I had a great practice this weekend. I sounded terrible! Absolutely dreadful! So why was it a great practice? It was great because I worked on things that I do not do well. I practiced my A major scale in two octaves. I extended my long tones beyond my usual comfort range. I turned on the metrenome of doom and practiced sight reading – playing through the entire song or etude without stopping. Was it frustrating? Yes! Did I feel like hurling my horn out of the window? Definitely. Will practicing what I can’t do make me a better player? Without a doubt.

The key for me was ending each practice session doing something that re-established confidence in abilities. I played some not so difficult etudes from the Getchell book in the foyer of my townhouse. The sound soared to the roof and I felt like I was in Carnegie Hall. I felt very good about my playing again. Make sure you practice the things that you are not good at. It is the only way you will improve.

I have been working on changing my embouchure. Part of that embouchure change is leading me to believe I need to play on a slightly smaller mouthpiece. I ordered a Megatone 2C which should be in my hands today. We’ll see how that works for me.