SKIP ONE DAY, AND ONLY YOU KNOW

The grand-father of flute playing gave me some advice about consistency in practicing that went something like this...

"Skip one day, and you'll know. Skip two days and your spouse will know. Skip three days and everyone will know."

I have to say, I think it's true. Continuing to do the daily exercises, never skipping your long tones, and working on etudes every day...these are the things that make you infallible as a musician. If you have consistency in your practicing, rest assured you'll be consistent in your performing.

And so yesterday when I was out on a 35 mile bike ride, I once again thought about how similar practicing and training are. Long tones are equivalent to stretching, etudes on the flute are your basic runs, and performing is racing.

I was riding and I thought about how I'm just not comfortable on a bike, and how I just always feel like I'm teetering off the edge of something...both balance-wise and muscularly. And I realized that just as I'm out of shape on the flute right now (I started practicing again 2 days ago after a hiatus extending to pre-Wildflower exam times), I'm quite obviously out of shape on the bike.

As Mr. Baker said, I need to be prove I can be consistent and diligent with the flute. I know I can do that; I now have to prove to myself that I can transfer those qualities to the bike. I have it in me. I need to stop with the excuses about not liking to pump up my tires and being scared of cars, and I need to get out there.

So, I'm going home for the month of June...and I'm bringing my bike. I don't have a teacher to whom I need to prove myself, so I have to do it for me. I have to prove to myself that I have what it takes to not only get on the bike, but to stay on it.

Consistency. Continuity. These are the enduring qualities, whether it be in terms of triathlon, music, or simply life.