Looking Back

During the month of October I tried to challenge myself by making a few key changes, namely moving to a strictly vegan diet.
I started the month strong, with lots of fresh produce, homemade shakes and smoothies. It was very exciting, and I learned a few new kitchen tricks. As the month wore on, I lost some of that enthusiasm and relied on premade meals. I stuck to it though, and made it through the month eating only vegan foods.
I still want to change some other habits, and I'll be working to make adjustments to my fitness habits and practice routines.
The month of October brought many changes, namely a significant change in my employment situation. I'm now working entirely in music, which is very exciting. I'm still adjusting to the new job, but it's been fun to be working with a group of great kids.
As we move forward to the end of the year, I'll be trying to get back to a higher level of focus and drive in my professional life.

New Job

I haven't talked about it much here, but I've been working part-time at a restaurant since we moved down to Florida. It's worked out pretty well, because it allowed me to make a liveable wage and still gave me flexibility to pursue gigs and other opportunities as they became available to me. Over the past few weeks though, my schedule kept getting cut back further and further, so I had to start looking for a new job. After looking for about a week and finding that there were no music jobs that didn't require me to have a childcare license I was starting to give up on finding a music job. Then I found a listing for a keyboard instructor. I called on a Tuesday, had my interview on Wednesday, and started training on Thursday!
My first official day was Saturday, and I am loving this job. It's an after school program, and they only offer piano/keyboard, guitar, and drum lessons. I only teach private lessons, and while most of my students are under 10, I have a couple who are 15-18. So far they're all good kids and we're having a great time! My coworkers are all very friendly and helpful, and I don't have to deal with any of the scheduling, they have a two people on staff who handle all of that for the teachers.
All students use the same book system for their basics - the Alfred Basic Piano Library. There are around eight levels I think, and each one has a theory book, technic book, lesson book, and recital book. I'm really glad that these kids are getting exposed to good basics, especially in the realm of theory. Maybe my perception is a little screwy because I didn't start taking lessons until my senior year of high school and no music theory until college for me. If a student starts getting bored with their books, we can bring in outside music like their favorite song from the radio to keep them engaged and learning.
I've never taught piano before, and I haven't taught students this young before. It's very humbling to think that for some of these kids I am at the beginning of their exposure to music as an engaging activity. While it's easy to get lost in their antsy-ness and all the stickers we hand out, it's quite a responsibility to think that what I do and say might have a major influence on whether a child might continue on with music for a lifetime.
Over the last few days I've been cleaning/reorganizing my little room. Hopefully today I'll remember to post some pictures, be sure to check my twitter to see them: @balancedflutist
I'm so incredibly thankful for this job, and I can certainly say that having this job relieves so much stress. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

One Week Vegan

I'm so glad to say that I survived this first week of eating entirely vegan! 

*One thing that I do want to clarify from my last post is that I absolutely do not regret watching documentaries on veganism. I'm so very glad that I did. It's really helped to give me the push to change my diet in a way that I've been wanting to for a long time, and that's something that I'm very grateful for!*

There were a couple factors that played into my ability to follow through with this goal. First of all, I watched a lot of relevant YouTube videos. I watched mostly presentations or discussions about why the vegan diet is more effective and healthier, plus some videos by vegan YouTubers about what they eat, some of their favorite recipes, and tips on how to successfully transition. The biggest tip that I saw was that if you switch to lots of whole fruits and veggies, then yes you will consume a much higher volume of food. Knowing that helped me to know that it's okay to load up on food at meals, and getting hungry between meals doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing it incorrectly.
Another helpful thing, which was sort of incidental, was that I found good, filling breakfast ideas that weren't fruit smoothies. It's a veggie smoothie! I've had fruit smoothies, and I like them, but I just wasn't able to get nearly as much variation as I wanted, plus they turn brown and start tasting funny very quickly, so making them in advance wasn't really an option. The veggie smoothie recipe that I tried was this:

1 medium carrot
2 celery stalks
one big handful of spinach
1 pear (or apple)
coconut milk (or other vegan milk)

It's very tasty! The pear/apple adds a little sweetness without going overboard. I've also been adding two kale leaves and half an avocado to mine which makes it more filling and creamier. Another thing I tried which worked well was I put in about a quarter or less of bell pepper. That spiced it up and changed the flavor profile in a very positive way. I'm going to add/subtract ingredients so that I can slowly increase my options and increase variety further. Usually I would drink half of the smoothie, saving the other half for the next day/later that same day, and eat a bowl of corn flakes to get some carbs too.

