Weissenborn Wednesdays: The Introduction
As I have taken on the challenges of being a foster uncle, I have discovered that balance in life when you are responsible for a little human's life is much more difficult to find.
When I moved to Houston I threw myself into the life of being an uncle and working and I ended up taking almost 2 months off from practicing or even playing bassoon. I never intended to take that much time off. I thought that I would fall naturally into the role of musician/uncle/barista, but the transition wasn't as natural as I had hoped. I also think that I needed a little separation. I love music and have been more passionate and driven in my pursuit of having a music career than anything else in my life. The Navy music program was toxic for me. I spent my first full time music gig being beaten down and having my love not just of music but of life stripped from me. I never stopped loving music and as much as the chiefs I worked for used it to punish me, sitting under Dr. Mallory Thompson in the Northshore Concert Band was the air I came up to breath every week. I don't say any of this to make people feel sorry for me, but to say that I have spent the past two weeks getting my face back and discovering that in the time off while I learned how to do these other incredible things in life, I have also rediscovered the joy in my passion for music. It is no longer a tool for punishment or a life line to stay sane but something that completes me and gives me balance again.
As I continue my life in Houston I hope to build a teaching studio and perform with different ensembles throughout the area, but until then, I have nowhere to go that requires any accountability. I've seen friends doing the #100daysofpractice on instagram, but with an 11 month old in tow, I know myself well enough to say that daily recordings and uploads aren't going to happen. So over the next year I am committing myself to practicing, recording and publishing one Weissenborn etude a week, every Wednesday barring any personal or natural disasters. While I reserve the right to make multiple recordings and upload the best one, they will be single takes. I can say with near certainty that while I will aim for perfection, there will be mistakes, notes will be out of tune and accidents will happen. As a person who doesn't like to be wrong, this will be as much a character building exercise as accountability exercise. So perfection may not happen, but I will do my best to play with intent. With each upload, I won't be including performance guides, but I will include some text to let you know what I was thinking as I practiced and what my intent was. That being said, I should get back to the practice room and I will see everyone for Weissenborn #1 next Wednesday! (You may also hear my duet partner [foster niece] in the recordings; so for the purists, I apologize ahead of time.)