Simply put, a musician is one who makes music. For some people, that 's just as a hobby. For others, it's a career. For those of us who make our living through music, it tends to also be part of our identity. So what happens when a musician cannot make music?
For me, 2018 was a bad year. My father passed away in January. The first few months of the year were spent trying to adjust to a new normal and figure out how to deal with the loss of a parent. This made practicing music more challenging since practice sessions tended to end in tears and the place where previously everything made sense was no longer a place of comfort. Grief made making music hard, and on some level, I had to accept that. I could still teach and focused my efforts on that.
By May, I was struggling with physical pain and severe exhaustion, making it all but impossible to make it through a practice session. The pain, the tiredness, and the frustration of not being able to focus pretty much took playing out of my life for the next six months until I finally got a diagnosis and surgery to help in November. The rest of the year was spent recovering from surgery. I taught as much as I could, but missed making music of my own.
So now, we come to 2019. I feel out of practice and wonder how to get back into a good practice routine. Physically, I should be able to do it, but also know that I should start out slow, not expecting to be able to manage hours of practice at a time. I've chosen what piece I want to focus on. I am trying to come up with a schedule and plan. I intend to use this blog to share with you how this musician is bringing music back into her life.
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