I’m trying to form a new habit. Call it a new year’s resolution if you want. While I’m procrastinating on practicing resting my arms, I will listen to recordings of the music I’m learning. My streaming service of choice is the Naxos Music Library, which I’m fortunate to access for free through MIT’s institutional subscription. The user interface is outdated, but you can’t beat their library of nearly 120,000 classical CDs.

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IMSLP instituted a new membership plan for $22.80/year. Although Slipped Disc purported a “rising surge of anger” from musicians (disputed in the comments, natch), I was happy to hand over my money and surprised they didn’t ask for more. A trip to the library takes me 30 minutes each way, and earlier this week I purchased two Henle scores for $60. $22.80/year to download scores in my pajamas is a pittance.

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When fantasizing about winning the $1.5 billion Powerball, people often say they’d quit their jobs, but I’d keep mine with few changes. I’d hire somebody to make photocopies for me, and I’d hire a page turner for sure. Alas, my reliable (volunteer) page turner left to get a graduate degree in mathematics. #MITproblems