This was a fantastic week due in no small part to equipment. I love the new Lawler. The more I play it the more things I find that I love about it. The tone, the valves, the way it feels in my hands (perfect balance), intonation… everything about it is wonderful. I know I have raved about other equipment in the past but I can honestly say that this horn is a cut above all others I have ever played. The horn search is over. I got my GR 67MX mouthpiece on Thursday of this past week and I love it. It has a comfortable rim similar to my Monette but my articulation is much cleaner. I can still get a nice dark sound but it is much easier to make the horn zing if I want it to. The intonation on it is much better than the Yamaha piece I was working with and it actually makes the upper register a touch easier without too much resistance. This is also the first standard weight piece that I've liked. I feel confident about my equipment now. I feel as if I can focus on the task at hand, which is all about making music and building my chops.

I'm going to modify my practice schedule to revolve around sound production and improvisation. Those are my goals and I'm going to do things to help me get there. I'm going to really bang on my major scales daily so I can get them locked in as they should be. Right now I am familiar with 8 of the 12 majors and I have so much more work to do in that regard. I am also going to do more transposition. Up till now I have been transposing heads to songs because I didn't think I had enough skills on the horn to work actual solos. I'm going to start taking bits and pieces of phrases that I handle and try to work them out. One tool that I purchased today helped me work out a Freddie Hubbard run that had been baffling me for well over a day. It's called SlowBlast and it allows you to slow down CD tracks and keep them in the correct pitch. Only cost me $20. It's perfect for figuring out fast runs and is also good to play along with if things are moving a bit too fast. You can check it out at the following website – http://www.worldwidewoodshed.com. I'm also working on some music theory and looking at things on the keyboard to REALLY get a handle on what is going on. There is so much to remember and learn… it can easily be overwhelming but I'm going to try and enjoy the trip. No worries.

Another thing I have started doing is keeping a practice journal. I'm using the timer mentioned in my last entry to record my actually practice time and writing down what I've worked on. It helps to review what I worked on previously and keep track of my time spent behind the horn.