January 2005

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Sometimes I find myself either agreeing or offering to do the oddest things. Yesterday, for instance, I promised to compose music if a friend comes up with lyrics.

I haven't done collaborative work in terms of music in a very long time. I haven't composed from scratch in a very long time (I've done lots of descants on existing tunes). But it's the sort of challenge I'm feeling up to these days.

I miss sharing music. I miss performing. I have been thinking a lot about that recently. Except for playing for the occasional houseguest, I haven't had reason to play for anyone in a number of years.

Don't get me wrong---I'm not planning to go out and audition for the next musical group that needs a keyboard person; I have neither the time nor the specific desire to do that. Nor do I particularly want to be the organist or music director for a church (just as well; around here music majors get most of those jobs). I'm not looking for a regular gig.

But I would like to be in a situation where music happens, and have some of it be from my fingertips. Spontaneity would be fun, perhaps with some improvisation along the way (I'm fairly good at improv, if I do say so myself). And yes, be told how wonderfully I play. Nobody minds some praise every now and then.

One time I thoroughly enjoyed some musical spontaneity happened way back in high school. I went with some friends to a Little Theater production of something that had utterly no music at all. But most of the cast members were musicians.

After the show, my friends who were in the cast managed to get a group together around a piano, and I wound up playing for about an hour. If you're thinking it was mostly show tunes, you'd be right. I'm still not quite sure how it was that I got elected to play, but I enjoyed it immensely and made several new pals out of the deal.

Of my creative pursuits, music is the one where my most intense passion lies. Of course I love my other pursuits, but they don't leave me with the same emotional satisfaction that music does.

The flip side of that is I don't worry quite so much about them, either, especially the needlework ones. A dropped crochet stitch can be fixed a lot less noisily than a crashingly wrong note.

So I'm looking forward to seeing if I can still compose (I think I can), and to whatever else I can find to do musically. Hmm. Maybe I should clean up the apartment and hold a musicale.

I am delighted to be participating again in Holidailies. In addition to those participating in the portal, there are writers who are doing "Holidailies at Home." A list of those participants, as well as other information about Holidailies, is available through the link.