Music

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100 Days of Practice Challenge 2019 - Day 30 Check-in

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100 Days of Practice Challenge 2019 - Day 30 Check-in

According to my practice trackers, I completed Day 30 of my 100 Days of Practice Challenge on Wednesday. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I decided to do a 100 Day Music Practice Challenge as well as a 100 Days of Budo Practice Challenge simultaneously. It has been an interesting journey so far.

100 Day Music Practice Challenge (Round 2) So Far

Very early on, I hit a couple of snags in my music practice challenge that affected working on my featured trio of pieces: Danza del gaucho matrero (Ginastera), Papillons (Schumann), and Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Iz’s version).

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Our 60 Day Practice Challenge - in the Students' Words

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Our 60 Day Practice Challenge - in the Students' Words

Last time, I shared my takeaways from my first 100 Days of Practice Challenge. My students who have completed the 60 Days of Practice Challenge have submitted their surveys. Here’s what they have to share on practising for 60 days in a row:

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Reflecting on My First 100 Days of Practice Challenge

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Reflecting on My First 100 Days of Practice Challenge

Last Thursday, I completed my first 100 Days of Practice Challenge. As I went straight into it after my 30 day challenge, I had practised for 130 consecutive days.

Was it hard? Yes and no. There were definitely days in which it was 11:30 at night and I hadn’t gotten to any practising because of other commitments. There were days when I could only do a short practice. But once I made the commitment to my students and online, I felt honour-bound to see it through.

Did I make any life-changing discoveries? Nope. If you do something regularly, you’re going to see some improvement. There are countless studies on that.

If anything, this challenge was an opportunity for me to get back in touch with the way I used to practice at university and whilst preparing for my ARCT in Piano Performance. Here are a few things that stood out as I look back on this challenge…

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Our 30 Days of Practice Challenge

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Our 30 Days of Practice Challenge

As I mentioned in my post about this year’s Maestro’s 2018/19 Studio Challenges, my students and I are are doing a new practice challenge this year. Last month, we started a 30 Days of Practice Challenge. The practice challenge was inspired by concert violinist Hilary Hahn and her 100 Days of Practice Challenge on Instagram

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Work and Budo Modifications with a Back Injury

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Work and Budo Modifications with a Back Injury

As some of you know, I injured my back a couple of weeks ago. No, I wasn’t doing anything really cool like one of our awesome Iaido or Jodo kata, or going really wild on the cajón. I was simply sitting poorly at my desk and twisted funny when I got up to grab something from the printer. That’s when I felt a terrible twinge in my lower back. Next thing I knew, my body completely closed in and I could barely walk.