Category Archives: Creativity

Quiet

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Quiet

We all have a lot going on. And inside our heads it can be even busier and more crowded! While all that hustle and bustle might make you feel like you’re accomplishing tons, it can also actively prevent you from accomplishing even more.

We are artists. Yes, we are. If you’re a new musician, you are an artist. If you have been playing a long time, you are an artist. Don’t ever leave your living room or quail at the thought of someone else hearing you? Still an artist!

As artists, we get to create! That is one of the things other people envy us for. Creating is an activity that takes time – and we need to pursue it. But…

If you are never quiet, you won’t have time to be creative.

You need:

Quiet time to have Creative time.

Quiet space to have Creative space.

And perhaps more importantly Quiet your thoughts, so you have time and space to have Creative thoughts.

This is more than practicing. You do need to have a solid base to create but loads of creative time can happen away from the harp. And although you need to have part of your practice time set aside to work on creative ideas, you can have those ideas anywhere. But you’ll be more able to focus if you have quiet.

I won’t lie, identifying – and then honoring – the time you need to create can be a challenge. It’s easy to give that time away to other “important” things.  But this is important – for you, your art, and your life as an artist. But it is a necessity not a nicety.

So, I challenge you to identify specific time that you will be quiet and allow yourself to be creative. It should probably be longer than a shower! (but if that’s the time you have, make use of it!). Make sure you have a way to capture your thoughts (dry erase marker or grease pencil for the shower, don’t ask me how I know this). That way, when you get to the harp you can remember what you had come up with. I have a plenty of short voice memos on my phone for time in the car when things pop into my head – I sing them (badly) into the phone so that I can remember when I hit the bench.

When will you schedule your quiet time? How will you ensure you honor that time? I’m looking forward to your ideas!  Let me know in the comments!

Summer Doldrums…. I’m Bored!

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Summer Doldrums…. I’m bored!

It’s the middle of the summer.  Where I live the summer took forever to start.  But once it did start, it came with a vengeance.  So, we were suckered into thinking we would have the kind of summer that was pleasant and easy.  But it’s not.  And that leads to hanging around inside, in the air conditioning, avoiding the 3H weather (hazy, hot, and humid) that comes with living in a reformed swamp. 

When this happens, it’s easy to start to feel stifled and bored. So what should we musicians, artists that we are, be doing about being bored? 

Here are a few ideas.

  • Acknowledge that the weather (and our desire for creature comfort) are stifling and making us a tad cranky.
  • Identify some tasks or activities you’d like to do.
  • Note that these tasks and activities will pull us away from the harp.
  • Be ok with that.  After all, the doldrums don’t actually last that long and shortly you’ll be back to it, preparing for the autumn.

What would those tasks look like?

     1. Do some “meaningful tasks”.  This is a good time to make a list of the holiday music you’d like to start when the autumn comes.  You can make sure you have good sources so that when you’re ready, you’ll be ready.

    2. Do some harp maintenance.  Does your harp need regulation? You could do that now (or cause it to be done).  Sort through your strings and make sure you have a full set of spares.  Update your string chart.  Clear out the pocket of your case. You know, house keeping-y stuff that needs done but is easy to put off.

     3. Play some music games.  Whether it’s Rhythm Bingo or Crazy 8ths, have a little silly fun that is still edifying.  Don’t have those on hand?  Look online for fun music activity games.  Try Eurythmics in your pajamas. Laugh a little.

     4.  Go do a good deed. Go to a local care home and put on a performance.  Everyone descends on them at the holidays, but are less likely to go during summer, so they might enjoy some entertainment in the boring part of their own summer doldrums.

     5. Do a different art. Make a craft, paint, draw, make a video, write poetry.  It doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that a little creativity will go a long way to supporting your harp playing!

There are so many things you can do to weather the summer weather!  Give yourself permission to do something different.  Give yourself a break and come back to your harp refreshed and ready to go!  What will you be doing during the doldrums?  Let me know in the comments!

 

Composition Competition!

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You know how I’m always encouraging you to improvise and to try composing? I know some of you are reluctant to agree with me.  And believe me, I get it!  I spent a great deal of time telling myself all kinds of stuff:

I can’t do this

Even if I did do it, it would be garbage

No one will like it, not even my mother

But eventually I did start up and keep at it.  And I’m still bashing away at making music for myself and for others.  Do I suffer from comparisons?  Of course!  Do I still find every flaw? Obviously!  And do I do it anyway? Darn tootin’!

