Unaccounted hours

first of all, there are about 4 hours of playing from when i was in the states. that is not to say that they were very good hours, but they were hours nonetheless.

then there was my first week back playing for 40 minutes before going to meet eva in the center for some ice cream.

then there was today. finally getting back into a rhythm (only for it to be cut off again for when i go on a two-week trip with kathryn soon!). nonetheless, it should be noted that i have a ukulele now, and that sort of distracts me from things. i am practicing that sucker a lot, but knew that it was important to play the sax as well.

so i did, and taking from a song i was practicing on the uke, i determined the notes of the infamous La Vie en Rose as sung by Edith Piaf. umm... it kind of rocks on the sax, i'm not gonna lie..

so yeah, another hour. 5 hours and 40 minutes to add to it all!

Full house

i don't think i have practiced in front of so many people before. it was a little weird. but i tried to focus on what i was playing more than who was in the house. i think i worked on Pink Panther more than any other piece today. there's a super high note, but i got it. also weird.

my smallest fan, named aslan, was said to have applauded my playing at various times. cute. i think it's safe to say if i need to play in front of kids they will love me. haha

another hour! i'm in the 190 hour range.. 200 feels soooo close!!!

By the book

that's right. i stuck to the book this practice. i mean, sure, i played a few other pieces for fun. and to finish off ten more minutes (and reach an hour for practice), i just fiddled around with a few notes from the key of G.

hmm.. i suppose fiddle is a strange verb to use right now.

any way, a fun practice. for an hour, as previously mentioned.

Even if it rains

really it was just lloviznando, but who's counting?

so i only practiced 50 minutes today due to the random cold and spitting rain. nevertheless, Take 5 continues to improve, and i have a couple songs of old sounding solid. i like it. i like it a lot.

i am kind of daydreaming about getting to practice with my cousin when i am in the states. that might be fun. but who knows? a duet?

in other news, the sound was a little off, but i wasn't willing to bring out the computer so i could tune the 'ophone because of weather conditions. such is life.

50 minutes!
188.5 + 50min = ???

Por fin

you have no idea how good it feels to play again. at first i was afraid, i was petrified.. oops. couldn't help that..

no but seriously, i had feared not being able to have a good sound when i started practice. nope. sounded great!!

went through almost everything i got, and of course focused at the end on Take 5. it's sounding a lot better--i just have to memorize one key part and i think i got the main lick. exciting!

ok. one hour more. here's to many more for this camp-less week. hooray!!!

Clocking in

i remember practicing on tuesday last, and it was an hour.

i remember that there was a lot of Take 5. i don't remember the rest, but it counts it counts!!!

Almost quit

it's not because it was a bad practice, but it was windy, and that was kind of annoying. in fact, i left my music outside for a second while i got myself some water. came back to all the papers flying everywhere.

i worked on Take 5 mostly, and i am very confident that the piece will come together by the end of september. that seems like a long ways away, but it has to do with some camps that i have.

then i 'bout called it a night. i took my things inside, and then came back out to put back the little table i use where it belongs. then played a couple notes only to find myself liking what came out. so i figured out a more solid tune and recorded it.

when i came inside, my friend Coco told me something that encouraged me. he was talking to his niece on the phone and she had asked him what was making the noise in the background.

"it's my friend Sharayah playing the saxophone."

"ah," she says. "tell her that it makes a lovely sound."

awww...

makes staying out an extra 40 minutes worth it. thanks God!

1 hour 20 minutes to add.

Behind schedule

in a lot of things. but in this blog, behind by 2 practices. last tuesday i worked on some pieces, and today, a few more. i am really liking where Take 5 is going, even though i know i have a long way to go. and when i remember the fact that i started playing the sax at 23 years of age, you would think i could be so much better. how do i squeeze in more time?

and in the next couple of weeks, i have more camps to go to. but let's not stress. let's enjoy the fact that i get to play at all. perspective, perspective. now.. i'm hungry...

2.5 hours (from last week and this week in total) to add!

