Some of the trails have a gradual slope and others get there in a practically straight up route. I’ve walked them all, the gradual and the straight up.

When I first tackled the steep route, I had to stop a few times and rest. Subsequent efforts produced less huffing and puffing and fewer pauses. Now I’m walking that route without stopping.

Did the hill change? ‘Cuz it sure feels like it has leveled off. Of course not! The hill hasn’t changed! It just feels that way. I’m the one who’s changed. I’ve gained endurance. My stronger thigh muscles have put a spring in my step; most noted when I bound up the stairs at home.

Yo, Adrienne!

Do you know that scene in Rocky where Sylvester Stallone’s character goes through his morning jogging routine? He cracks a couple of eggs into a glass and some juice and drinks it down. Then he goes for his 5-10 mile run, shadow boxing on the streets of South Philly. At his brother-in-law’s meat market, Rocky “tenderizes” a side of beef with his taped fists. Finally his workout ends with a run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The time-lapse scene shows the progress he makes over numerous days and how his strength increases. Early runs up those stairs are slow, but his persistence and practice pays off in the end when he races up those steps, jumping over some, and pumps his arms overhead in celebration. “Yo, Adrienne! I did it!”

Exercise, Schmexercise

What’s with all the exercise talk? Well, it’s an analogy for our music practice. The first time you play the G harmonic minor scale, for example, you might be huffing and puffing like I was on Mt. Tabor. But repeating the drill will have you racing up the steps of the museum like 32nd notes in no time!

Bill Conti’s Rocky music, Gonna Fly Now, is invigorating and exciting. It makes you wonder how The Italian Stallion could have done so well without his iPod!

So why not have a theme song for your musical goals? An inspirational song that is totally linked to your musical exercise. Yeh! Choose a song that exhilarates you. When you listen to it, visualize yourself meeting and surpassing your musical goals. See yourself playing your instrument. Hear yourself successfully executing your goal passage.  Then get to it and run up those steps!!

Where no one has gone before

My goal music is Star Trek The Next Generation theme song. When I hear it, I get all energized and am ready to explore strange new worlds! Which, when you think about it, learning a musical instrument can be like exploring a strange new world…

Got a theme song? An inspirational piece of music? Let’s hear about your endeavors and exercising.

If you liked this, you will also enjoy reading:

• Improvisation – It’s Not Just For Jazzers Anymore
• What Do You Do When…
• Embrace The Great Outdoors For Summer Practice
• Got Motivation?

Thanks for reading. The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out September 8, 2010.

A. and I were in Southern Oregon visiting her mother, along with her two brothers and one niece. We enjoyed musical fun all weekend long. This issue of Musician’s Motivator is about the many ways music infiltrated our vacation.

The Jazz Singer

Friday night, we heard a concert in the park, singer Greta Oglesby, with piano and drum accompaniment. Greta sang a wide variety of tunes; from Minnie the Moocher and Summertime to Proud Mary and Hannah’s Hips. The performance was free, sponsored by the local theater company with which Greta is also acting. Minnie the Moocher calls for some audience participation on the chorus:

Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi (Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi)
Hodee-hodee-hodee-ho (Hodee-hodee-hodee-ho)
Heedey-hee-dee-hee-dee hee (Heedey-hee-dee-hee-dee hee)
Hidee-hidee-hidee-ho (Hidee-hidee-hidee-ho)

Queen of Hearts

A game of Oh Pshaw! in the “in-law’s” home tends to be crazy wild with laughter, jokes, and bursts of spontaneous song.

“Deal the cards, R.” ”Just one this round, right?”

I sing, “One is the loneliest number they you ever knew.” Brother B. adds harmony, “Two can be as bad as one. It’s the loneliest number since the number one. oh.”

The game continued.

Out In The Country

We visited the family-owned tenanted-home in the country. The tenants are a sweet family of five who are also spontaneous performers in their own right. After touring the land, we made our way back to the house and gathered into small groups conversing.

Niece E. and I discovered the electric keyboard tucked into a corner of the great room. We turned it on and experimented with the different sounds and “instruments” that were programmed into the machine. Just below the keyboard were some small African hand drums, rattles, and tambourines.

Flower Drum Song

Tenant J. brought out the big drums: a doundoun from Mali, a songba, and a kingkin; pitched from low to high respectively. He gave us a mini-lesson in African drumming, which he is studying. In Africa, when someone begins drumming, others will join in singing and dancing. The music, the song/story, and the dance are intricately woven together. You wouldn’t have one without the others.

