When do you practice?
Are you a morning practicer? Do you get up at dawn and start off your day with some scales? Or do you find yourself fiddling away at midnight?
I’ve never been a morning person, and therefore I’ve never really been at my best when it comes to playing the viola in the morning, either. I remember running across campus my freshman year in college, late to an 11am audition (I’d overslept, of course). End result: not so good playing, and no scholarship for me that year. And there was the year I had my lessons in the morning every week. I’m surprised I learned anything, given how out-of-it I must have been.
Now that I’m in the working world, things haven’t really changed much. I get in to work at what many would think is a very late hour (thank goodness the software business is flexible when it comes to hours), and there’s no way I could get up earlier than that to practice. So I end up fitting in my practicing in the evenings. But it’s always a challenge. Practice time competes with dinner, laundry, spending time with the new boyfriend, and watching TV (I’m sorry, but there are some shows I just have to watch!) Plus, I don’t want to annoy my upstairs neighbor by playing too late in the evenings.
I knew a clarinetist once who told me he would sometimes practice in a conference room at work during lunch. Not a bad idea, depending on your workplace. I think it’d have to be a pretty sound-proof conference room for me to feel comfortable doing that.
Lately I haven’t been doing such a good job with the practicing every day. But I’ve been doing better with that than with going to the gym! Don’t even ask how long since I’ve been swimming!
