Adult students often tell me how they got off track and need to restart... They might say this with sadness, a guilty face, frustration, or with a voice that says: 'I have no idea how this could happen again!'
The restart is something we do over and over and over and over... perhaps there a precious few who are habit centered and able to hold onto their own schedule all the time... but most of us have reasons to restart all the time. It might be a restart within 24 hours or less, or after unexpected or planned disruptions.
This week my disruption was the booster shot. I planned for it and got some cello in early before we left for the appointment, but I wasn't ready for feeling as crappy as I did. Now two days later I feel like I need to recover rather than just jump back in now that my arm is no longer painful to move. The restart... I'm not 100% but I don't want to miss a second day completely... more significantly my mind feels like I took a week off.
I think the thing that is always funny to me with adult students and the restart, is that they seem so baffled by it and not sure how to do it. Its quite simple: Just do it! START! Do anything that gets you back to the instrument.
Other things that help are restating your reason for playing, your goals, your intentions short term and long term. Then start work intentionally not just flailing around. WORK even for a few minutes on something not just wandering around with the instrument in hand. Perhaps the days of playing around not engaged are more detrimental than the vacation, or disruption itself.
So! For me: My big goal is to prepare for this DMA Audition. My goals for this week are to memorize as much of p.2 as I can, Perform my Bach suite for someone, do careful work on problem sections, Listen a lot, and Review like crazy. Review Like Crazy is my low key way of reminding myself that I have a lot of material in various states between first layer and polished that all need work and much repetition... Review sounds less threatening than 'perfecting' ,'time', 'work' etc.... My goal for today is: meaningful minutes. Focus on actual work. If I need to stop and rest its okay. If I only do a short amount its okay, but make it count. Restart and get something done! I'd like to come back to memorizing the bowing in p.3 for my review and problem sections in mvnt.3, I'd like to memorize at least 2 measures on p.2 and hopefully the entire last section. I will ask someone to listen to my Bach. I am listening to Bach while I type, and I will listen to all of Finzi.
Here is last week's practice summary:
Monday 1.43 plus concert for Pete's Birthday! play through of all of Bach suite
Tuesday 1 hour
Wednesday 1 1/2 hrs
Thursday 1.22 plus play through for Nan
Friday 30 min plus played several movements of Bach for Margaret
Saturday 7am practice before teaching Wedding, performed Allemande during the prelude
Sunday 1 1/2? I had a hard time feeling distracted by other unfinished projects so I did 4 minutes cello, 4 minutes other things (dishes et) and then eased into longer cello time... worked on memorizing a measure at a time which worked well with a short time limit like 4 min.
Monday 7am practice before booster
Tuesday felt like crap. (and also MY Birthday!)
Today!
OH !!! AND!!! I HAVE AN AUDITION NOW! MARCH 5!!!! HERE WE GO! ITS FOR REAL NOW.
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