This week has been the coldest of the season here in southern Ontario. Although I'm fine going for walks when the temperature is hovering around freezing, when it dips to -19C like it did yesterday (around -2F), I don't want to go anywhere. In the last few days I've been asking my students if they were excited to be returning to in-person classes after nearly two weeks of online learning, and the answers ranged between those who are excited and those dreading it. One student answered "Yeah, they're forcing us to to back." Many of my students seemed a little skittish and unfocused this week, and I think that the return to a normal learning routine might help them to get back on track. So we hope.
For the next two weeks I'll be examining online for The Royal Conservatory. Before the pandemic, I always looked forward to a few weeks of winter travel, preferably to warmer places such as Vancouver, but I still have many fond memories of Winnipeg or Edmonton in frigid temperatures. Since last year my January examining weeks have all been online, and I still welcome both the intensity of the examining sessions and what it brings to my teaching afterwards.
Part of the challenge of returning to blogging is having a compelling reason to choose this form of writing over others. Some of my recent thoughts in this direction can be found in Why Blogging Still Matters. The ease with which old blog posts can be unearthed on search engines is a big plus, and it's important to write for the future rather than just the present moment.
Inspiring people to practice should be at the top of my job description. My latest collection of Friday Practice Links goes in several different directions, including developing moments of release in the hand, using Omnifocus to maximize practice priorities, and how changing up routines is essential to boost our musical growth.
Some links to keep you amused:
- What a World - counterintuitive stories from history by Morgan Housel.
- Threatening Music Notation - hilariously challenging, error-laden, or inappropriate music notation.
- composers doing normal shit - pics of famous composers coming home, being frustrated in a master class, getting vaccinated, doing stuff in the yard, and looking generally miserable. Just like the rest of us.
- Wordle - in case you haven't tried it yet.
-----
Wendy Hatala Foley's "Green Grove" (acrylic on canvas 40x30) is worthy of a happy future home in your living space. You can purchase this and many more paintings on our website.