Weekends are a wonderful thing - even for this "retired" person. I usually try to sleep late, 7:00 or so, AM that is. I actually got to ride on Sunday. A friend and I went to a BMW Picnic at White Rocks recreation area in Wallingford. It's quite pretty there, with a good view of a steep hillside with, surprise, white rocks. Big ones.

Riding a motorcycle means that you are all by yourself. There is not much that will penetrate the skin of leather, helmet, ear plugs and wind noise. Left to my own devices, I have a tendency to think music. It's a good chance for uninterrupted thought about tunes I'm trying to learn, refine or just get better at. Got to be careful though. While imagining what my fingers should be doing on a guitar I have to remember what my fingers should be doing on the handlebars. I can get lost in thought, but not too lost.

Fiddler Susan won't be at practice tomorrow, and Michael has a photo shoot and some kind of meeting to go to. Tuesday nights have been a regular music event for me for 11 years or so and this is the first time I can remember that it has not happened at all. There have been times when I have not been there, normally because I've been too far away, but no jam at all is rare. I surprised myself with my reaction. It's like my week is incomplete, a big hole in the middle. Think I must use the jam-turned-rehearsal as a release more than I thought. My plan is to sit in front of the computer tomorrow and practice for at least 2 ours. Maybe I'll get the 3-4 tunes I'm learning down. Maybe not. I find I have to play one tune at least 200 times before I'm comfortable with it and then another 200 or so to straighten out the final fingering, which is never really final.

Changing even one finger stroke is a major deal for me once the muscle memory is set, and this happens several times during the learning process. I suspect learning tunes is one of the reasons that I have dreams about trying to get somewhere but I can't because other things keep happening.

I learn by listening. No music reading here. The more I listen to a tune, the more I hear. I learn with a sort of instrumental Karaoke process. That is, I play the tune on my computer and play along with it. I use a program called Amazing Slow Downer. It slows, or increases, the speed of a tune without changing the key in which it is played. This is a great program and has improved my ability to hear the chording and timing I'm trying to learn, but I still need to hear it many times before it starts to come together. I am encouraged by the fact that Susan's ex, a world class pianist, goes through the same scenario, albeit with the advantage of reading the musical score. She remembers being driven nearly crazy by endless repetitions of the same line, the artist seeking perfection. I'm trying to avoid the Spousal Insanity Syndrome by practicing mostly while Charlotte is not here, but it must get pretty monotonous sometimes.

Tonight, I made about a gallon of apple sauce from some of the apples in the back yard. The turkeys, crows and deer have been busily eating them for about 2 weeks, so I decided it's my turn now. Just tasted the result. It is definitely worth the effort.