Wild_flower,
It’s you who’s particularly set me on this path you know (with your suggestion that I contact Greg, and your own story), so I’m very grateful to you.
Right now two things are helping me keep the ‘positive lesson glow’.
First is that the part of each day when I’m ‘re-programming’ is just such a pleasant contrast to what has previously been my normal way of approaching the trumpet. OK, I’m hardly ‘doing anything’ in terms of results, but at times the sound comes easily and steadily, and when it doesn’t, I back off even more. It feels good.
Second, I sent Greg a couple of short clips of me playing just before we had our Skype session, so I’ve got a baseline there, in the form of two mp3 files, that are going to haunt me to the end of my days, and I’m determined to see if I can’t show some improvement, which I know is going to feel like going backwards a long way for possibly quite a long time. Those two files, though, are now like a mark in the sand for me, and a very motivational mark.
Best wishes, Peter