So, I’m excited to pass along that the Scottish Harp Society of America just announced a tune writing competition to celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary!  It’s hard to believe that since 1982 SHSA has been around, encouraging people to play Scottish music on the harp.  So, what an excellent way to celebrate than by adding to the music and sharing it with others?

The theme for the tune writing competition entry is “Celebrate SHSA!”  The judges are all noted composers, arrangers and performers including Corrina Hewat, Jo Morrison, and Martha Hill.  Entries should be a piece for solo harp (of course!).  There are some rules and guidelines you should follow and you can find them on the SHSA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ScottishHarpSocietyofAmerica

Entries are due 1 November so there’s plenty of time to create something wonderful and perfect for the harp.  And there’s a prize – $500 for the winning entry.  So it’s worth reading the rules and getting started!

If you’ve not composed before (or if you’re feeling a little faint at the idea of writing a tune) here are some tips to help you get going:

1. Give yourself some quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if all around the outside you is noisy!

2. Give yourself some more quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if inside you is noisy!

3. Use your trusty recorder – just sit behind your harp and play the strings.  Let your hands wander.  If you hit on an idea you like, explore it.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – there’s nothing there yet, so it can’t be wrong and it’s a “throw away” recording to be used only to capture ideas and then pitch out.

4. Be your own safe space – tell your inner critic/harridan to take five and give you a minute.  Of course it’s not great yet – you’re just getting started!  It will shape up as you develop it.  And you don’t need that kind of negativity anyway!

5. Change things up – if you only come up with stuff you don’t like, change it.  Change the key you’re in.  Or change the mode.  Or randomly set levers and see what you get.

6. Don’t forget to laugh – you’re meant to be having fun, so have some laughs (probably at your own expense, but so what).

7. Start over and over again.  I can’t tell you how many ideas I have come up with that were just pointless.  Or variations of the same great idea I had before.  No worries, you’re endlessly creative, you just might not know it yet.  Just start!

8.  Be like a “real” writer (or composer).  You’ve probably heard it said that everyone has a novel in them, but a real writer actually does the work to put it on paper!  Don’t just think about it. Allocate some of your practice time each day to generating ideas (and capture them). Once you’ve got a little traction, you can put the ideas together to make a tune.

You have it in you! You can do it!  And it’s wonderful to celebrate a momentous event like 40 years of shared love of Scottish harp music.

Are you going to give it a go?  I’d love to hear about it – whether you enter the competition or not.  Let me know – compose a comment!

 

 

Be Creative (Be Quiet)

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As musicians, we are artists. What does that mean?

When I asked Dr. DuckDuck what an artist is.  The reply?

One … who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value, especially in the fine arts.*

Yup, right there in black and white (ok, right there in pixels really) – TO CREATE – we are meant to be creating!

Don’t look at me like that – yes, we are meant to be creating so that our creativity is reflected in what we create.

SO, yes, we need to add being creative to our daily practice lives.

“Oh great”, you’re thinking, “now she expects me to be creative on top of all the other stuff she’s always telling me I need to be doing, practicing, learning. HOW am I supposed to do that?!”

I don’t blame you – there is a lot of stuff to do to be an artist! But like everything else we do, doing a little bit of creative work consistently will help you to be creative – more! 

Why do you need to be creative? Well, I hope you’re not asking that, but if you are – you can be creative about what you play, how you play, what you decide to work on – there’s no aspect of your harping that can’t stand an application of (even just a little) creativity!

Uncharacteristically, this time I’m only going to suggest one thing to do.  Just one thing to add to your day to help you be creative.  This one thing doesn’t require a lot of resources or time.  You might want to build it into your practice every day, but I think you can do it.

You ready for me to share this one magic solution?

Are you sitting down?

Got your pencil so you can take notes?

Drum roll please:

To be creative –

be quiet.

That’s it – BE QUIET

Told you it was a simple step.   I didn’t say it would be easy.

Being quiet can be a challenge (don’t ask me how I know). Here are some ways to get to quiet:

1. Give yourself time to be quiet – this can be part of your practice time or just a part of your day.

2. Breathe! There are plenty of reasons to breathe but here, breathing helps clear your head so you can enjoy the silence.

