Proceed with caution.
Back from a fantastic vacation and happy that I didn’t fall too behind in my practicing. Mind you, I didn’t process much, but at least I didn’t digress. Feeling refreshed and excited to be back home where I could practice in a controlled environment, I accidentally put in a 3-hour practice session last night. I could have gone to sleep at 11pm, but instead, I went to bed at 2am. I say “accidentally” for 2 reasons. Firstly, when I get into a groove (especially when I’m drilling) time seems to melt away, so, I didn’t realize that much time had passed. I was aware it was late, but ignored it based on how I was feeling. It was awesome! The second reason I say “accidentally” is because I’m feeling a bit of a pinch in my right wrist. This is the hand that goes through the most strain when I do speed drills. I do these drills to develop the muscles in my right hand specifically, so I can play the Albeniz piece up to speed. I’m currently about half way there…
Regardless though, I’ve gotta be careful. This was definitely not something I planned for. I don’t know whether it was because I practiced for too long without a break or if it could be my technique. I also didn’t even consider the need to stretch before playing. I should know better. It’s not dissimilar to lifting weights or playing tennis. If I’m going to put my body through any kind of strain, I have to be smart about not overdoing it. I can even feel it as I type out this blog. Damn. I can’t afford to lose any time because of injury.
Anyways, rookie mistake. Hopefully I can recover quickly and practice through it with caution. I’ll probably do some research and Dr. Google myself just to make sure I cover all my bases. I have to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m in this for the long haul so I should practice that way, with that mentality.
In the end, it was all worth it. I really sunk my teeth into one of my Takemitsu pieces Yesterday by the Beatles. Tōru Takemitsu (1930 – 1996) was a Japanese composer who ironically was largely self-taught. He was famed for combining oriental and western elements to create a truly signature sound. He composed a series of pieces for the classical guitar and my plan is to hopefully have 2 of them in the program. Here’s a sneak peak!
