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 ...

March Goals Recap/Looking Ahead to April

It's April 1, and time to revisit the goals I set for last month. I practiced a total of 50.45 hours in March, averaging 1.62 hours (or just over an hour and a half) per day. Realistically, I practice about 45 minutes to an hour a day on weekdays, and I usually get at least one longer practice (or multiple shorter practices) in on one or both days of the weekend to bring the average up. CLASSICAL GOALS Chopin, F Minor Nocturne March Goal: Have entire piece by memory and performance-ready. I have about 90% of the piece by memory, but I still have some work to do before it's performance-ready. The only two sections that I don't quite have are "The Agitation" and the "stretto" section with the seventh chords. I'll work on both this week and will have them both memorized before the weekend. April Goal: Finish memorizing, and polish, polish, polish! My focus now is really on phrasing and dynamics. I have the notes down, even in the difficult passages. Fro...

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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