Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.

Well, practicing has been going well for the most part and I'm really glad I've started again. I think it's a stress reliever as well as just makes me feel good inside. This week I've memorized all major scales and I think next week I'll continue to review and try to learn minor scales. The fact that all of these have to be two octaves pretty much makes me want to die. But I'm sure I'll make it through. I've never even attempted to memorize minor scales so I'm not sure how long this will take.... hopefully not more than two weeks or so. Music theory has done me well and I'm pretty sure I have most of my minor scale key signatures memorized so if not it will be a great learning experience :)! Other than that I've been practicing out of a really cool etude book and practicing two solos. One is the one I played at Berklee and the other is also by Strauss but I can't remember the name of it right now. The new solo is kicking my butt though. I always hate that feeling that you're playing it wrong because you're not exactly sure how ti's supposed to go. I'll have to listen to it and then practice my booty off. I'm (hopefully) planning on being able to play it through, and mostly accurate, by the end of summer that way when lessons come around all we have to do is tweak it and I can play it at Recitals and that junkers. I think that will be good practice for auditions! Other than that not much has gone on in life. I'm still with my wonderful boyfriend and still work at the same place. I was on a "healthy eating/exercise" plan but that got ruined when I didn't have money to go shopping and all that's left is junk food :/ Oh well though. I'm hoping that next week will be better! I actually can't wait for school to start. While I know I will be much more stressed out and have a million things to do, I kind of like it that way. I don't like being able to sit around my house all day doing nothing... I feel kind of worthless, you know? I'd rather know I have something to do and get it done to feel like I've accomplished something during the day! I can't wait till fall though, it will be a whole new semester with the same old people... but maybe somethings will change, You never know. Well I'm going to surf the web for a bit. Until next time, live with no regrets.

Without music life would be a mistake.

Well, I have good news! I've actually practiced since the last time I blogged. Oh, and not to mention I've even practiced twice. I came to the conclusion that I am a total slacker and I need to practice everyday to get back to where I was. Because let me be the one to tell you, it pretty much sucks when you've only practiced for ten minutes and your lips hurt so bad they won't work and feel like they are about to fall off. But I practiced for a half an hour this morning and it felt good :) Expressing yourself though music is something like no other. Especially on french horn where it is powerful and beautiful at the same time. I absolutely love it. I think I'm going to make it my goal to by the end of summer learn all my scales two octaves. At the very least learn the major scales and learn minor in the fall. But I don't want to much of a workload on me when I'm trying to learn solos also. I'm going to try and find a solo that's more of a technical piece because Op. 8 is more of a lyrical thing, at least i think. I'll have to get my instructors opinion on that one but that's my own opinion. Plus for Boston University I have to play and Etude, so I have to find a good one of those too! I will have my work cut out for me in the fall and I have a feeling that it will involve at least an hour of practice a day.. including weekends. So that means bye bye some Sean time.. but it will all be worth it in the end when we can move somewhere awesome together! I'm thinking at least a scale a day... maybe even more and I'll be set for life yo! To all you young musicians out there... learn your scales! Believe me, they come in handy when you get to college! Well my fellow musicians and what not, until next time live with no regrets.

Without music life would be a mistake.

Of course, I still haven't practiced or gotten a stand. It's hard to get the tools you need when you're broke. Gosh, sometimes I wish life could just throw me a bone for once! But anyway, I think by July I should, hopefully, have everything I need and be able to get back on track. Believe me, all this practicing is not doing me any good. I really need to practice for auditions in the winter instead of being lazy. I'm thinking I might just start sitting down and playing scales and little exercises I've memorised over the years. That way I don't need a stand or anything like that. Eh, first I have to get off my booty and do it! I need motivation... you'd think that knowing auditions are rapidly approaching would be motivation enough but for some reason I still feel like I don't have enough time. We shall see though. I'm trying to get more hours at work so I'll cut some other things out like tv and food haha but I'm willing to make sacrifices. Well I'm about to head off to my mommas house so we can go to zumha. Gotta get my workout on! :) Until next time, live with no regrets!

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.

While I still haven't gotten around to practicing horn I have made some changes is life, starting today. I know I've said a million times I want to be healthier but today I've taken the big leap! I have watched what I put in my mouth and I even went to the gym. I must say, I not only feel much better about myself but I feel better in general and happier. I think it's just a mental thing... or it could be all those vitamins I took. Can vitamins mess with your brain?? Oh, and how about every time you burp it's all you taste! It doesn't go away either and I find it annoying.  But hey, I'm really going to stick to it this time. They say if you stick with something for a month it becomes habit so I'm going for the gold. My next goal is to make time to practice horn. Okay, I'll face it... I have plenty of time to play. I just don't take the time to play. I make excuses but I believe as soon as I get my next paycheck there is gonna be some major horn practicing around here. I probably suck majorly right now because it's been over a month since I played but I'm going to get it back and I'm going to try to build up my chops again before lessons start in August. While eating right and exercising makes me feel good, I know playing horn everyday will make me a much happier person. Well, mostly. Sometimes it can be stressful to practice, practice, and practice and still not be able to get a rhythm or note but hey it all comes with the territory. You know, I really wanna play saxophone. Don't get me wrong, I love horn but if I can master horn AND saxophone I can get like twice the money. I can play horn for like classical things and stuff and I can get gigs playing sax for jazz bands and weddings and stuff. It's a really beautiful instrument (even though horn is better). It would take up a lot of time though. Think, I'd have to practice horn for at least an hour a day and then practice sax on top of that so that's  two hours right their. I might have to change my bed time! haha well I'm going to go find some cool solos and junk. Until next time, live with not regrets :)

Music stimulates within us direct experience of expanded reality.

Do you ever just feel like a loser? Ever just wish something about your life was different? Boy, oh boy do I right now. I'm sitting around my aprtment eating and getting fat... wishing I had friends to hang out with. Since I got out of school for the summer I went to Nashville with my family and went to Pennsylvania with my family. Other than that I've took my dogs to the dog park and sat around trying to find something... anything to do. Maybe I just feel this way because I'm used  to being a busy bee....but I just feel so worthless. I feel fat and lazy and worthless... I don't have anything to do to fill my time and every time I try to find someone to keep my company.... it never happens. Anyway, enough of my sob story... nothing really has gone on these past few days... I still haven't practiced. Even though I've obviously had a lot of time on my hands it's hard to do when you don't have a stand to hold your music. I've even resorted to stapleing my music to the wall.. haha. But as I've said before I have been filling out applications to colleges, even though they aren't due for a while I figured why not get a jump start on essays and stuff like that. So I've pretty much finished all the info stuff on all of them, just essays are left. Some are harder than others but none of them seem impossible like Berklee did. I think a formal audition will do me good though, and I'm glad I'm going to get another shot at a school in Boston. Well.. that's all I really have to say for now. So until next time, live wtih no regrets.