Exercise

I thought I was in pretty good shape.  

As a songwriter, I do a lot of exercise.  I play the piano in the wee hours of the morning.  I write tunes everywhere from the car to the kitchen.  I read poetry for lyrical inspiration, and I even try to work out new beats for songs while I'm walking with my kids.

My songwriting muscles are JACKED.

But my performing muscles?  Well let's just say they could stand to hit the gym and lay off the twinkies.

I played a show this week.  And even though I had a great time, I wasn't prepared.  This gig was the first one that I've played in months, and I felt like a fish out of water.  I couldn't remember how to play the piano standing up.  I couldn't get my monitor set up just right.  And I definitely couldn't quite get the hang of singing into the microphone.

Reader, just like muscles in our body: the skills that we exercise get in good shape, and the ones we neglect tend to slip.  This week taught me that I should have dedicated a little more of my attention to performance. Bottom line, we get better at things that we do over and over.  If there are things in your life you'd like to be good at, just exercise.  (Well in advance of having to do them in front of others.)

It's a good thing my sense of humor is alive and well these days so I can laugh off how awkward I was on stage. If anything, I'm more eager than ever to practice and get back out there.  Thanks to all of you who showed up to the concert.  I'll see you next Monday. -Em

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