Freedom

today, i just wanted to play.

so i did. of course, i began with the scales, and had a few breathing exercises.. worked on all the pieces i have printed. then returned to the hymns. i don't know why i love them so much, their sound is just so relaxing i suppose. a few other diddies before calling it a night.

one lovely hour. :)

Jugando

tis the name of the latest song put together by yours truly and my good friend. it's pretty fun.

it was just weird being away from the saxophone for over a week. my mouth hurts a little bit in fact, haha. and right now my lips are chapped.

worked more on Take 5 before recording what i had practiced to complete the other song... i feel like i'm rambling, perhaps it's because i am officially tired.

1 hour and 20 minutes.

Mouth. hurts.

i confess. the music obsession has re-gotten a hold of me. and so today, i bought my first harmonica. learned some of the basics before going to the saxophone. boy did it affect the tightness of my embouchure. for the better, but ouch!

and so there i was playing the saxophone. hitting up the scales, a couple arpeggios (man i sound so caradura right now. haha), and all the classic pieces i have printed out.. even worked on Take 5 finally and got somewhere (before i kind of was so overwhelmed by the pace of the piece that i didn't get anything!).

All of Me is sounding very clean these days, gracias a Dios.

1 hour more.
180 hours, 5 minutes!

Musical

tonight was a musical night. i could only squeeze in 45 minutes on the saxo, due to a meeting going on in the house. so i sat in the front of the house with the ole gee-tar while my friend laura worked on the bible study for tomorrow morning. and i strummed.

next thing i knew.. almost two hours had passed!! and i was improv-ing and it was coming out pretty sweet too. weird! i dunno, maybe it's playing en seguido.. that is.. more consistently. but what do i know?

that it's fun.

45 min to the grand total.

Distraction

i haven't been feeling well all day, and i assume it has to do with all the burritos we ate last night. in part, it's kind of funny, but it will be more so once the stomach pain is gone.

so.. i used the saxophone to distract me from it all. recorded All of Me, a first take, that is. and then this, an improv:

indeed, the sound is very airy, due to the sickness. but also it has to do with not having any music in front of me and just figuring things out as they go. translation.. the embouchure gets a little lazy while the brain is focused on something else.

1.25 hours to add to the grand total. yippee!

All of me

adding to the compilation of songs, i find myself learning the tune by which this post is titled. i chose to listen to Billie Holiday's version for reference, and am using sheet music i found through google images.

of course, went through the scales for about 15-20 min beforehand.

also, and i feel so dumb, but it's proof that i'm not much of a musician still.. i tuned the sax this time and am realizing more and more why some of my recordings don't sound right. all better now! i might want to invest in a tuner after all. (so i don't have to use a youtube video, that is).

i'm also seriously considering buying a harmonica.. hmmm...

1.5 hours = 177 hours and 5 min

Still practicing

..just not logging in the hours as well. 1. 5 hours on tuesday. couldn't make it on thursday due to chaos in the house (not a bad chaos, just a lot of people..)

working on a song, and needing to get better. enjoying the process :)

like i said. 1.5 hours. sorry for the boring post!

Flip flops, Messi and ice cream

i guess you can say we wrote a song. but it's not very good because it's made for people who don't know english very well. the main thing is i got to contribute the line about messi. all is right in the world. haha

and today, we recorded the music video. oh man. they made me exaggerate how i play the saxophone. a regular lisa simpson if you will. and i just improv-ed the whole time because i didn't know what would sound best.

so i guess that's another 2 hours to the grand total. 200 hour mark, i'm coming to get you!!!!

Beginning note found

the "lio" of figuring out how to play with a piano is almost cured. it will be best tested in the next song, but for now, i needed to start with C# to match the What a Wonderful tune.

but first, came about half an our of scales and arpeggios. i can't help that i actually find those kind of fun. oh, and there was Pink Panther and Entertainer. the "oldie but a goodie" in my short lineup.

1 hour, 5 minutes. more or less. and coooooooollllllllddddddd!!!!!

More what than wonderful

no, i exaggerate. i was just proud of the catchy title. one more hour of figuring out my part. short practice of scales, but overall just rehearsing and rehearsing the classic louis.

p.s. i haven't forgotten about posting songs, just haven't gotten around to it.

