rather more eloquently, I'm sure. All I can say now is that my fingers feel like they're dancing a wonderful, graceful dance. I've been trying to "play with my body," as my piano teacher says to do, so all of me is dancing. And Standchen, though it still need a lot of work (like, um...

The Amazing Practice Tracker 2.0: Leveling Up My Piano Game

(Apologies for the cheesy clip art. I needed to come up with something, or the Blogger template would show a fuzzy, overly-enlarged snippet of the first chart below.) When I showed my husband my piano practice tracker, he said I should market and sell it. Ha. It’s not for sale, but I’m excited to share how this tool has transformed my practice—and why it might inspire all three of my readers. Since my last post about the Amazing Practice Tracker, I’ve made it even better. Here’s a peek at how it works, using my June data. All The Pretty Colors, All the Pretty Winners My tracker now sparkles with color: darker shades for active pieces, lighter ones for maintenance, technique, and sight-reading. Each day, the piece I practice most gets a bright yellow highlight—a little “gold medal,” if you will. (Click image for a slightly larger view.) A leaderboard automatically shows the day’s top piece and time. And if that isn't enough, I keep track of the month's leaders--specifically, ho...

Picking Up the Pieces

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