J. got me playing a dum-ba rhythm, then he improvised a high drum part. Our dancers, A. and R., got their happy feet going.

Opus One

Back at “Mom’s house, we played duets and trios. B. on mandolin, “Mom” on violin, and I on clarinet.

My transposing skills were not flowing as I would have liked. So… I improvised; sometimes harmony below, sometimes a descant above. And B., talented fellow, sang harmony while he played his mandolin.

Another day, “Mom” and I played some lovely clarinet and violin duets by Bartok.

Sweet Ride Home

You’d think we’d be all music-ed-out by the ride home. But we weren’t! A. and I played one of our favorite road trip games. Check it out.

Using the melody from The Mockingbird Song, we take turns improvising lyrics that fit the melody and rhyme. Like so:

1st person: hush little baby, don’t you cry
momma’s going to buy you a deep blue sky.
and if that sky should turn to grey…

2nd person: momma’s going to buy you a game to play.
and if that game should lose its pieces…

1st person: momma’s going to buy you a visit with your nieces.
and if those nieces should move to Greece…

The lyric format is that momma will always get you something pleasant and in the next line, some problem occurs with the pleasant something.

We sing and get real creative with our imagination. It is a barrel of monkeys, for real. Hmmm… what rhymes with monkeys?

Hey Hey We’re The Monkees

Raise you hand if you remember the TV cartoon, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?. Wow! That’s almost everyone. Is it just me, or did anyone else notice that almost every 1970s TV cartoon was about a group of teens who were in a rock band together? The Archies, Scooby Doo, Josie and The Pussycats. And let’s not forget The Monkees, even though they were not a cartoon.

To close up this harmonious holiday review, I will leave you with this bit of bumper sticker wisdom I picked up on the ride home. It may be helpful to you when you are faced with an important decision.

What would Scooby Doo?

Extra points to those of you who recognized the song titles in each subhead.  The headline, of course links to this post, here’s the song link.

As I’ve mentioned before in Musician’s Motivator, vacations provide a chance to change up your practice routine. For me, playing my tenor sax in outdoor settings while out of town, was fun. And, I met other musicians and music appreciators in these small towns.

A Swimmers’ Serenade

On the first day out, I walked down to the local beach in Home Valley. In Home Valley Park, there is a campground, a swimmers beach, and a windsurfers beach. At the swimmers beach, on the lone picnic table, I set my sax case and put together my horn.

I began my practice with a free-form improvisation, inspired by the mighty Columbia River. The Columbia Gorge is a scenic area that stretches 80 miles and serves as part of the border between Oregon and Washington. There is plenty of inspiration here!

Up rode a man on his bicycle. Rolf is a local musician whose band, Jive Turkey, plays county fairs and other civic events in the area. After our friendly chat, I went back to my playing. A little later a group of teens arrived to swim in the roped-off area of the river. I greeted them and continued playing.

After my improv warmup, I worked on a few songs; Misirlou, Jeanine, and Bewitched. Two men and one woman paddled in on their outrigger canoes , expressing their enjoyment of the tenor sax serenade. “That was beautiful! I wish you were here every time we went canoeing.”

Birthday Song For Sophie

As I packed up my horn, a little girl strolled up to me. “Can you play some more music?” she asked. “Well,” I replied, “I’m all done for the day, but I can come back tomorrow.” “Oh! I can’t come tomorrow,” she said, “It’s my birthday!” Holding up four fingers, she said, “I’m going to be this many.”

“Happy Birthday!” I exclaimed and began singing the birthday song. When I got to the third line, “Happy birthday dear …”, I paused and she sang her name; “So-phie.” We finished the song together. What a sweet moment.

Panther Creek

The next day, I ended up not going back to the river beach. Traveling between my motel in Home Valley and the conference in Carson, I would drive up Bear Creek Lane and cross Panther Creek at a secluded bend in the road.

I noticed a pull-off area at the West end of the bridge. This was where I did my practice for the next couple of days. It was a private setting in a wooded area beside a burbling creek. I enjoyed great playing sessions in this spot and some friendly interactions with the few passing motorists.

Say Goodbye to Self-Doubt

Some of you may be thinking, “I can’t play outdoors. I’m not good enough. I don’t know any songs. People will stare at me.” Whatever you may be thinking, let it go. No matter what you play, be it known songs or your own improvisations, the listeners out there will enjoy it. People love live music. Whether just getting a kick out of the novelty of live music outdoors, or listening and recognizing the song you are playing, the typical passerby will give you a thumbs up.

