Blog's on hold for now

I've tried to pull references to my blog off ... but you never know. It's on hold for now; I just bought a house, taking another class, life is full ... still playing though. :) I love my trombone.

building my chops again

Back at some regular practice now, finally, after moving and work travel. I like where I am at with my playing and my practice routine. Work on it one day, it's a little better the next. I'm playing in student symphony this fall, and not symphony, and am looking forward to playing that music just as well as I can. Rehearsals start a week from tomorrow. I'll have to start looking at the material.

Two practices are the best of methods

Moving over the last 2 - 3 weeks has aced out most of my practice time. Today in my new house I returned to two practices: meditation and trombone.

Totally grounding. Both of them. I love them both.

new trombone, new house, new car

I drove in my new (used) car to my new pink house today and played my new trombone in the living room and I loved it loved it loved it.

I'm gonna roll around in the space, it's so big (for me). The trombone sound just resonated.

I've been having trouble with this instrument with C, C#, D - I get this vibration. Jack was wondering in my lesson if the slide lock is loose or the nut on the slide is loose. So today playing in my new pink house I really kind of cranked 'em down and I didn't get that vibration. Man, if I could solve that problem with this horn the jury might come right back in, because I like the sound of it a lot, but can't stand that bad thing on those notes.

When I go back out I'm going to bring my stand and practice some of my student symphony music. I have a lip trill thing that I need to try to do, and there are a few of the pieces that I have not even played yet because I've been hitting rehearsals spottily.

I think my practice space in the new house will be the living room. I walked all over the place playing and so far that space has it. Fun, fun, fun.

Sweet rehearsal

When I started typing Sweet in the Title line, it brought up a couple of other "sweet" titled postings I'd done. Sweet's a word I like associated with playing my trombone because it is a sweet thing. It is a sweet sound when it is what I want.

It was really interesting playing tonight in student symphony rehearsal.

1. I liked my sound (when I hit the right notes, of course). You know, I've said that my jury's out on my new instrument still, I still am not real sure about it, but tonight, playing it there in the church, I liked what I was hearing on my end and I could hear myself blend. It sounded good to me. It made me want to record myself on my new instrument and also on my Yamaha and listen to myself. I liked the sound there and I have been a little bit worried about it here in my apartment.
2. I thought in rehearsal about something I read on the Trombone Forum, I can't remember who wrote it or where I read it, but it was about performance anxiety. It was about putting our focus on the music and the time. Subdividing the time and putting all of your mental energy on that, that if you do that you don't have any room left for anxiety. I focused on that tonight. It's true. And it is also true that anxiety and fear of failure crowds in all the time and you just have to frigging ignore it.
3. I sang stuff in my head before we played it as much as I could and it works.
4. I was bold and courageous as I could be and pushed myself into the notes and passages.
5. I love playing in student symphony because I don't feel intimidated by all the good musicians around me, so I can be bold and courageous.
6. Jared's a really good little musician and he is just plain fun to play with. He really, really likes music and likes playing and likes his instruments. He is bold and courageous, and interested. So if I can play in this pops concert and help in whatever way to support his growing musicianship, what better additional reason for playing?!

OK, that's enough for tonight ... it was a good rehearsal.

tiny practice

Had a symphony board meeting tonight and got home late, so just got in a little warmup and practice.

I'm going to play in Student Symphony for the pops concert but won't make all the rehearsals, so it'll be manageable.

Fine playing tonight

I played a lot tonight, in two separate sessions. I stopped at 9:30, figuring I had better take pity on Tim upstairs. The new instrument is way easier on my hand though it hurts now - but it seems to stop hurting much more quickly.

I'm still getting used to the new instrument and my jury's still out on it. The C (middle C), D, Eb are ... edgy. But I want to work on them, work on my embouchure with this horn to see if I can bring these notes into shape. I just feel like it is worth it.