How do professional musicians hone their chops?  Performance Today is doing an occasional series called The Art of Practice where host Fred Child interviews musicians in their home studios to reveal their approach the unglamorous task of practicing. 

Listen: There are sometimes when I just need to relax, you know "chill," as they say. Weeks will go by until I realize that, "hey, life's been moving kind of fast lately, so I'd better slow down." (That's right, I talk to myself in quotes). But the point is, things are moving fast. Summer has just officially ended (though, I wish the weather would get the memo), my first daughter just started Kindergarten and there's the 10-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks.* So, it's with all these heavy things happening, that I really need some musical time to relax.