I am going to be forever in debt to the friend who told me about the practice rooms at the Harold Washington Library downtown. It was everything I hoped it would be!
I checked around online before going, having visions of the practice rooms in my high school days - old decrepit, out of tune uprights that were going musty and stale in the cramped rooms. But, a piano is a piano, and I've made attempts with my keyboards over the years and it just hasn't been the same. I was so very pleasantly surprised to see the pianos were upright Yahamas similar in age to the pianos kept at ASU - definitely not brand new, but well maintained and with rooms that are well lit.
I have to admit I had the guilty thought that if I did not have Dusty, I would take the purple train downtown every day after work and put in at least an hour, it felt that good to have the piano back in my life. For now, I'm pretty much restricted to the busier weekend times. I'll take what I can get at this point.
But man... It has been too long. Nothing like taking out music that was effortless to play when I was in full swing, and looking at it, then trying to play to that level and having to admit you are a little rusty. Ouch. I think I managed to make a good start back on the right track. I'd love to entertain the idea of getting some extra cash by doing weddings this summer/fall, but I think I'd need another month of consistent practice to have enough music playable for an audience.