1 hour.

Que disastre

but it's not a bad thing. in fact, it was quite hilarious. what when down was i practiced scales and arpeggios for about 20 minutes. worked on some of the book and Pink Panther, and then moved on to a mixed song of What a Wonderful.. and Feeling Good.

i am enjoying adding a few accent notes in the second half of the song; it's the first half that isn't as easy. surprisingly...

and so i called my friend laura to the scene, who knows a lot of music. and we spent about an hour trying to find my first note. because once i found the first note, i would be fine. i researched piano - saxophone notes and found this:

C - A

G - E

A - F#

E - C#

B - A♭

G♭ - E♭

D♭ - B♭

A♭ - F

E♭ - C

B♭ - G

F - D

at the same time, we still couldn't find it. such is life. but we had a good laugh looking for the note! sometimes that's all that counts. or something.  :P

in total (with today's 2 hours of practice) = 170.33 hours!!!!!!!

Once again

i forget to log my hours. but i am practicing!!!

working on some of the problem children from the book as well as a duet that blends What a wonderful world with Feeling Good. if i didn't have so many bracelets to make, i might have been done with the song by now. such is life.

practicing is fun though. God has blessed me with cool nights where only sometimes i have to play with gloves. haha

tuesday and thursday practices for a total of 2 hours.

New reed

gets me everytime. but in a few minutes i'm back in the game. worked on scales much longer this time, and then moved to pieces in the book that have been causing me trouble (as mentioned in previous posts).

had looked up on google songs for the saxophonist and found this website:
http://saxstation.com/jazz-songs-for-saxophone-neals-list.htm

sort of randomly picked one only to realize that i was listening to it recently, but just forgot what it was called:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92phKzI

now have the sheet music (another thanks to google), and we're off!

45 min of practice, 15 of google research!

Life interruptions

i have been wanting to practice for several days now, but due to a baby being born.. due to youth group events.. and just other general things, just today i got to squeeze in an hour.

of course, there's a phone call at minute 20.. another at 35.. and then visitors at 40ish. nonetheless, it was a fun one. Pink Panther.. Somewhere Over.. and a few important pieces to practice breathing and note changes from the book.

i continue to practice the scales first, just in case that isn't clear..

1 hour.

Squeeze time

in the cold weather, it's a little hard to find the ganas to practice. nonetheless, i had an hour and a half to kill before youth group started. so i braced myself, put on the gloves, and worked through the tough 76-78 numbers in the book. getting there.

i also played PP and continue to enjoy how that sounds.

thought about the fact that i still haven't posted a song here. that needs to change...

40min...

Friazo

i don't know why i keep forgetting to update this. but seeing as it's late, the details shall be short and sweet.

it was cold.

i struggled with the D - C. that is to say, squeaked a whole heck of a lot.

p.p. is looking nice. until i saw a suuuper high note coming up. yikes.

one hour. bounce.

Ahhhhhhh

that's what macauley culkin says, right? when he finds himself home alone yet another day?

i was a little tired yesterday, so it was just a 40 min practice. focused a lot on Pink Panther, only to find myself with an even higher note than the one i had been practicing. ahhh!!! but it must be done, obviously.

ahí tenes vos.

Home alone

there are days when i take advantage of the siesta. today, i slept for 3 hours... whoa.

woke up to an empty house so i immediately made my way to the back for some practice time. 15 minutes of scales. went through the first pages of the book to where i have been recently. made note that i need to work on #77, and the last two songs on page 19.

then i played through the sheet music that i have, and finished with trying to figure out The Bear Necessities. haha, i don't know why the fascination with the disney songs.. perhaps because they're just so happy sounding.

one, glorious, hour.

Recording

after being inspired by Jon McLaughlin.. it's true that i might be obsessed.. i found myself recording a lot of what i was practicing yesterday. i still have to edit it and all, but it all just sounded so pretty. perhaps the nice weather helped. i dunno..

the main thing is, a fun time and hopefully i can post some stuff in the following posts.

1.05 hours of practice to help round out my hours in total.

