Always busy.

One of the normal question about the music business is: What do musicians actually do? Usually people will assume two things: play or teach. Now, although we’re not far off, it’s not exactly like that either. So, in the interest of furthering human knowledge in particular and the fate of the universe in general, here is a typical day/week for me.

I wake up around 6:00 am. Naturally wake up. No alarm. Haven’t had one in 40 years. I used to wake up at 2 pm, then my internal clock changed for reasons unknown. Now I’m up at 6 am. Moving on.

I scratch my eyes and grab my piano music. About 5 minutes after I jump out of bed (all right, I don’t exactly jump, more like painfully crawl out of bed, and there’s a lot of groaning), I’m on the piano. I have to be quiet, so I use the keyboard because I don’t want to get my Sweetie up too early. Headphones on, I’m off to the wonderland of technique. Scale, Arpeggio, warm-up of different cloth, I spell that every morning. Then songs, some difficult that gives tear of pain, some so easy you smile and are proud of yourself. This goes on for quite awhile, about 2 hours as a matter of fact. But, it depends. Sometimes my back act as a referee, blows the whistle of discomfort and I have to stop after 90 mins.

So, I go make breakfast. I get to the kitchen, I make some tea. That’s it. I’m on intermittent fasting diet, I don’t eat before 2 pm minimum. I drink said tea while checking email and some such. If my Sweetie is up, we talk about the weather and the news if there are any. The weather decides the next step: Will we go walking?

If it’s not raining, we’re going for an hour and a half. Brisk pace, lots of great conversation, laughter, happy time. I feel so healthy, I’m a superhero.

We’re back home and I go directly to the drums, sweaty and stinking and that’s perfect because the drums is a demanding instrument, it’s better if you do some cardio before you get to it.

Then shower. My Sweetie’s gone to work.

Now, usually I blog, or I work on some exercise that I write, some songs I put together. I go until 2 pm. Followed by lunch, then I go back on practicing one of my instrument. Then, if it’s not my day off, I start teaching around 4:30, 5:00 pm, until 9 pm. If I’m not teaching, I’m cooking or doing some chore that needs to be done. Then, in the evening, after the meal, either we watch an episode of something, or I go listen to some music.

If I teach in the morning, you add 3 hours right in the middle of the day where I’m with students.

All week long like that.

Now, some people would see it as the opposite of a great life. To those, I’ll answer that I find great happiness in my industry.