#Goals

My left fingertips, my arms, my hands, and my back are sore.

No, I haven't suddenly decided to exercise. Don't be ridiculous.

I'm practicing my cello again.

I was asked to be part of an ensemble to provide some music for a Relief Society conference in March. Specifically, they want a piano, cello, and flute trio. I've found some music I can adapt for that  particular request (a lovely arrangement of "Nearer, My God, to Thee"), but this means that I have to start building calluses and muscle now if I'm going to be fighting fit to play in March without horribly embarrassing myself.

To that end, we have removed the chairs and table in my bedroom (which weren't really getting utilized anyway) so that I now have a permanent place to stand my cello. And by "we," I mean my husband has done this because he's very sweet that way. He also managed to find my cello stand so I don't have to push furniture around, wrestle my cello into and out of the case, and set up the music stand every time I want to practice, all of which really puts a damper on wanting to practice. Now I can plop myself down and play whenever the mood strikes.

I'm always surprised at just how much muscle it takes to play the cello. I took that for granted when I was young. I was very active as a ballet dancer and crew rower, among other activities, so while I have never been muscle-bound, it was very easy to play the cello for hours at a time, and I never gave it a second thought. Now, I will have to build myself up to being able to play for any length of time. I'll also have to suffer through the hot sting (and sometimes bleeding) as I develop calluses on my left fingertips.

This is a perfect example of "no pain, no gain."

This was a 2020 goal for myself anyway, so it was fortuitous that I was asked to play in March. What I would really like to do is play in an orchestra again. I was thinking of playing in the orchestra for "The Messiah" for next Christmas, which would be really fun. Handel would be a challenge. I'll also have to check to see if there are any community orchestras around here and work on an audition piece.

Thanks for listening. Wish me luck! And Happy New Year! I hope you're feeling optimistic for all that 2020 will bring.