"What about YOU?"

 Last time, I wrote about summer piano practice. Actually, I didn't really write about it, but linked back to an earlier post where I had written about it. 

   But the real question simmering in your minds isn't whether your child should be practicing or not, is it? The real question you all want to know is, am I taking my own advice?

   Yes! 

   Sort of.

   I mean, I do have a part time job, and on days I have to go to work, it's harder to get in practice. (Although there are very few days where I don't sit down and play something at the piano.) On the flip side, though, I decided not just to let summer break slip by like a creek flowing, flowing, flowing, until it's gone. No, I set myself some goals here. I thought of all the musical areas I could use improvement on. I wrote them down. Then I aimed to work on those areas every day.

   Then I actually sat down. And realized that, as usual, I had grossly overestimated how much I could do in an hour, and that I was better off trying to tackle one or two of these items each day. 

   So, what's on my goals list to work on over the summer? Believe it or not, I actually do not have a song on my practice list. Instead, I'm deliberately working on the parts of practice that are either boring or harder, but so necessary. I'll run over them briefly here, then in the future (when I'm not sending you to read posts I published years ago) I'll expound on each one. (Links are affiliate.)

• One section of Hanon. Hanon may well be the only person who went down in music history for compiling a collection of technical exercises. 
• One scale set, chord set, or arpeggio set, from different keys. Did you know there's more than one type of major scale? 
• Sight reading. *screams* Of all my musical weaknesses, I think this is my worst. I've spent all week trying to "sight-read" Chopin's Nocturne in E flat Major.
• Tone exercises, which is more about practicing listening than practicing playing.
• Hymn improv (which is really turning a piece of choral music into a lead sheet on the spot) or playing by ear. Since I sometimes play piano for church, it's important to keep my hymnal skills sharp and ready.