Practice Makes Perfect

I hit the floor running this morning, well...it was more like hit the computer keys running. I've had lots of vacating, so it was time to try and catch up with work and communications. I sat here, a hunched-over nerd all day, took a break for a very late lunch and then wore out a few fingertips this evening. It's 9:16 and I haven't even played my scales today, but I'll stop and do that now... 

There. That feels better.

Our Maestro says that if you miss one day of scales, you know it. Two days, he knows it. Three days, everyone knows it. Or something like that. I can't always manage to practice, but that mantra presses me to keep on keeping on.  I never did all that in high school. I was too busy playing basketball, running from activity to activity, chatting with friends and doing my homework on the bus. Scales, meh, who needs them? I've grown to appreciate the merits of practice and the muscle memory that helps my brain to connect the musical dots. And my fingers get real stodgy if I don't keep 'em moving. Didn't have to worry about that when all the oils were flowing freely and everything was still glossy. 

As usual, Fall is going to be full of musical endeavors. The Carrollton Wind Ensemble has a packed calendar, starting with a fundraiser September 26th (Rapha) and then our fall concert on October 18th at the Carrollton Arts Center (get your tickets -- they sell out!). October 29th finds us in Villa Rica for our annual "Creepy Concert" at the amphitheatre...a fun mix of music that always delights the audience. And all that is just for starters...there's Christmas music coming and caroling around town and pop-up candlelight concerts with a new woodwind quintet I'm playing with. 

Music is so many things. It is easy to take it for granted, in our digital age where it's so easily available. This last week at the beach, when it was my turn to cook and I had a kitchen full of adorable girls helping me, I turned on a playlist of movie soundtracks. It upped the mood instantly. There was laughing, dancing, moving into the strains of the music. Last evening, at home alone and vacation already a dim memory, I was feeling melancholy so I turned on some soothing tunes. Instant magic. A cool breeze wafted through the house and suddenly life was a mysterious song. My work became lighter, tolerable. Hope and possibilities sprang forth. Then there was my practice session with my flute, which started with obligations and ended with noodly, French pieces that floated out the window. 

Do your scales.