I wanted a place to log, record, troubleshoot, and brainstorm about my playing. There’s so much analysis and thought that goes into my practicing and performing, and this blog will help me organize and strategize how to work on certain things. This past weekend we did Heldenleben. I felt very prepared. I had practiced well and intentionally. I was consistent with my fundamentals, mindful in my etude practicing, and spent a lot of time working out the technical aspects of the difficulty of the 3rd horn part. (This is a VERY different part from the 7th horn part I had the pleasure of performing at LAMF. It’s massively harder.) I felt that I prepared well. It’s always hard to know how much is too much, and when to stop. I practiced probably 90-120 minutes a day, but no more, and I took it easy. Maybe I took it too easy. Because Heldenleben, especially the fucking 3rd horn part, does not take it easy. The first rehearsal went really well and I felt great. But ...