While I did everything I wanted to with my diet, I still didn't get as much exercise or as much practice time in as I wanted to. Now that I have feel like I have my diet in a good place that I can maintain, I'm really going to focus on the other two.
To that end, I'm going to go switch the laundry over and then hit the stack of recital music that is currently staring me down. November 24th, here I come!

31 days of Change

Last night I made the mistake of watching a lecture on veganism, and it's safe to say that I'm pretty skeeved out by animal products now. Besides that little adventure, I have been eating in a pretty unbalanced way and I need to get myself heading in the direction I've been wanting to for a while.

I'm going to try to make it 31 days eating strictly vegan.

Yes, I said "try." I know that it takes commitment to make these things happen, but if I just say that I will do this and then mess up, it's all going to be over. So, in an attempt to keep myself on the path that I want to take, I'm going to say "try."

I have a few other goals for this month, but I'm going to put them a little lower on the totem pole so I don't overwhelm myself. The first goal is to practice every day. Every. Day. I'm getting ready for a recital in November, and the spring and summer will be taken up by the Latin Flute Affair, so I want to get some quality practice in now, and stock up on some solid technique as well as assuage some body use issues before the pressure hits.

Besides regular, quality practice time, I need some exercise. My yoga practice has fallen by the wayside since we moved. Mostly, it's because getting to my old studio would require me to drive in fairly heavy traffic, and I haven't found a new one in my area yet. Plus, I just haven't made it a priority lately. Mostly it's that. I'm also hoping to go walking/jogging more.

So far today I've been a good vegan and a good flutist, let's keep it that way!

Garbanzo Bean Salad

It's been a [long] while since I posted any recipes, so I thought I'd share something that I made just now. It's just a simple cold side salad, but would work well as the entree of a light lunch too!

What you need for the beans:
one large or two medium garlic cloves
1 cup dry garbanzo beans
approx 2 1/2 - 3 cups veggie broth (or just water is fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

What you need to make the rest of the salad:
One medium/small carrot, shredded or chopped into small pieces
several slices of dill pickle, diced
 2-3 tbs. vegan (or regular) mayo - start with less and add more to taste
approx. 1 tsp. of dill

Instructions:
1. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. (Save the ends/skins for making soups or broths!)
2. Cook garbanzo beans and garlic in broth (or water) overnight, seasoning with salt/pepper to taste. 
3. Drain and save bean liquid. Pat beans dry with paper towels.
4. In medium bowl, mix beans, carrot, pickle. Add mayo to taste (I prefer just a light coating), and then add dill to taste.
5. Enjoy! This should last several days in the fridge, and the recipe can be increased/reduced as needed.

I hope you enjoy this dish! It's very flexible, let me know in the comment section what variations you tried and liked!

Exciting news!

I'm excited to announce a joint venture with a great colleague, Alejandro Pinzon!

We are teaming up to present "Latin Flute Affair," a series of Latin music programs! Each program consists of recitals, conducting workshops, and lectures leading up to a concert of music for flute and orchestra. We're currently finalizing details for our first event, which will be at the end of April/beginning of May with the final concert being held on Cinco de Mayo. As the title implies, this program will feature all sorts of Latin music. Some will be by Latin composers, some will simply be in a Latin style or based on other Latin influences.

Interested in partnering with us musically or financially? Perhaps you know of a great location or organization that we should contact! Let us know via here!

Be sure to bookmark our website and check in frequently, we're working on adding more concert dates and venues around the country!

Last month of my Year of Practice!

It's already been about a year since I started using this blog actively (a term I use loosely), and it's been quite the year.

