#pracrastinate

But yesterday, after I thought about this, I felt significantly better. I was able to relax both my brain and my body and enjoy the art I was creating. I had a good attitude about what I was doing even an hour and a half in. I spoke to an older colleague about this later that night and she agreed with absolutely no hesitation, which made me think: why didn’t I realize this sooner? It is so unbelievably important to practice for yourself.

This recording is from the last few minutes of my practice session yesterday. You can tell I am starting to get tired and my embouchure is starting to fail me, but I kept pushing and it finally benefited me. (More specifically, I was primarily focused on relaxing my tongue and keeping my articulation light and quick, which is essential for the fast movements of the Mozart concerto. You can really hear that my articulation was getting heavy and punchy so my focus is mainly on endurance and being able to have the same accuracy of the tongue even after a long period of practice or performance.) 

i’ve always hated long breaks from school because the days get long and monotonous with no structure from academia. summer break is the worst but winter break comes in a close second. i love that i get to go to school and study my passion, and even though i am stressed and exhausted most of the time i wouldn’t trade my education for anything. but when i don’t have commitments entered into my calendar i struggle a lot. i’m looking forward to going back to conservatory next weekend to get back into the swing of things.

on the topic of practicing and reed making, i am definitely starting to feel more inspired and motivated to study and work again. i’m planning on going to a coffee shop tomorrow morning to spend time listening to my rep and solidifying some of my practice goals for this coming semester. i will have plenty of lessons, orchestra/chamber rehearsals and concerts, as well as my sophomore jury, a studio recital, and hopefully a casual sophomore recital to prepare for, so i feel like i need to come into this semester feeling as confident as possible.

this year i want to be more dedicated to my education. i’ve always been a good student but i still feel like i can push myself even more. i want to confidently practice 5-6 days a week with 1-2 days off for both physical and mental rest. i want to do some amount of reed making every day, even if it is only a few minutes. i would love to go to more concerts and listen to more music, classical or not. and i want to expose myself to culture and other forms of art as much as possible.