True enough, some people will not say anything or pretend to not see you. And that is just fine. You’ll get more practicing in.

Practical Considerations

You may want to prepare yourself for outdoor playing with mosquito spray and clothes pins (hold down music in the wind). While you’re at it, take along a can of Doubt-Be-Gone. Spray on and repeat as needed.

If You Enjoyed This…

You may get a kick out of these recent Musician’s Motivator articles:

• Inspiration On A Nature Hike
• What Makes A Memory
• What Do You Do When…
• Silly daGilly

The next edition of Musician’s Motivator is due out on August 25, 2010. See you then!

“Between soccer practice, debate team meetings, and band rehearsals, I’m hard-pressed to find 30 minutes for playing my tenor.” That from the 9th grade sax student.

This is reality for many aspiring musicians. And we all know that practice – regular practice – is essential to learning an instrument and attaining some level of proficiency that enables you to play the music you enjoy.

A lot of research on the benefits of studying music makes the point that becoming a musician gives you discipline and commitment, among many other fine benefits. But do we start out with those qualities? Not usually. However, we do start with inspiration, motivation, and desire.  It’s from these qualities that the discipline comes.

Positive Spiral

The more you practice, the better you sound. The better you sound, the more you want to practice.

I was a daily walker for quite some time. Then we had some seriously rainy months here in Portland (Oregon) and I stopped. When I became aware that I was feeling out of shape and had low energy, I knew I had to get my walking habit back. The motivation that got me back out was wanting to improve my physical health and feel more energized.

I had to force myself out the door the first two or three times, and promise myself some pleasant reward after completing my walk. I also made a walking date with a friend. Another time I joined a group of 20 folks in the neighborhood on a city-sponsored walk.  By the sixth day, I woke up feeling excited and looking forward to walking again. I noticed my legs felt stronger as I was bounding up and down the stairs in my home.

Quick Results in Only 6 Days!

Only six days of walking and already my mood was elevated and my body was stronger. The lesson to take away from this experience? Positive momentum can be generated with daily practice. And it only takes a few days to get it going. By definition, momentum is that energy generated by an initial force. Then it self-perpetuates, it continues moving. You would have to expend a different force to stop the momentum. So don’t do that! Get your daily practice momentum going and let its energy feed your continued practice.

Draw upon your persistence, inspiration, laughter, and commitment. They reside within each of us, ready to be taken out and given a chance to flourish.

The Book Of Qualities

Writing about these qualities reminds me of a book I was given many years ago; The Book of Qualities by J. Ruth Gendler. In her book, Gendler writes short personality profiles for 74 different qualities. Reading the profiles, I gain a fresh and unexpected way of seeing that quality in myself.

I’d like to share the profile for Commitment from Gendler’s book:

Commitment has kind eyes. He wears sturdy shoes. Everything is very vivid when he is around. It is wonderful to sit and have lunch in his gardens around harvest time. You can taste in the vegetables that the soil has been cared for.

Because Commitment is so serious, he loves clowns and balloons and fools and limericks. He has four daughters, grown now, but when they were little they always took him to the circus.

There is something special about the way Commitment gazes at the new moon. I wish I knew how to explain it. He is such a simple man, and yet he is mysterious. He is more generous than most people. His heart is open. He is not afraid of life. He is married to joy.

I enjoy the juxtaposition of the serious and folly in Commitment’s life. It supports my current practice of bringing playfulness to my … well, play!

Sturdy shoes make me think that Commitment doesn’t dawdle. He is — er, committed.

How does this original outlook on Commitment affect your practice patterns? Got any Gathering Momentum stories to share?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like:

• Silly Dagilly!
• What Do You Do When…
• Drawing Out Your Innate Musical Genius

A few weeks ago, I took a call from Lee. He had a favor to ask. “Meg, can you fill in for me at band rehearsal tonight? I’m not feeling well.”

I had just listened to a great story on Ted Talks by a woman who said “Yes” to everything. It was a bit of an experiment to see where it would take her. Pretty far, it turns out. (Can’t find her talk. Darn.)

Naturally, I replied to Lee, “Yes.” It was the first rehearsal by the group in preparation for their July concert. We were all sight-reading. I came home all pumped up and happy. Playing great band music with a group of talented musicians does that to me.

Keep On Yessing

Since then I’ve been saying yes a lot more. Just a few days ago, Dan asked me to fill in for him on tenor at another rehearsal. More fun was had by all.

