Music moves...

  I have stated, more than once, that music saved my life and it continues to do so. I don't get to play or practice as much as I used to. Realistically, when I am not working on schoolwork, it should be the first thing I turn to for fun. But I look around my office and take careful inventory of my instruments. They are in as much disrepair as my psyche is. The flute has a sticky key, which I had been working to death. My tenor saxophone needs some new cork and adjustments, maybe some new pads. These things. These things are important to me. It's not just the ownership of so many instruments, it is the capability to care for them and play them.
  I have talked about playing out again. I know I can. But I keep making excuses. I could have been in the Concert or jazz band at Roanoke College. But I figure, next semester or next year, when I am not such a hot mess of a person.
  But, why not now???? Isn't that the mark of great players? All the b.s. that they go through has to come out in the way they play, right? Like I discussed with my counselor this past week about my grandmother's piano. My biological father smoked marijuana heavily and my grandmother was an alcoholic. The piano and music was my escape. No one taught me how to play. I just listened and played what sounded good and right to my ear. It would not be until middle school that I actually learned how to read bass and treble clefs.
  My tenor saxophone mouthpiece is old and has been giving me tons of issues. I have to adjust my reed every 5 minutes. It is old, the ligature really never fit it properly, and it severely worn. Well, my student dropped by earlier and left an extra mouthpiece and reeds she had hanging around. When she purchased her saxophone, she took my advice and upgraded the mouthpiece right away. She has given me as much in support as I have imparted knowledge. This is what music is all about.
  Now to work in those 15 minutes/day.

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