I'm at week 21 of being pregnant, and I'm exhausted again. Maybe I'm working too hard, I'm not sure, but sometimes coming home and putting in a load of laundry is all I can manage. The thought of wrestling with Bach for 45 minutes to an hour is seriously beyond my abilities.
What do I do about this? I don't want my cello playing to get seriously behind, but at the same time I need to not push myself. And need to not feel guilty for not pushing myself.
The other night I played some scales and worked on some of the Bach I was playing before I started the Vivaldi and it was nice. Half an hour, working on some tricky fingerings and getting a couple passages closer to where they were before in feeling and tone. Then I put the instrument down.
I suppose I'm going to have to be okay with that, I'm surely not going to have time for much more than that when the little one comes along.
Steve Vickery
10 April 2009 at 5:18 pm
hello Congratulations on your new baby project. I enjoy your blog (I am an adult beginner on clarinet after thirty years of guitar). I am also a guitar teacher and i wanted to respond to your feelings about practice on cello. Don’t worry at all if you don’t practice exercises and new material on your instrument. If possible just pick it up and play for ten to fifteen minutes for pleasure. No self-criticism is necessary. Enjoy your mother time. Our music making is a lifetime pursuit and we don’t need to rush through our lives. One moment at a time. Breath deep and enjoy .
Erin
12 April 2009 at 11:00 pm
Thanks Steve… you are right, now is not the time to get down on myself, but just play. It’s easy to forget this is enjoyable as well as something to learn!
Elaine Fine
14 April 2009 at 5:37 pm
It is pretty astounding how much creative energy goes into growing a baby. Don’t beat yourself up about being too exhausted to practice: there’s time for that when your body is not working so hard. Also, don’t worry about going backwards. The cello writing in your musical brain is not going to come undone.
Elaine
Emily
19 April 2009 at 4:18 am
I am so out of the loop! Congrats on your little one, sweetie! I have taught one woman for almost 10 years, through 4 kids. You can do this. *hug*
e.