About the time Lee called me, I was talking with my friend, Poeina, about her upcoming CD that she was recording. Since I had worked with her before, I felt comfortable creating my own “Yes.”

“If you have any sax parts that you need covered, Poeina, I’d love to record with you again.”

“As a matter of fact, Meg, I do have a tune that I could use you on.” I ended up recording both alto and tenor sax parts on a tune for her disc. This saying yes thing sure produced some great results.

A Bell Of A Sale

I headed out on my walk Sunday morning, hoping to get to the top of Mt. Tabor and back. At the traffic light, I saw this simple sign: “A bell of a sale (with an arrow pointing to the right)” Intrigued by the sign, I said “Yes” and turned right.

Just a few blocks from my home, I discovered a musical yard sale.

Discarded and unused tanks, from stand-alone propane tanks to hand-held fire extinguishers, have found new life as musical instruments. Ray Banfe, retired demolition worker, cut, soldered, and painted up these tanks of various sizes to create bells. A softball glued to the end of a foot-and-a-half length of rebar became a striker.

Handing the striker to me, Ray instructs me to “hit it low and hard.” “Yes!” I said and did.

The Bells of Banfe

What a beautiful sound – deep and ringing. What pitch is that, I wondered. I went home and brought back my tuner. Turns out Mr. Banfe has a collection of bells that produce pitches spanning an octave and a tritone, aka a diminished 12th. Check out these short bell movies.

Big bell movie, 9 seconds. D-bell-iPhone movie, 5 seconds. combination bells movie, 11 seconds.

Ray says he’s not a musician. I politely disagree with him. We are all musicians. And we humans naturally find ways to make music whether intentioned or not. Ray Banfe aptly demonstrates that.

On a Sunday walk through the neighborhood, I say yes to a curious sign and discover the bells of Banfe! Not only are we all musicians, but music is everywhere!

Questions to Ponder

1. Where are the opportunities to say “yes” in your life?
2. How will you express your inherent musician self this week?
3. Where will you be surprised by music?

Thanks for reading. The next issue of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

1. Inspiration On A Nature Hike
2. What’s Your Musical Genealogy?
3. Taking Your Music On The Road

This issue of Musician’s Motivator connects these dissimilar items in five musical motivations.

• Unleash Your Creativity
• Claim Your Space
• Get Focused
• Party On, Dude!
• One More Thing

Unleash Your Creativity

Open the Creativity Valve and let it flow. Allow for your creative self to explore a new path today. Have you ever turned your music upside-down and played it? Don’t think too much about this one. Just try it. That’s what happened when I opened the Creativity Valve today! Hahaha.

Claim Your Space

Personalize your practice area with inspiration. You might hang up a Sonny Rollins poster, or a photo of yourself playing in a recent band or orchestra concert.

I’ve put up a few photos from my visit to Turkey last year. The ancient ruins and wide-open scenery please me and positively affect my mood for playing music.

Get Focused

Tune out the distractions. Close the door to your practice area and… Be. Here. Now.

Or go in the opposite direction, that is, open the door and go outside!

This approached worked for student, Brian. He has played in his backyard, on camping trips and, at the beach. Brian brings his sax along wherever he goes and immerses himself in Nature, letting the beauty of the outdoors bring focus to his playing session.

Party On, Dude!

Yeh. Host a party. Not just any party. In the tradition of Burning Man, make it a non-spectator party. Everyone participates. Suggest to your guests to bring an instrument, be prepared to dance or sing, bring a sketch pad and pens. Wow! This sounds like a great idea. I’m planning one for this weekend!

One More Thing

If you’ve ever heard a presentation by Steve Jobs, then you know he’s famous for saying, “One more thing…” and then unveiling the next big, dazzling device from Apple, Inc.

To find your next big dazzling step, you may want to ask your friends and family. Some outside perspective illuminates the dark crevices of your world that you can’t see from where you’re sitting.

Yesterday, my 10-year-old nephew told me about a whole lot of memorizing he did to earn the title “Great American”, for which he received a plaque that will soon be proudly hanging at his home.

In front of his class, he recited from memory all the states and their capitals in alphabetical order, all the US presidents by full name in chronological order, the Preamble to the US Constitution, The Gettysburg Address, the Pledge of Allegiance, and he sang The Star Spangled Banner.

Wow! Impressive. It got me wondering, is there some music I could memorize, or a list of musical items to memorize. Yes. I think so. That will be my ‘One More Thing’.

What’s yours?

