Klarinet Archive - Posting 000006.txt from 1998/07

From: <SDSCHWAEG@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] what am I going to do?
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:01:41 -0400

Jennifer, it sounds like you're pretty overwhelmed right now - no wonder
you're having trouble concentrating! I'd say that's a normal reaction to all
the upheaval in your life just now. You probably need more help with those
problems than we on the list are going to be able to give you - do you have
someone you can talk to about all this? A family member, friend, minister,
teacher from your old high school - anybody who can listen objectively?
Sometimes it helps to talk through a problem - you may not find a solution
right away, but it helps clarify your thinking, particularly if the listener
is someone good at reflecting what you're saying back to you. As far as
clarinet playing goes, at the worst times in my life (loss of a child, in my
case) the clarinet became kind of a safe haven, a place to escape - as long as
I was playing, I didn't have to think about my problems. Maybe right now,
when it's so hard to find motivation, what you need is not so much to
practice, but to just play - purely for the love of it. Is there a community
band you could join for the rest of the summer? Otherwise, just crash through
solos or etude books just for fun - tell yourself you're practicing
sightreading if you need more excuse than that! Life seems pretty
overwhelming right now, but keep in mind that this, too, shall pass, though it
may not be as quickly as you would like. Situations like this can spark a lot
of personal growth, sometimes in directions we never considered before. I
wish you all the best!

Susan Schwaegler
Clarinet teacher and recent Master of Pastoral Studies

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