A small accomplishment

This weekend marked a first for me: I finished playing through one of my drill books. That's right, I've conquered the mountain of Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises. Now, let me provide this disclaimer: that means I played through all the exercises in the entire book at least once. It doesn't mean I can do everything the exercises are designed to teach you to do, and it doesn't mean my playing has gotten better, necessarily (although I think it has). What it means is that I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more drill books until I had at least gotten through one that I owned. Truthfully, when the end came in sight about two weeks ago, I went ahead and bought some more books, but fact of the matter is, I reached my goal. Now, when I practice, I go back and work on various parts of the book, in order except for the scales, which I do one of every session.

I said "small accomplishment", but actually, that's a pretty big deal for me.

I start back to school tonight. Jazz improvisation on Mondays, and jazz ensemble on Wednesday or Thursday (or maybe not at all). The thing most likely to improve this semester, especially if I take Wednesday night jazz ensemble: my figure. I'll have to go with only hard boiled eggs, granola bars, and water for dinner on Monday and Wednesdays. Since I'll have to practice what I learned when I get home, and I won't get home until 8:00 or so, I won't be able to drink alcohol or eat a full dinner. I think I'm good for somewhere between five and ten pounds of weight loss, just to make music.

If I stick to that plan, that will be a much bigger accomplishment.