Some of you may not know this about me, but I’m a musician and an artist.

I always loved art as a kid—from finger painting in my blue smock at my Little Tikes easel to coloring and tracing to the pastel class I took one summer, culminating in our work being displayed in a local bank. For a while, my answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was “An artist or illustrator.”

Music was always there, too—singing and playing the piano, learning letter names as I learned the alphabet, and later, accompanying, teaching, performing, and arranging.

At some point, I set art aside to focus on music.

March is Women’s History Month and by extension, Women in Music Month—an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate women’s contributions to our field.

When I was a grad student at Eastman, they used to have an annual Women in Music Festival in March. Students and faculty worked together to create a series of programs and lunchtime concerts featuring music (and sometimes lyrics) by women. I had the opportunity to accompany on a program one year—it was so meaningful to be part of such a special event. It’s still something that stands out in my memory from my time in grad school.

As a teacher, I love finding ways to honor and celebrate things like this with my students. This year, we’re celebrating Women in Music month with a series of musical informances.

When you think about practicing, what do you picture?

Maybe you think about your instrument in the living room or your favorite practice room at school. Maybe you picture your studio with morning light streaking across the floor or in the evening with a few lamps casting a cozy glow.

Certainly, practicing happens in all of these spaces. But it can also happen at your desk, in the car, at the breakfast table, on a walk, in a carrel at the library, or in a classroom where no instrument is present.

How?

Because practicing is more than the mechanics of playing an instrument.