Here in Los Angeles, we've just passed the 3-month mark for the Covid-19 lockdown. The weekend of June 13 was marked by the County's movement to Stage 2. With the re-opening of beaches, the airport, and various businesses, the noise level in Venice has roared back. Unfortunately, the uptick in noise has coincided with the first week of the actual recording phase of my solo clarinet piece project.  The result is a lot of time wasted, waiting for the jet to fly over or the ambulance to pass out of my soundspace so we won't hear it on the performance track.

A majority of 500 epidemiologists who participated in an opinion poll said they'd wait a year or more before attending large concerts. So much for the rush back to normalcy in the concert world.

Practicing for no particular occasion benefits from a little strategy. Maintenance practice--the kind of practice you do when you can't afford to lose your chops but don't have an actual event coming up--- can take many forms. As a life habit, it is worth cultivating a musical game plan that works for you.