I discovered the reason why it's difficult for me to walk and count at the same time. It's because I take fairly small quick steps! Unfortunately, I can't count and play very quickly (yet), which is why I'm having difficulty counting while I walk. If only I took longer SLOWER strides...
Anyway, I will be taking up dancing again (Lindy Hop & Blues) after my three year hiatus so my focus is going to be somewhat split, which isn't good for my cello practice since I've already lost some of my focus. My husband and I have already signed up for an out-of-state Lindy Hop workshop and plan on doing a lot of social dancing to get back into shape, so if my practice logs have more dancing than cello practice that's the reason! The workshops we typically attend also have auditions for track placement so I have to get my cardio back and loose the weight I've gained (since starting the cello!) or my lines won't look very good. **sigh**
I'm only counting practice time and not playing time for my practice log below:
Monday, January 20th: 40min
10min Warmup
10min Hunter's Chorus
20min Musette
1 hr Lesson with Adam
During this practice session, everything was sounding off, which typically happens to me after a lesson. I think I over-think everything instead of specific issues that I'm supposed to be working on.
Tuesday, January 21st: 33min
5min Warmup
5min Misc
13min Musette
10min Hunter's Chorus
Wednesday, January 21st: 0min :(
None
No practice, but I listened and danced to a Blues quintet after work and it was THE coolest experience ever! After the band break the waiters moved the tables aside and I swear everyone in the cafe got up to dance - including myself. ;) It looked like one of those scenes from a musical. Seriously.
It was also really nice to have people come up to my husband and I to say they enjoyed watching us dance. I always find it somewhat embarrassing when that happens, but it was definitely a confidence booster, especially since we hadn't danced in a few years!
We were also invited to dance at a local dance venue that had recently opened. It's the same idea with not charging professional (makes a living teaching or performing) cellists to play with our cello group. I waive the annual membership fee for professional cellists to participate in our group because I want good cellists to participate in our group! It's the same for dancing as learning to play the cello (and other instruments I would assume...), that a person gets better faster by dancing/playing with better dancers/musicians. It's a win-win situation!
Thursday, January 21st: 60min
10min Warmup @ 60bpm
10min 4th Position Exercise #1 @ 60bpm, 72bpm
40min Bach Minuet No. 1
Friday, January 21st: 0min
2.5hr Cello group play-in
I'm typically so exhausted after a play-in that I normally don't pick up the cello to practice afterwards, especially play-ins held on a weekday.
Play-ins held on a weekday typically go something like this: work 8am-5pm, rush home to setup for the play-in (i.e. move furniture out of the way, buy snacks & drinks and do general setup), have a 30min "social" before the play-in, play for 2.5 hours with the group (usually starting around 6:30pm), hang out for another 30min to an hour afterward, then cleanup and put stuff away. By the time everything is put away, all I want to do is plop down in front of the television to eat and relax, and become a total zombie!
Saturday, January 21st: 0min
None
2.5 hr Played with cello trio
Met with my cello trio to play some ensemble music from 2pm - 6:30pm, but we spent 2 hours talking and drinking! Lol! I'll have to do a separate post on that.
Sunday, January 22nd:
None
Dancing! :)
I do a lot of cello-related "stuff," but I really want/need to focus more on PRACTICING.
Playing with others is a lot of fun, but I think individual practice time is what will get me to the next level. It's also the reason why I'm still in Suzuki Book 2 after three years - not enough individual practice! ...argh...
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