Little mermaid

"look at this stuff.. isn't it neat?"

i finally figured out the whole song. it's a fun one! regular routine of scales, then book and finally messing around. good sound, although at times i feel like a lot of spit gets caught in there. i was extra thorough in cleaning the saxophone this time. it was sort of a tierno moment taking care of it!

1 hour.
= 159.95

Adivinando

or maybe the better spanish verb is averiguando.

que se yo? haha

just playing around for awhile, and tone was really good. in the beginning. i think i lose breathing control after awhile, and the sound comes out a little rough. either way, the exciting news is i almost have The Entertainer down perfect, aaaand Pink Panther is coming along quite nicely. loving the challenge of the high note :)

i do need to find some more songs to play though..

1.5 hours of practice time.

As time goes by

it just sounds so good on the saxophone!! i am working on this one as well as several others. i like using the book because it gives me some direction. i don't like using the book because it doesn't always include songs i like.

good tone. fun time. a most beautiful night in terms of weather.

1 hour mas.

Short n sweet

just messing around some more. i started with As Time Goes By, and i am thinking of recording it for the grandparents. but when i began to play i realized how tired i was so i played some scales, a couple songs from book two and now i am calling it a night!

30 minutes is still something!!!

Keep forgetting

to mark down my hours. i played for an hour on tuesday and another hour today. i wish i could say i practiced more, but a lot of things came up this week. Lord willing, i will have some time tomorrow, but if not, at the very least tuesday - wednesday - thursday here i come!!!

as for this week's practice, i played a lot of What a Wonderful World, and then a plethora of other songs. today i remember better (obviously), in which i went back to book one and reviewed the basics. easier scales, easier songs. i was encouraged by tone and the fact that i could read the music rather quickly. i have come to the point where i have many songs memorized.

then messed around with some Moon River, Sleeping Beauty, Solo Cristo, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, old hymns, Autumn Leaves, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, etc. etc.

2 hours.

Compilado

i had an hour of practice on friday that i forgot to write about. the pattern seems to be 10 to 15 minutes on scales, 10 to 15 minutes in the book (latest fun temas, La Cumpersita and Australian Fair) and then various songs i am trying to figure out by ear.

and there's What a Wonderful World. smile.

today i began a personal project of mixing some louis armstrong songs together. this, coupled with the fall night, and tripled (?) with the super moon, made for a pleasant time. had some dogs sing with me, and several folks in the kitchen listening in. makes me a little nervous, but in the end, no big deal.

1 + 1.5 = 2.5 more hours of practice time!!

153.95 hours in total.

Re feliz

even though i have never taxi-ed to ma elena's house, tonight i had no choice. and since i was going by taxi, i figured i might as well take my sax along with me as johnny plays the guitar and who knows where that could lead.

it. was. magical.

we played a little bit of everything, and it was hilarious to watch him and his older brother ezequiel try and make a sound. not as easy as it looks, eh?

we ended on some hillsong classics, and when i switched over to guitar, i was surprised to see that i can play all of them. also fun because they are in spanish!

2 hours of fellowship and practice. :)

Ending with tchaikovsky

sometimes i forget about the russian. but i can't help it when it started with sleeping beauty as a little tike. his music is absolutely beautiful.

so, after much practice on the scales, a little more on what a wonderful world, i started tinkering around with the tchaikovsky. and i figured out.. mostly. new mini goal to play that one well. am in need of sheet music for some parts i do believe.

any way. great evening of practice even if it was a little cold: 1.5 hours!!!

Más adelante

practiced for 2 and a half hours this week. i have been a bit distracted by the fact that my knee is not in the best of shape. in fact it was kind of funny: 

that's what i call dedication, folks! haha

but i have still been practicing! so there. while i skipped the weekend due to a cold, i worked on a couple songs this week. could use some patience, but at the very least, moving forward.

like i said, 2.5 hours.

Moonriver

welp. i got a lot of practice time in, but a lot of it was spent on trying to figure out what key to play in with What a Wonderful World in order to match the piano part that was sent to me. once again, the difficulty of an instrument that is in another key.

i am hopeful. but sometimes for a good result you have to work hard.

i worked hard to a point and then gave up for now. recorded myself playing Moonriver and it made me glad. haha. perhaps i am too easy to please.