A little review:
Just after starting, the Year of Practice we up and moved over a thousand miles from the beautiful hills of West Virginia, where I had just finished grad school, to the beaches of south Florida. The move was a major leap of faith (really though, the only reason I get to call it a leap of faith is because it happened to work out for us. It very well could have been absolutely disastrous).
I was in probably the worst playing shape of my life.  Ironic, I know, since I had just finished a Master of Music, but thanks to a little bit of unfortunate circumstances, and a lot of unfortunate habits on my part, I found myself in a place where my nerves were so bad I could barely get a sound out of the instrument some days - and that was when I was practicing alone in the house.
I was working part-time in a sports restaurant doing prep work. As much as I wanted to be gigging, teaching, or otherwise musically employed, I wasn't in a place to take any work, even if I could find it.

The goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year included:
To be in a stable financial place.
To be an employable musician, with 25% of my income coming from music.
To increase the home/from scratch cooking.
Begin exercising.
Do some scholarly writing.

With the exception of the last one, I can say that I've met each one of these goals. While I do still work in foodservice, I'm also now on the faculty of a university as an adjunct professor. I've also had a few good gigs. Few, but enjoyable.
I have also been cooking more at home, and all at-home cooking has been vegan, which I'm pretty happy about. I've also been going to yoga since sometime in February. It's been extremely helpful for relieving stress, tension, nerves, all sorts of things.

If you go back in the blog, you'll see that I had a grand plan for this entire year. A plan that fizzled out pretty quickly. It was nice in theory, but I think it was too rigid of a plan, which was exasperated by the chaotic nature of this past year. An idea like this one would work better in a more stable environment and it would need to be more flexible, changing and adapting as it progressed.

Over the next month, I'm going to keep working and practicing like I have been. I'm currently working my way through Moyse's 480 Scales and Arpeggios, which I'm almost halfway through, plus various tone exercises, as well as a few pieces and excerpts. I'm also hitting the clarinet and sax again, getting ready for the school year to start again. Maybe I'll do something special to commemorate the year ending. Ideas?

Tweet tweet!

Two posts in one day, wow!

If you have a Twitter account, let me know you're there! @balancedflutist

Changing It Up

I've been trying a new routine lately when I start my practice, inspired by a segment I heard on NPR called "The Art of Practicing," if I remember that correctly. The program features various professional musicians and how they practice. The one I heard featured a bassist with the NY Phil, and I must admit that at first I was pretty disappointed. I was going to hear a world-class bassist rip through some crazy scale routine or an etude that is nearly impossible, but no. He set a drone to a C# and played a C# minor scale slowly. Talk about a change of perspective.
I've been starting my practice like that since, and it's ready amazing how much it's helped. It's certainly improving my flute and piccolo playing, but it's even helping my clarinet and sax playing!

Moving Forward

I was trying out a yoga studio, and I've decided to sign up for regular classes. The environment is very positive, and I feel safe to challenge myself (or take it easy) without getting self-concious.

Recital preparation is going well, as is my general practicing. While it's not been as much or as regular as I'd like, I can hear and feel subtle changes and improvements.

Even though I included money and fiscal concerns in my mission statemenys of sorts for this blog, I've shyed (shied?) away from actually discussing it, mainly because I wasn't sure how to speak on the subject without revealing too much. I'm going to give it a shot now though. My original goal was (and still is) to be making my living 100% from music by the time I'm 30 (5 years from when I set the goal). I can say that, so far this year, I'm at about 40% music work and the rest from my two part-time jobs. Woo!

I think it's Quarter 3 now?

I'm probably a solid month into the third quarter, and things are going really well!

The South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble is getting ready for our second annual Youth Pride Band concert, which is coming right up (Feb 24)! There's some really challenging works on the programs (I never thought Harry Potter would ever get the best of me), but the kids are holding their own, and I'm looking forward to working with them this weekend and next. Grant writing for the group is actually a lot of fun. It's totally lame and bookish, but I'm really enjoying it!

I'm still working on solo materials, but it's a bit of a mish-mash right now. I have to find a different place to perform if I want to do a recital in the upcoming months (which I do!), and I need to have some unaccompanied works ready to go as well to perform in school masterclasses or other piano-less situations. Those unaccompanied works are kind of taking priority right now.

