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. :)