Baton Introduction

2:00 in the afternoon and it's perfect weather for a run. The sun is bright, the breeze is strong, and being near the ocean makes the temperature cool. The path was not crowded, which is strange for a weekend. And I listened to a This American Life interview with Brad Pitt.

I received an e-mail today from my research methods professor. She was reminding us of our assignment due on Tuesday, and in it she asked for something this week that is due next week. Either that or her wording is very unclear. This kind of thing drives me nuts.

I have started practicing my conducting with a baton. After Rejoice in the Lamb, the next thing we will be working in lessons on is the John Rutter Gloria. I do not know what we will be doing after that, but my teacher has mentioned a few other pieces to me. There are a lot of things I like about a baton. My left hand feels different when my right hand is holding a baton. The two function differently and those functions are a lot easier to separate when one hand has a fiberglass extension. I also have less tension in my right shoulder when I conduct with a baton. Perhaps it's a mental state: I think my arms has to work less because the baton is clarifying for me. It's not quite that simple. In reality, I am probably conducting with too much tension without the baton.

Now I am waiting for the (very expensive) John Rutter full score I ordered. At the end of my masters I will have a nice little collection of scores.