Taking on too much...

I thought I ought to write something as it has been a while

I went on holiday for a week, which was lovely, but meant a break in practising.  Since then it has been a struggle getting back into it, mainly because work and life has been so busy.  I have still been practising most days but it has often felt like a tick on the list of things to do.

I've also, possibly foolishly, have entered  myself for ABRSM Grade 8 Piano this session.  I haven't talked about piano here as it is something that usually bubbles along in the background.  I play when I feel like it and I play at church occassionally.  I don't have lessons but I work on things at my own pace, I don't feel guilty about not touching it for weeks at a time but will have times when I find I play a lot.   Last year I decided I wanted to retake Grade 8 to see if I could pass it properly - to see if I could improve on my "scrape through by one mark due to being good at sight reading" effort when I was 15. My piano teacher at the time said that I shouldn't really have passed which has always rather a sore point.  So, when I realised that I could actually play 3 pieces on the list, I thought I should maybe just get it out of the way.  So far so good.

The problem is  that now I feel I have to practise properly and regularly - which takes time and energy.  While I enjoy the actual playing, I find that after practising one instrument the thought of having to start all over again with another instrument makes my heart sink.  It is all just a bit too much.

However I know that it is a temporary problem and the end is in sight - the exam will be possibly as soon as 1 month away and then I can go back to focussing on my oboe exlusively.   I will also have finally learnt the lesson that working full time and trying to learn 2 instruments at this level really is not possible for me.  I need to make my choice and stick with it.

First practice of the year

Good 45 minute practice today following nearly 2 weeks holiday.  My stamina and tone was better than expected and a number of things seem to have fallen into  place during the break.

I spent quite a bit of time on Luft Study no 6 - the hardest thing about these studies is stamina, and finding somewhere to breathe, and making it sound like music instead of an endurance test.  But it the notes feel a bit more secure now, and my brain seems to have sorted out the tricky section going up in thirds while I've been away.  Need a bit more work on making the final 2 notes sound a bit nicer, and less flat.

Rest of practice was playing through pieces for lesson on Wednesday and also had play through some sections of the oboe 3 part for Mahler Symphony no 3.  Again my brain seems to have sorted out some of the fiddly bits and I could manage to get through the section in 6 flats without tying my brain in knots.

I also did some vibrato practice.  This needs to be my main goal for this term.  I would really like to develop a vibrato which feels more natural and is more integrated into my tone.  It has definitely improved over the last couple of months - just need to keep going