I've been much less self-deprecating, and that alone has had such a positive impact on my daily life. There's been an important change from a "Why can't I do this? Why do I suck so much? " mindset to one where I accept my own limits and current capabilities.  Notice though, that I'm not talking about settling for less. Instead, I'm facing the very real and acceptable fact that 2012 was just not my year for makes leaps and bounds of progress in my flute-playing. I was working too much, trying to finish my thesis, there was that whole "let's move across the country" phase, and I had surrendered myself to my "failures." What I mean instead about my current mindset is that I recognize that while, no, I can't just rattle off the Leonore excerpt or the Mendelssohn Scherzo, I've done it before, and I can do it again. It'll take some time, and it'll definitely take some dedicated work, but if I could do it then, I'll do it again.

I've really been trying to take care of my physical self as well. There's a great yoga studio not that far from where I live that has a great "new students" deal that I've been trying to take full advantage of. I'll just have to make a whole new post about the amazing benefits that two weeks of yoga has given me. 

There's a lot more to talk about, but I'll save that for another day in hopes of getting myself to post here more often!

Watching What I Eat

School is going well, I have one student each on clarinet, saxophone, and flute now. My students are doing well, I'm enjoying it, blah blah blah. Let's talk food.

In the past year, I've started making changes to my diet. Some have been more successful, some are important to me, some are convenient, and some most have been failing miserably lately. The most important change for me has been cutting out dairy and finding non-dairy replacements for foods I still really want. Another important shift for me has been the move towards a vegan diet. Without fail, any (non-vegan) person I talk to about veganism (is that a word?) says "Oh I could never do that," "It's so hard," or "I just couldn't - I love cheese (or bacon, or whatever) too much."

Which is true. But also not.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE bacon. And cheese. And meat. And ice cream. I love pretty much all food. Despite all this, eating vegan has been reasonably feasible for me. How?

First of all, I know that really I can't do cold turkey (pardon the pun). I have to work my way into a new habit or routine. If I tried to wake up one day and cut out all animal products no questions asked - I would never be able to do it. Instead, I started making smaller, feasible changes. I replaced my cow's milk with almond milk. I started increasing my veggie count, decreased the amount of meat. I tried Daiya vegan cheese (which is surprisingly amazing. You should try it sometime.) and have really enjoyed.

Along with allowing myself the time to switch, I've also given myself flexibility. I know that some days I'll be totally happy to have a tempeh sandwich with vegan everything. Other days, I really just want a burger. And that's okay! If I've been eating a standard American diet (full of meat, cheese and sugar) for some 25 years, then it's fine if it takes me a little bit of time to change my habits and cravings. 

Now, if I allow myself to slip a little whenever I "just want a burger," how do I keep myself from falling off the bandwagon? I don't stock non-vegan foods in my house. The only time I eat non-vegan is when I'm eating out. By not stocking non-vegan foods, I keep myself on track (generally). Plus, eating out is more special because I don't to do it very often.

I'd highly recommend that you try out at least a little bit of a vegan diet, even if you just try Meatless Monday. If nothing else, it's kinda fun to try these new things! Also, there are some really yummy meat substitutes.

I plan on talking more about this topic later, but let me know if you have any questions about anything I've talked about!

I'm back!

In case anyone was wondering, I did not fall off the face of the Earth - I swear! Truthfully, I just haven't been focusing my attentions like I should have...

Classes started today - my first "first day of school" NOT being the student! I'm definitely excited and looking forward to turning over a new leaf. I spent a fair amount of time wrestling with the Blackboard system and there is a glitch in the school email at the moment, but I did manage to get everything I need up for my online class.

I've missed 4 days of playing this quarter, which is not the perfect record I was aiming for, but I'm glad that I got myself back going again. I think the first day I missed was an honest mistake. It had been a really busy day and by the time I realized I hadn't played it was after 11:30 and I was already in bed. Lame excuse, but hey, it happened. I've definitely gotten back in the saddle and have been chugging along!

I am still preparing for the recital, and it has been going very well. I have to pick a date and find a pianist, which I'm going to try and do in the next week or two. I have someone in mind to ask about collaborating with me, and I'll be seeing them on Wednesday. I think I'm going to aim for mid-February, maybe the week after Valentine's day.

It was so great to be able to spend today working in music and it NOT feel like I needed to be doing other stuff. I just feel so much less stressed about my life. I have high hopes for 2013.