1.25 hours today. :)

Beautiful day

today has been a day of getting 'er done:

finances: check
steph and joy's english talk treatise: check (minus a feeeew details)
bike ride to wal-mart for groceries: check
house laundry: check
couple episodes of walking dead: check
threading the bracelets i've already sold: halfway check

and of course, the saxophone.

one hour of music on this very lovely autumn day. i felt myself able to get a lot of notes in on one breath, which was a neat realization. and i am advancing in book 2. don't know if i'll make it to book three by the 6 month mark in the year, but that's okay. just keep a-practicin...

1 hour. 144.2 hours total.

Everywhere

played songs of every genre tonight it seems. from Entertainer to Be Thou My Vision to Cielito Lindo (that's right!!) to much much more. i used a different reed, and this affected the sound a bit, but by the end i had a clear tone.

can i just say i am very thankful for a printer with which i can print the music that i find and can play?

1 hour.

Easter sunday

finally got around to playing at church here. we had practice on friday morning, where i just fiddled around... what would be the saxophone version of this word? haha... until i was able to hit the right note. it's hard when no one understands this instrument. and they all have such high hopes for me, which is even funnier. i remind them that if they don't give me time with the song, i won't be able to play as well.

and then they play a song once through and i have no chance. ohhhhhh well... again i laugh because it's important to have a sense of humor when it comes to things like this.

on sunday, i arrived to practice at 6pm, as requested. we don't start actually playing until 7pm. so i just fiddle around again for an hour, practicing what i do know, until 8pm rolls around and it's time for church. did what i could. had more fun saying hi to all the kids from escuelita who came. i let them press the buttons, while i blew on the mouthpiece. we had a good laugh!

let's calculate... 1 hour practice friday morning
30 min practice friday night
2.5 hour practice/playing sunday evening

4 hours total to add to my time. not bad. i can feel the mark on my lower lip from the embouchure. :)

Fruit of the labor

welp, officially recorded a song with my friend. he played the piano part of Autumn Leaves and then left some space for me to play the sax. for this reason i was practicing the song so much. and in the end, it's not too shabby. obviously not ready for concerts or anything, but i had a lot of fun putting it together.

so that was my hours' worth of practice yesterday.

today i practiced another hour and ten minutes on all sorts of songs. i'm thinking the next step will be a compilation of What a Wonderful World and Over the Rainbow.

i am also hoping to play for church this sunday a compilation of Be Thou My Vision, Come Thou Fount, Amazing Grace, and Solo Cristo.

good times. grand total of 2.16 hours between yesterday and today :)

Improvement

sigo mejorando. i dunno. i have more music, and i was able to sightread quite a bit of it. the issue is they are band pieces, so sometimes it doesn't make sense what i am playing. at the same time, it's fun to play something new.

and now that we have a working printer, i will be able to print out more partituras (spanish word for sheet music) and not just go off what i have on my computer.

good tone except for a few notes. i think i will have to change reeds again soon!

135.03 hours plus 50 minutes puts me at... 135.86

Transposition

and timing.

i am an impatient one at times. so when i finally have down Autumn Leaves only to find that the key of my version, and the key of the piano version is off kilter, it can get frustrating.

the good news is, i like the way the sax is sounding these days. the bad news is i will need to figure out how to transpose all of my parts. and i need to slow down. the piano version is a slow 4/4 tempo, and i'm trying to jazz things up. like i said. impatient.

but another 45 min to the repertoire! huzzah

Muuuucha practica

in the past two days, i have had the opportunity to practice so very much. i am working on a specific song which might be mixed with some piano and drums and recorded for real. it's weird. i am definitely feeling inadequate for the job, but at least i am trying.

in the end, i have practiced 2 hours and 20 minutes! lots of attempts to record what i am playing. lots of perfecting Entertainer as well as Autumn Leaves. it reminds me of my time playing for the talent show back in colorado. though.. more jazz and ragtime instead of ska.

i stick to working on the scales for the first ten minutes which is critical for my tone. steph comes on friday to hopefully give more music!

