Ooops.

Well, I missed in a day in my every-day-for-the-month-of-September blogging effort. I have been quite busy with work and stayed up very late last night workg, maybe 5 AM. I went into work today, but was kind of wiped out this evening. It is 2 AM now, and I am taking a break from practicing to write this.

I start lessons again this week after about three weeks of teacher vacation. I thought I would make great progress in certain areas, but, in part because I am going in so many areas at once, I can't really point to great strides anywhere.

For orchestra, I am working on the March of Bacchus because its 3 and 4 flats make it the most challenging. I record the rehearsals so I can listen and play along at home, but I can't say I have happily gotten through this whole piece yet. As our kindly conductor said at the first rehearsal, if we could all play it perfectly we would not have to have rehearsals. We would just show up at the appointed hour of the concert.

I talked to a jazz saxophone/flute player today who said he does not rehearse with his fellow band members before doing a show. He likes to keep the music fresh. He travels all over the world, playing with different musicians. They might talk a little before the concert, if they speak the same language, but the concert is "in the moment," and they all understand the language of music. (This is not just going with the flow, but having an thorough understanding of music theory and how to play together.)

It would be great to be able to play that way, but I don't think it is in the cards for me, without a lot more study. For me, though, fiddling fills that desire to just get together and play, and that is why I keep trying!