Take-away

Today’s Motivator take-away:  Open the creativity valve and find your focus at your own personal Burning Man festival. Tell me all about it.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, June 23, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• Silly DaGilly
• How to Develop a Curious Practice
• Is There Music in the City Skyline?

Vacation Season Begins

Memorial Day is next Monday. In addition to being a US holiday that honors those fallen in war, it also signals the beginning of summer and the travel season.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day; school’s out and families vacation. As a musician, you might be thinking about things like, “Will I be able to take my cello with me when my family spends a week in Cannon Beach?” or “How will I keep my embouchure in shape when my spouse and I go camping at Yellowstone this summer?”

Good questions! I’m glad you are thinking along those lines. Today, I’ll talk about how to keep making music while traveling.

First: Why practice at all?

Some of you may be wondering: Why practice or play your instrument on vacation?

1. Stay in shape.
   Any wind instrumentalist knows that keeping your embouchure in shape helps you create great tone. When you skip a few days or a week of practice, you can feel it in a sore mouth when you return to your instrument. So staying in shape is #1. String players, whether violin or guitar, may feel the loss in finger strength and fingertip softening.
2. Keep the habit in place.
   When you have developed a habit, a healthy, positive habit like daily music practice, it’s one you want to keep. Continuous practice feeds on itself and makes you want to play and practice more. (As a matter of fact, if you are establishing a new habit, give it a chance to become a habit by doing it for 30 consecutive days. It works. It really does.)
3. Love of music.
   I lied when I said staying in shape is the number 1 reason to practice on vacation. Truly, the #1 reason is because I love to play! You probably feel that too or you wouldn’t have started on your musical journey.
   Think back to when you first asked mom or dad if you could learn the french horn – you were curious and excited.
   Or perhaps you were already an independent adult and you felt the call of the bassoon.
   Remember how great if felt when you first got to hold your guitar? Recall the excitement you felt when you first played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on your tenor sax. It’s important to keep these memories and feeling close to the surface this summer as you make your travel plans and keep music part of your vacation.

Now that we’ve got the why of it figured out, let’s turn to the How of it.

Are you traveling by car or plane?

When traveling by plane, it’s all about the carry-on. Small instruments like flute, piccolo, oboe and even clarinet can be carried on in a shoulder bag or a backpack or even packed snugly among your clothes in your carry-on suitcase.

Players of larger instruments have to get a little creative. When I can’t carry-on my alto or tenor sax, I make sure and pack my mouthpiece, ligature, reeds, and neckstrap.

Then, upon arrival at my destination, I make time to go to a music store and ask to try out some saxes. Sometimes I contact music stores before my trip and describe the situation and arrange to play on some good horns while I’m there. They usually have a practice room that I can use. Calling ahead has always resulted in being loaned better quality instruments to play, compared to when I just walk in off the street.

Brass players will want to bring their own mouthpiece. At the very least, you can buzz on your mouthpiece. While it does help keep your chops in shape, it’s not as much fun as playing on the whole horn!

Travel by Car

When you travel by car, your options expand a bit. If there is room for your guitar, sax, or tuba; bring it. Each night at the motel, entertain the other guests by playing out of a book of pop tunes or broadway showpieces. People generally love to hear live music.

Percussionists can easily pack a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad. Add a pair of brushes for the quieter venues. Pianists may be able to play on the piano in the hotel lobby. Get creative and keep music part of your summer travels.

Support of Your Peeps

All your planning would be for naught without the support of your travel companions. While I was growing up, I was fortunate to have the support of my parents. They encouraged me and my sister, Mary Beth, to bring our instruments (sax and flute respectively) to family reunions that occurred each summer.

Today, my spouse loves to hear me make music. When we visit her family throughout Oregon, live music is most always a part of our gatherings.

Today’s Motivator take-away: Get creative in finding ways to keep playing music on summer vacations. Tell me how you plan on keep the music real this summer. Use the comment link below.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• Dive Into The Unknown
• 5 Strategies for Effective Music Making
• Brain Benefits From Noteworthy Music Practice

Welcome To My World

So, how’d you like last ezine on how to practice when you don’t feel like it? How many of the “tricks” did you use?

I used all of them. Oh, but not all in one day, of course.

Which brings me to today’s topic: bringing silly into the mix.

Why get silly? Why not! It is a natural state for us carbon-based units. As babies, toddlers, and young children; we know how to do silly. It’s innate.

Being Thirteen. OMG!

Then comes adolescence and self-consciousness. Goodbye, silly!

And it usually stays gone, too. After you get through adolescence where you learn the hard lessons of conformity and fitting in and getting along. Well, ok, getting along is good stuff.

