after the 2nd practice session -

i decided not to be such a wimp and to go ahead and stick it out. i remembered a great line from a book i read - "there's a difference between falling and jumping." i guess you could also say - "there's a difference between being pushed and jumping." the first time - i was pushed. the second time - i jumped.

it wasn't any easier - if anything it was more difficult. they all seemed to be going forward and improving - and i was not. over half-way into the practice, i asked a question and it revealed at least part of the reason for my difficulties.

though i don't really read music, i can tell when notes are going up or down and roughly when several lines of harmonies are going together and things just weren't making any sense. come to find out - i had a copy of the music that someone had hand-written in additional passages in several places - different from anyone else. and there were also parts of the bass line (my part) that the guy directing us had decided to eliminate - but it wasn't marked out on my copy. NO WONDER i was confused!

and i couldn't help but think - that is the story of my life: i'm never on the same page with everyone else - because i was given a defective copy of the sheet music - or the text - or the script - or the instructions.

maybe next time it will go better.
lee