Distracted

i tried practicing for an hour today. but i had made pretzels. which meant i invited one of the local teens over to eat them. which means right after playing my scales, he comes over and interrupts. sure, he wants to hear a bit of what i can play, but mainly he just wants to watch youtube videos.

then he leaves and it's windy. i mean, chicago windy. i start playing a song and whoosh! page turns.. book closes.. papers fly..

i recorded a little bit and it still sounded good. that is, up to the point when you hear a crash and that's because the wind knocked my music over.

i also have a goal of playing a new song, Autumn Leaves. which means i'm gonna need to work on those low notes s'more before i get it. it's a beautiful piece!

one hour?? more like half of one. but i guess that's still something!

She could. go. all. the. wayyyyy...

45 minutes of a little Pink Panther, a little What a Wonderful World, more scales, O Canada, and finally, the infamous Entertainer. all the way through!!! it included a few mistakes here and there, but most noteworthy (ha, noteworthy), was the fact that i didn't run out of air.

even though it was the last thing i played! how fun! okay, that is all for today.

Sweet sound

30 minutes of sweet, sweet tone. on top of that, i got the first part of the Entertainer perfect. twice.

it was a great little moment there, and i am encouraged to keep going!!! not much else to say about that.. haha

Post run

i think i have learned that it is best to run after a practice on the saxophone. the only thing is, i will get carried away with either one. i will play extra long, or run extra long, and both will leave me out of breath. all that to say that i aimed for an hour's practice, but only got in 45 min.

i guess that's still pretty good.

and hey, tone and scales are looking tip top. thanks God!

Two for one

i was in a hurry to get to maria elena's, so much so that i ended up running there.. haha.. so much so that i also didn't get a chance to write in here that i practiced for an hour yesterday! woo!!! i can feel the growth in the tone, and the agility of the fingers as i play the various scales.

yes, i still focus on scales.

there are a few different new musical terms to learn as well. harmonics. natural. minor scales... in due time. better if i write them down so i remember to look them up! haha.. we shall see...

then today, i squeezed in 20 minutes, because it was getting late and i had gotten home later than expected after a lovely 5.4 mile run. another woo with three exclamation points.

in sum, 1 hour, 20 minutes to add to my total. where does that put me?

ahh.. 128.95

La lluvia..

it has been raining all day. nonetheless, i wanted to play, and the Lord was good to me to give me a little time tonight not only without rain, but i was all alone in the house as well. the scales were quite lovely, and a couple of the songs continue to get better.

tone wasn't so hot, but that's okay. tengo q practicar, sí o sí. the more you practice, the better, even with bad days.

1 hour.

Good tone

after a "short" run, i felt the need to work on the scales some more. and it worked out quite nicely. great tone.. ha.. apart from a few squeaks because i was tired and the air just wouldn't come out.

practiced some songs too, and "salio re-bien!"

35 minutes ya!

All is well

i visited romina today, sharing tea and conversation. it's been awhile due to christmas vacation and summer planning. her cat was sick though, so it meant we took her to the local vet. my first time to the veterinarian's office, i realized, so i was fascinated by the injections they gave little arturo. poor guy.

why this detail? because it meant that the timing was perfect. right as we were going back home, we saw my neighbor, coming from another part of town, on his motorcycle. i greeted him and he gave the usual salutations. nothing strange. well, apart from us crossing at this moment, and my coinciding desire to play the sax.

i've passed their house a couple times now, with the idea of knocking and asking about everything, but i always turn up scared. this encounter, plus walking back to my place right when he was parking made things too perfect to be true. i thanked God, as well as asked for the words.

it seems it was someone visiting for the weekend that was sick and had gone to bed early. still a little unclear, but not as important as the fact that everyone now knows that i'm the one behind the noise. the neighbors seem to like me, almost as if to say, "oh it's just you playing? then keep going!!"

"it doesn't bother me," said the man that i'm almost certain was the shouter. and as his wife came to the entrance he said, "this is the girl playing the sax. she wanted to apologize for being inconvenient, and see when is a good time to play."

sigh of relief.

so i ate a quick dinner and practiced for thirty minutes. the scales are getting more crisp. very encouraging. and i may or may not be encouraged to play better, so as not to sound bad for the neighbors. an odd motivator, but a motivator nonetheless!!