And so is silliness.

Calling All Silly-heads!

Silliness opens a door to the possibility of new ideas. Could be the next great idea like Slinky or The Internet.

Silliness is an old friend that you need to re-acquaint yourself with. You could start with a smile for everyone you see in a day. Include the animals! Smile at the birds, squirrels, and pigeons. You might start talking to them, too. A-ha! Silly is back.  

Let’s Get Serious About This Silliness

How is this relevant to our musicianhood? Gosh, that sounds like such a serious question.

What do you think? Sometimes, not providing an answer is the right thing to do. So, I leave it for you to find out for yourself. If you don’t find it right away, don’t let that stop you from hanging out with Silly.

A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!

C’mon now! It’s not like we have to solve a problem like Maria or anything. Begin exploring your silliness in small doses. And if you are totally at ease with Madamoiselle Bébéte, go all out!

I look forward to hearing about your frivolous, flippant, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, nutty, balmy, harebrained, and madcap folly! Your comments are welcome here.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, May 26, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• Don’t Play The Saxophone. Let It Play You!
• Who, me? Creative?  
• Interview With Oregon Symphony Bassoonist Evan Kuhlmann

I Negotiate

I start out by talking to myself.

“If you get your horn out, you can play anything you want. You don’t have to do longtones or scales. You can play (insert favorite song of the moment) instead.”

“Just play for eight minutes. Set the timer and play until the timer goes off. Then stop!”

“Listen to that new CD you just bought. That will be inspirational. Listen to it with your horn in your lap all put together and ready to play. Simply listen to the beautiful, awesome music.” (The inspiration works and with my horn all ready to play, I only have to put it to my lips to get going.)

Sometimes I Guilt-Trip

More self-talk. This time with the voices of the nuns in my head.

“You’ve got that gig on Thursday. You want to keep your chops in shape, not to mention play well and not embarrass yourself. So practice!”

Impose A Deadline

This one has some guilt flavoring to the self-talk, but mostly it’s remembering why you are playing in the first place.

“OK. You’ve got the concert on the 22nd and eight tunes to learn. There are 25 days until the concert and I can – I will practice that music for 30 minutes on 17 of those days.”

Then I lay out a schedule of what to practice and when. When I see the plan all written out with clear steps how I will accomplish my goals, I get excited to enact the goals (read: practice) and relieved that I don’t have to do it all at once. I know that by following my plan of piecemeal learning, I will be prepared come concert time.

Here’s an example of three of those practice sessions.

• Hindemith March. Letter I to the end. Fast repeated tonguing. practice with m.m. start half-note = 63 and work up to half-note = 80.
• Hindemith March. Listen to recording. mark letter I with time-stamp. Play Letter I to the end with recording.
• Hindemith March. Letter F. Triplet runs. (unison with clarinets) work out fingerings. Practice 2 beats at a time, gradually put together all eight measures. work up to tempo half-note = 80.

Sing, Hum, Whistle

When you don’t feel like practicing, another way to ease into actual practice is to come at it sideways. I may start whistling or humming as I do some other task, like housework.

Whistling and humming are hands-free activities and require no special equipment. They get me in the mood. Now that the studio and waiting room are vacuumed, I am raring to get practicing. Whistling while I work has stimulated my music muscle. Singing or simple hand-on-lap drumming could serve the same function, too.

I Get Moving

I take a walk. I am fortunate that I live close to one of the best city parks in Portland, Mt. Tabor. Within eight minutes of walking out my front door, I can be on the park grounds and on a trail to the top of this extinct volcano.

The exercise is good for me physically and, surprise! It is also good for me mentally and emotionally, too. I return from my outing feeling better – more alive, happier and ready to make music.

Well, how about that! I just wrote my ezine.

Thanks, Anita, for your creative response to my whining this morning. “What do I do if I don’t feel like writing my ezine?” You said, “Write about what you do when you don’t feel like practicing.”

Invitation

We all have those times when we don’t feel like doing something.

• What do you do in those moments?
• How do you inspire yourself?
• Where do you find your motivation?

Comment on this post at Grace Notes Music Studio blog.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• How To Develop A Curious Practice
• Dive Into The Unknown
• Head And Heart Of Music

Held in the intimate Tabor Space Commons in Southeast Portland, our audience enjoyed performances of Für Elise, Jump, Jive & Wail, Telemann Fantasies, and more.  

You can view the complete program and listen to audio recordings of the music at MegGrace.com.