Day 2 of Self Discipline

This is Day Two of my empowering new morning music routine.  This new routine will be necessary to complete and prepare the music for my second album, sheet music book, and tour (yes, I said tour).  I really do want to get all my compositions scored fully in Finale, including those I'm behind on from the first album. But being a full-time stay-at-home mom right now, this requires a plan and commitment to fit it all in.  I was going to have to beat my kids out of bed and have an early session at the piano and computer. This means rising at 5:00 AM!!!  I figure -- my friend with 8 kids does it every day, and serious swimmers do it, so why can't I? That's right! So how's it going?  Here's my report:

Day 1:  Actually, my plan for 5am failed a bit yesterday, but only because my iPhone alarm startled my three-year-old, and I had to lie with him until he fell back asleep.  The alarm put him in "get up mode," so it took a while.  Once I finally got downstairs, I figured I'd put in a load of laundry while my coffee was brewing, because that's always my morning routine anyhow, and if the laundry for five people gets behind, we have a mountain of trouble and nothing to wear.  I figured I'd forget the laundry if I put it off, so I'd better do that before hitting the piano.  Then I hit the piano.  It was 6:05 or so.  What did I accomplish?

• Practiced major scales C, C#, D, and Eb at 110 = quarter, in quarters, eighths, triplets and sixteenth notes.
• Practiced major arpeggios C, C#, D, and Eb at 78 = quarter, in quarters, eighths, triples, and sixteenths.  Played my patterned arpeggio exercise as well (sheet music forthcoming).
• Practiced Hanon No. 1 several times at some reasonable tempo, but not flying.  Just firm touch and strong sound.
• Fleshed out the chord progressions of my newest composition (glad I didn't forget it over my month-long hiatus) and wrote them down.  
• Practiced new composition enough to remember how it goes without fumbling too much.

Day 2:  In spite of my son having another mysterious fever the night before, he was back to normal in the morning, so I rose before 5am, beating my alarm!  

• Put laundry in.
• Practiced major scales E, F, F#, and G at 110 = quarter, in quarters, eighths, triplets, and sixteenths
• Practiced arpeggios for the above keys in same manner as Day 1.
• Practiced my "Filled-Out Arpeggio" etude that I wrote for myself and students a few years back.
• Attached MIDI cable from Roland Piano to HP laptop.
• Wrote out complete score for "Filled-Out Arpeggio" exercise in Finale.  I'll make this exercise free for now.  Download and print the pdf doc here.  I've used it with my advanced students and I practice it myself.  Here's a sneak peak:

I felt like that was a pretty good start to getting me back to the grind.  The biggest thing I have to worry about is losing my technique at my age.  I have to keep my fingers moving quickly and doing acrobatic things that require intense motor skills (my compositions are often fast and difficult).  So even if I don't practice actual songs each day, at least I will give my fingers a serious workout before my kids get up.  And maybe I can assemble a technique book for teachers and advanced pianists of all my special exercises!  I am doing a video journal of Album Two preparation, and I will post a video update periodically.