30min.

Spoke to soon...

remember when i wrote about no one complaining...

you see, we have some neighbors that are notorious for complaining about anything. once we watered the plants, and someone told the neighborhood government (yeah, i didn't know they existed here either). who knew you weren't supposed to water plants with the hose? any way, about twenty minutes into my practice tonight i hear, (and don't worry, translation will be right after),

"BASTA CON EL SAXO HERMANO! ME PONE LOCO ESTE RUIDO. SI VAS A TOCARLO, TOCAS EN UN CLUB O ALGO, PERO AHORA NO. DALE HERMANO!!!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE SAXOPHONE BROTHER! THE SOUND IS MAKING ME CRAZY. IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY, PLAY IN A CLUB (that is to say, a practice room or something of that nature) OR SOMETHING, BUT NOW, NO. C'MON BRO!!!"

needless to say, i was shocked by this faceless person yelling at me in another language, after i had already begun to play for several minutes. i also had looked at my watch. i was purposeful in not playing too late at night this time. i had started at 8:20pm on a friday night. no one, and i mean NO ONE in argentina is sleeping at this hour. so after a few seconds, i did the unthinkable.

i yelled back.

"BUENO, HERMANO. CUANDO VOY A TOCAR? Y CON QUE PLATA LO TOCARE EN UN CLUB??? SOLO TOCO UNA HORITA, NADA MAS. TE PROMETO."

"OK, BROTHER. WHEN DO I PLAY? AND WITH WHAT MONEY AM I TO PLAY IN A CLUB? I WILL ONLY PLAY FOR AN HOUR, NO MORE. PROMISE."

nothing.

i think faceless he was surprised to hear a female voice yell back.

"EN SERIO. QUE HAGO YO?" "SERIOUSLY. WHAT DO I DO?"

still nothing.

i called out a few more times with "hola?", but all to no avail. i warned him that i would keep playing (though with a softer tone, as soft as possible that is) until he responded back.

so i played a few more songs, a few scales, and thirty minutes later came the familiar sound of our doorbell. eva told me later that he said, "can i talk with the flaquito that is playing the saxophone?" that is to say, he didn't get the memo about the GIRL playing the sax.. nonetheless, i came forward.

the young man i have seen many a time. we are on good terms actually; always greeting each other in the streets. even when he saw me, he was a little stunned. he explained that his aunt is not feeling well, and would it be all right if i stopped playing for now?

i asked when it was okay to play, and it seems like it's just today that the aunt has taken some medicine that makes her more sensitive than normal. that she had even called him over to come to our door to explain the situation. so faceless has yet to make himself known. intriguing.

all that to say, i only practiced 50 minutes. but i practiced all the same. okay, a little nervous, because that was a weird moment. i talked it over with eva and laura, and we all think it best i wait until sunday afternoon to play again. here's hoping. and por lo menos, another adventure in córdoba. haha

Scales

simply that. 30 minutes of scales. book two has the more interesting versions, as earlier mentioned, as well as the minor scales.

i used a brand new reed, one i had bought in ireland. the upside is that i had bought those. the downside is every time you change reeds it takes more "umph" to make a good tone. nonetheless, a good practice, especially on the f scale.

Full monday

when you miss out on saturday and sunday, you've gotta squeeze in an hour on monday, no? at least that's how i felt..

and as i was editing videos (now on youtube) all morning, then cooking with the teenage girls in las violetas, and then chatting with some lovely young ladies while the boys played soccer, for all of my day, i had to wait until 9pm. we have yet to receive any calls of complaint, so i think i'm good.

maybe it has something to do with the fact that no one's said anything about the motorcyclist who likes to rev his engine for an hour at 4 in the morning

in saxophone news, i was blasting. as loud as i could, as much as my lungs could handle. was definitely out of breath by the time i ended. an enjoyable practice. even figured out a couple more churchy songs.

125.25 hours in total.

