My practice journal blog

A couple months ago I wrote a post on a course-required blog about how I don't feel blogging is particularly beneficial to music performers aside from perhaps using it as a practice journal. Since then, the idea of creating a practice journal blog has seemed more and more helpful to me for establishing goals for my playing. I mean, my long term goals are set - the whole "do whatever it takes to become a professional EMPLOYED musician" goal is a given. I will never give up - I've experienced so much rejection and I'm still standing, even improving, that I know eventually it will all work out. However, short term goals, like daily and weekly practice, are not so clearly defined for me. I know what I need to work on, basically, but getting it all done will be the challenge.

1. Learning to always play with air in the cheeks and with my newfound throatier vibrato (not the diaphram vibrato because it's too edgy) because when I do that I sound scarily Baker-esque. Again, doing it on a regular basis is the hard part, especially when I'm focusing on other musical aspects.

2. Feel the big beats - I'm way too beaty. Beaty doesn't necessarily = rhythmic. Yes be rhythmic. No to beaty.

3. Practice my excerpts daily - or at least practice Leonore #1 daily. I never again want Leonore to be my downfall in an audition. I'm uncomfortable and screw that one up in non-pressure situations (like when I'm practicing at home) and I still screw it up 50% of the time in low-pressure situations (like a lesson with my super supportive teacher) so therefore, if I only get it 50% of the time in low-pressure situations, I'm ultimately screwed in high-pressure ones, like my orchestral audition yesterday. I need that particular excerpt (which is the most uncomfortable flute excerpt for me) to become just like "Afternoon of a Fawn" is to me now - perfect and beautiful and no longer uncomfortable (even though it wasn't always). Hmm, I might want to add Daphnis to that list. Oooh! On second thought, I should have a short list of the most common excerpts that I practice daily, which includes those three as well as Midsummer Night's Dream (although I already play Midsummer Night's Dream daily). What a good idea!

4. Improve the speed of my double tonguing. I've finally figured out that half my problem was my sloppy too-far-back "G" (and I've fixed that!), but I now also realize that my "T" is the problem. Actually, "T" isn't a bad thing, it's just a bad thing when double tonguing. I need "T" to become either a really light "Th" "Da" or "Le". Yeah.....this is gonna be the hard part. I can do "T" really fast, but not for long amounts of time. With the other syllables I'm much slower right now, but once I build my muscles and get used to it hopefully it will be just as fast as my "T" and I'll be able to sustain it longer.

5. Practicing my scales daily - I've really put these on the back burner lately. I play my major ones once in awhile when I'm having a crappy tone time to wait it out until I'm more warmed up. I almost never play my minor scales and I should - I really really should.

Yup, these are the big goals for now. I will use repertoire to help improve #1 and #2. I'll practice some of #3 daily. I'll also do tonguing exercises daily and practice my scales daily. Woohoo - practice goals defined.