Let’s face it summer is not for practicing. Summer invites to the outside: swimming, biking, kicking a ball, throwing a ball, having a picnic, hanging out at the beach, traveling to a far away place. We want to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice. Especially in a northern city like Chicago where the cold or wet sky can last a good 7 months. We wait all winter for those lazy days in the shade of a tree or the pleasures of gardening. We want to walk in the grass and put some food on the Barbecue.
What’s wrong with that?
For guitar players? Nothing! For harmonica players? Again nothing! But how about drummers and piano players? Have you tried to move a drum kit and play in a park? Ha! See! That seems wrong, doesn’t it? Plus, you might get the police to stop you and give you a ticket for disturbing the peace.
As for the piano… Oh, dear! Let’s not even mention the acoustic pianos since moving one of those requires at least three guys and a truck. Instead, let’s talk about the keyboard. Well, that’s not very different! Let’s count it, shall we: A keyboard, one! An amp, two! A battery, three! That’s right! You’ll need a minimum of three pieces of gear in order to practice the piano. But wait, I forgot the stand for the keyboard and the seat!
So, summers are bad for practicing for drummers and pianists. Or is it?
We can also chose to practice in the afternoon, when the crushing temperature makes everything heavy and apathetic. You can practice in the evening, once the days activities are over and the thermometer goes down. You can practice in the morning before coffee. The truth is this: there are plenty of time to practice. Always. One hour here, one hour there, you do what you can and you realize that you managed to keep up with your schedule and your progress. Then the rain and the cold comes back and you don’t feel like you have to start all over again. The struggles of the summer do not need to be struggles at all, they can be a little respite from the hubbub of the summer life.
