August 4, 2004 at 1:24 AM

Sometimes, as a mother, I just can't really fit any real practicing in my day. Today was one of those days. I think I got maybe 30 minutes of playing time. My toddler can keep me so busy! Whereas yesterday I made progress in leaps and bounds, today I only managed to play through pieces I already knew pretty much by heart. Have you ever tried playing the violin with a small child in your lap? She's a climber! I keep telling her when I get a job I will buy her her own tiny violin off ebay, but she would rather play with mine.

Usually I warm up by playing pieces that I know well. It gets me in the mood to work on something new since I already played something that sounds good. I wish I could get into scales and etudes. I have etude books, but I only want to play melodies. I think if I want to get any better, I'm going to need to work on those etudes... I just wish I knew how they were supposed to go!