brokenlyre.com » flute http://brokenlyre.com Considerate Thoughts and Inconsiderate Rants Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:13:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 An Evening of Ensembles http://brokenlyre.com/an-evening-of-ensembles http://brokenlyre.com/an-evening-of-ensembles#comments Sat, 05 Feb 2011 19:56:38 +0000 Stuart Davis http://brokenlyre.com/?p=110 Friday February 4th, 2011, myself and three other fantastic performers (not inferring that I am fabulous but that they are) performed at Clare Bridge of Ann Arbor as part of the Dexter Community Band’s Evening of Ensembles.  The recordings are below.  I warn you now, this was staged in the lobby of a retirement facility so there is plenty of extra noise, random conversations and outbursts, but I think you can still get the picture.

I certainly enjoyed the chance to get out and play and am looking forward to other performances.  Enjoy!

]]> http://brokenlyre.com/an-evening-of-ensembles/feed 0 Focusing on Me http://brokenlyre.com/focusing-on-me http://brokenlyre.com/focusing-on-me#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:23:37 +0000 Stuart Davis http://stuartmdavis.com/thoughts/?p=68 Since about mid-December of 2009, events have been placed in motion that have allowed me to influence much change within my own life.

I had come to realize that my days were spent focused on a career that I love and am enjoying beyond any dream that I had as a child. The nights were focused on eating dinner, watching television, surfing the internet, and going to bed. This is not a cycle that has much life balance to it at all and it was starting to wear on me in a way that I had never conceived of before. The only way that I can describe it is by stating it in a completely exaggerated and blunt fashion… I felt like I was getting dumb.

I realized that I needed focus. I needed to commit to improving my life. I needed challenge. This need has found life in two different movements in my personal (by that I mean not completely career oriented) endeavors.

First, after years of pondering at the behest of my wife, I invested in a new flute. That’s right! I studied flute in my formative years and throughout college, but following the receipt of my bachelor of music in music education, I laid no more focus on it. From that purchase to this post, I have now had three flute lessons. It is a bit frustrating to be sure. I fully expected to be able to play full force right out of the gate but now am realizing that there is some very specific muscle development that has to occur not to mention that there are some bad habits regarding playing that I need to unlearn. While frustrating, it is also very fulfilling and I am excited to continue learning and improving.

Second, I am finally focusing on health. Sure, maybe I just acquired a fad, but I think that there is more to this in the long run. I picked up P90X and am committed to make the program a regular part of my life. I’ll be honest… it really sucks right now, but it’s all in my mind and I know from experience that I can absolutely refocus my mind and I will be successful.

So amongst other posts to happen in the future, I hope to relay some of my experiences to you, not as a method for teaching you flute or helping you lose weight, but as a platform to make sure everyone understands the importance of having something in your life that you are always trying to work on… for yourself.

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