Day 1 - Classical

Today, I spent some time choosing some pieces to work on in the coming weeks and months. Some of them are pieces that I once learned while taking lessons here in Austin, and the rest will be brand new to me. I also looked through some technique books to choose exercises and such that I will work on in the time to come.

The most work today was done on a piece by Mark Cruz entitled "Hermanina." It's a slowish piece from a collection entitled "Pequeñas Piezas para Mi Padre" that I purchased yesterday at the Festival. It's going to take a while to get it under my fingers, but that's the general idea of my new project. I played through most of it, hacking my way through a more difficult middle section in E flat, and making a mess of a section in the coda that will require a good deal of work. I like the piece, though. I have the first 10 measures or so well under control, so that's a good start.

Tomorrow, I'll start the more didactic part of the project, beginning my practice day with work in the Pumping Nylon book by Scott Tennant. This is a great book, and it contains enough stuff to work on to occupy me for months and months to come. I will also start work on some pieces that I learned long ago, in order to help me get my technique back and beyond my current limitations.

It was a good day of practice. I worked nearly 2 hours on all things, which won't be the norm. So far, so good.