I spend a significant part of my life in a practice room. For those who have never been in a practice room, they are about the size of a big closet, outfitted with a piano and maybe some sound proofing on the wall (depending on how much funding the school has.) And a little sliver of a window on the door so that people know that the room is occupied and to not enter.

If it sounds desolate– it really isn’t. Unless no one else at the school practices, you hear at least 5 other instruments surrounding you, doing their own work.

For classical musicians the art of practice is learning how to play a written page according to the traditions that have been decided and tweaked for the last couple of centuries. The closer the sound to what is written on the page– the better. If it sounds nebulous, it is.

Knowing this, the question I’ve been coming back to is, is this creative work?