Take 5.. or take 25

a short, 40 min practice just to get back in the swing of things. it's amazing how fast the summer flies by and how much i need to be consistent if i want to learn this song by David Brubeck!

nevertheless, the tone came back. just the lips hurt. i can't wait for routine so i can figure in those hours for practice that will help me conquer Take 5!!!

rawr. haha. oh, and as previously mentioned, 40 minutes.

Won't give up

despite my lack of motivation to play today, i did. call it, still obsessed with the uke, or call it a-never-working printer that doesn't allow me to print new pieces i would like to learn, either way, the excuses are lame.

but i am here, which means i did practice, albeit it was short. 30 whole minutes. then again, you can add it to my hour long practice from last monday that i didn't log, and now i don't feel as bad. sort of.

it's fun to play outside, under the moon and stars. can't say that i like the mosquitos, but there you have it. perhaps i can look harder for more music, as well as a saxophone instructor? to get me going???

1.5 hours to add to the total. let's go!!

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.