2 days more

wednesday and today. i can't believe it is already friday. i was re-aburrida today, but had to wait till after the siesta time to practice. and then a bunch of people came over, so i played good host and chatted with them. until the headache came.. so i napped.

but determined sharayah still practiced, for an hour, and it was lovely! i noticed that my lower lip is developing its tolerance to the pain of my teeth bearing down on the mouthpiece. i can feel the indenture with my tongue. it's weird.

as steph told me after wednesday, tone is getting better. breathing control also has improved. it's interesting how confidence improves too, because there are still people in the house when i play. i guess it's a matter of getting over what people think about you. who knew? haha

also with steph.. she used to play the sax. she's going home for a wedding in march and so she said she would look for some of her old theory and jazz books for me. sweet!

i've been thinking about the theory side of things. another reason i will need to buckle down and get a saxophone teacher. i mean, i can understand a little bit intuitively as i have played other instruments before, but i want more.

good story. wed + fri = 2 hours morrrrreeeeee...

2 days

woo. i practiced for one hour and ten minutes within these last few days. it's been something where i've had to squeeze in time between meetings and such, but half an hour here and forty minutes there is still something. it's funny how it works in latin culture, as it's actually better to practice after 4pm or after 9pm because that's when people are awake. after siesta.. near dinner time..

the other day (because for some reason, i can not recall if it was yesterday or saturday), it was short and sweet, and also combined with the rain. today it was cloudy, and i actually advanced in the book!

the book. it's been awhile, so i should probably talk about what i'm doing at all during practices. as previously mentioned, the scales take up the first ten minutes or so of my time. then i move on to songs. some, that i play from one of three saxophone books i had bought in the states. other songs are played from memory, or i figure them out as i go.

for instance, laura had asked me to play a church song, so i said, "hold on," and quickly figured out some old hymns. okay, okay, some of them i had already known, but new ones as well.

then there's The Entertainer which has been on my list of songs to play well from the beginning. i've been on and off with that one, but lately much more on. exciting!

then there's the book(s). i have some favorites, and today i learned the australian national anthem. which is when i realized i should most definitely learn the argentine hymn while i'm at it! so i've looked up a youtube video and found a new goal. of course, that will take a lot of time, but i figure it's worth it.

now that i've sufficiently rambled, 1 hour and 10 min added. good times..

Bring on the rain

i was practicing on the guitar a new spanish song i've been introduced to when i saw the clouds coming in. as i have to practice outdoors for the sax (indoor for the guitar), i figured i best get a move on to el saxo if i wanted to play at all today. after all, there's a conference tonight, so i won't be able to do so later while everyone is sleeping.

that's just rude i'm told.

so i practiced the scales, thinking of when i play basketball and start with the close shots before adjusting to my favorite three-pointers. start small. ubicate. especially when it comes to breathing.

eva listened in a little bit. i played for her some hymns i know, explaining that i have to listen to the newer worship songs to figure out where this instrument fits in without stealing the show. it can be difficult.

we watched the clouds roll in, and right as i hit 30 minutes, down came the rain.

manda la lluvia, anyone? haha. at least i got some time in there.

Rest

i just want to rest. i have been traveling for the past two months and in all that time, not a single full week in my bed. a day here, two days there. just now we got back from a team meeting.

but rest meant some practice time. and it was beautiful. compared to the roughness of last week, i was so happy to be able to hit my notes, play several songs and work on the lower part of the treble clef.

perhaps i will be prepared to play in church if i am consistent with the practice time! here's hoping.

one hour added to the 119.75 hours (wow, i haven't practiced hardly ever since coming to argentina. que fea actitud!) = 120.75, technically 120.78 hours. just you know.. 880 hours to go.

hmm..  that's about 36 and a half days. a tenth of a year. just under 3 hours of practice a day. ha.

Rough edges

when others get back into music, i get the desire as well. something about being encouraged in community, not that sense of needing to prove myself compared to others, but wanting to play with everyone.

that's kind of what happened.

but then i go and play for a mere 30 minutes, and couldn't quite hit the mark. breathing problems.. tone deficiency. but it's okay, i tell myself. and it will be okay. at least i practiced, and i kind of have a clear goal in mind. :)