Buon giorno
Well school has ended and this is a great thing...mainly cus I hate school...but also because a load has been off my shoulders and now I can practice trombone and train for throwing without the useless stress of homework on my mind. Don't get me wrong...music is my major...but classes are not...I love music...but I hate class. For me, school is essentially practicing, rehearsing, and taking lessons with my trombone teacher...training in music...to become a better player. And I consider myself to be a double-major as I am also very focused on training for my throwing.
Conference-USA meet was this past weekend and I won it. yay. I ended up throwing 183 feet just about and though it is under my personal record, I am very happy with the result. There are many factors that determine the potential of distance on throws on a certain day and the day of conference the conditions did not turn out to be optimal for record-breaking performances. However, it is all about who throws the furthest compared to others on the day of competition and I came out on top. I'm very pleased to have competed well...usually Im caught up in myself at meets trying to better my personal record and I often forget that there are others that I have to compete with...and I am glad i was able to compete well. Next up there is regionals in Des Moines, Iowa and if I do well then I will qualify for the NCAA national championships. My goal for regionals is to be in shape to throw 60 meters which is about 197'. I am confident that I can do this. Training for regionals thus far has been pretty good and right now my throws sessions are focused on quality rather than quantity as this time of year you really don't want to throw yourself out. Training in terms of out of the ring includes sprinting, jogging, ab work, power cleans, overhead snatches, squats, flys, and delt work....that's all. At this point of the yr it is important to focus on event-specific muscles and concerns to body balancing are addressed later when the off-season arrives. I'm looking forward to training for regionals for a chance to throw at NCAA nationals...I'm pretty optimistic about my chances but you never know what to expect...all you can do is train the best you can and give it your best...that is all you can ask of yourself in situations such as qualifying for big meets and championships. Same with music...you have to practice hard and when the time comes to perform it should be a celebration of your hard work...no matter the outcome, there is no wasted time or energy because the journey you take to become better is what is most important.
Music has been going well. Again, without school I now have energy to devote to only two things...throwing and music...it feels great. So as you can imagine, my practice sessions are a lot more focused and productive. I've come to the realization that I need to quit imitating sounds and produce more sounds that are unique to myself...it is art afterall. People always compliment my sound however I think there is more... My sound has evolved from what I have heard and I think now its time to add an element of personalization and unique quality to my sound and character of playing. Everyone has something extraordinarily special to offer in music however it is often neglected because people practice with an intention to conform to what is "good"playing and stopping their satisfactions there...I have a lot to offer this world...time to cultivate my sound...
The summer for me will be spent doing what I essentially want to do with my time...which is splitting my day between throws training and practicing my trombone. That is the life, ahhhhh! No friggin nagging theory HW to deprive me of sleep ...sleep needed in order to have good practice sessions and training. I will teach a good amount of lessons this summer to my high school kids and also open my network to take on more students for next school year. I'm also lookign forward to rehearsing with my brass quintet and playing music with colleagues now that we arent all tied up with HW and rehearsals for lame music. I imagine I'll take a one-week break from the trombone sometime in the middle of the summer as I plan to play a recital sometime in early July. This recital keeps on being pushed back but you know what...I have that luxury!!!
So there it is...another update.
Ciao
