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3) Little by Little - Even though you progress much more quickly on the ocarina than on a typical band instrument, remember that you must crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. As do other investments, music provides the greatest returns over the long haul; almost anyone who sticks with it long enough can become an accomplished musician. Since I began playing the ocarina, I have always been able to look back and realize that I was noticeably better than I had been only one year before. On many occasions I have rejected a song as unappealing only to return to it a year or so later and find that it was a gem. I simply didn’t have the skills to make it sparkle the first time around. On other songs and techniques that are a little over my head, I just keep chipping away, remembering to run through them now and again when I take short ocarina breaks. A few months or a year later, the seemingly impossible song has been transformed into a near-virtuoso performance.

How do I find the time to practice? There is no doubt but that I experience periods of real growth as a musician whenever I can sit down for an hour or two on a daily basis and play–oh, that I could play that much year round! Nevertheless, for me and many others, taking the ocarina along through daily life and enjoying frequent two to ten minute ocarina breaks has made it possible to keep up with a musical instrument even amidst the awesome responsibilities of adulthood. For example, this morning I serenaded my boys for a few minutes while overseeing them go through their morning routine. A couple days ago I wiped mud off my hands and played a few songs for some friends deep inside a wet cave. The fact that my ocarina is always by my side (in a sheath) is what has kept me practicing even in the busiest of times... and practice means progress.