Slow day

Tonight, I passed on playing at the monthly English country dance that's in the neighborhood (see Dance music post from September). Instead I spent my musical energy today on the Chopin nocturne I want to record over the next few days. It's improving, but I miss notes here and there and can't pinpoint exactly why.

I try to avoid practicing only by playing something over and over; it really helps to instead think about exactly what I want to accomplish on each repetition. But sometimes I can't make myself think that hard and end up on autopilot -- which isn't entirely useless, either (it's good to be able to play without consciously doing everything all the time, even if one shouldn't make a habit of it).

I also had other things to do (e.g., I'm painting a room in the basement, so had to go out to buy paint, then come home and see if the color looked right, then go back out and buy more paint). When I have a day like this, I just do several shorter practice sessions and probably end up practicing more than if I only do one long one.

So, back to moving furniture out of the way . . .