3. Go for a walk – Remember you’re wanting to be quiet so this is more of a ramble than a fitness walk – so that you can quiet your mind.

4. Focus – on being present and only on that.

A few don’ts –

1. Don’t check email, face-tok-gram, or anything that streams.

2. Don’t use this time to make your list of things to do.

3. Don’t focus on making anything or on being creative – just be.

The hard part is doing this every day – just a little bit.  The point is not to use this quiet time to create anything, but rather to give your brain an opportunity to unbend.  It’s this unbending that will help you be more creative so that when you want to be creative you can Be Creative.

Have you tried being quiet?  If not, give it a try this week.  Either way, let me know in the comments!

* unceremoniously lifted from:  https://www.wordnik.com/words/artist

Are we there yet?

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Remember asking that? “Are we there yet?  …How ‘bout now?  …yet?  I’m bored!”

Amazing some of us survived to adulthood!

But why did we always ask that question?

You already know – when you don’t know what the end looks like, it feels like you’ll n-e-v-e-r get there.  And that is a terrible feeling!

So, when we’re at the beginning of a tune, that road stretches ahead, uninterrupted – and you might feel like you’ll never get it.

What about when you have been working on the tune for a while?  Then you might ask yourself again, “Are we there yet?”

How do you know when you get there? How do you know you’re done? When is a tune “finished”?

The long answer is that you have to decide what you mean by finished. Is it finished when you’ve learned the tune?  Or is it finished when it’s perfect?  Or performance ready?  Competition ready?  Moved unceremoniously into the Bored with/Don’t want to play any more pile?  What is your definition of done?

I don’t have a definitive answer for your definition. It really depends on you, your level of development, the time you have available, your goals, your personality, and loads of other things that only you can answer for you.

There is also a short answer (but you might not like it).

Short answer – you’re never finished! WAIT – what?!?

Of course you’re never finished – the tune will never be done.  What? (I did say that you might not like the short answer)

After all, making music is a creative activity – you will have to decide for yourself what done will look/sound like.  Yup, it’s entirely up to you (and yes, I’m v-e-r-y aware just how uncomfortable that can be!).

If you stop working on a tune, it’s definitely done, but is that what you wanted for that tune when you started?  If you “finish” it and never let it be a living element of your playing, it will stultify and die (which isn’t really what most of us want from our music).

If a tune is “finished” then it’s done.  But why do you play and perform (even for the cat and the curtains)?  What keeps you coming back to your harp?  I’m guessing it isn’t because you want to be stagnant.

So how do you know when you are done enough? Here are some ideas:

  • You got where you were going (that is – you met your goal).
  • You have run out of ideas to continue to add to the playing – your arrangement is fairly stable.  But keep an open mind so you can continue to create as you go – forever!
  • A trusted mentor has suggested that the work is good.
  • You are comfortable when playing the tune for your audience (whoever that might be).
  • You’ve “got” the tune but you’re not enjoying playing it.
  • You feel “bored” playing a tune.
  • The holiday you learned the tune for has arrived(!).
  • Now that you’ve learned the tune, you just don’t enjoy it.
  • As much as you’ve worked on it, the tune is just not coming together (this is likely because it was a stretch for you in which case you should set it aside and pick it up later).

Think of tunes as being somewhere on a continuum from performance-ready or shelf-bound.  Either they’re good for sharing with others (performance ready) or they’re not going to see the light of day (shelf-bound).  There are, of course, various stages in between, but what that continuum looks like is up to you. 

Do you have any tunes that are finished?  How did you decide?  If you don’t, how would you define done?  I’m curious to hear your thoughts – let me know in the comments!

Be Curious

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Curious, this topic, is it not?  Exactly!

There are many ways to be creative, but it is easy to believe all these ways require loads of time and resources.  And honestly, many do – retreats, journals, art supplies, new instruments, group activities, etc. can all be time and money expensive.

But curiosity is a surefire way to enhance your creativity and you don’t need a lot of time or money to implement it!

People think curiosity is a talent, but instead, think of it as a skill.  As a skill, you can work on develop it – developing it as your own curiosity. 

How?  Well, I’m glad you were curious enough to ask!  I listed a few things to try.  Even if you are already fairly curious, you might learn some ways to grow that –

  1. Unleash your inner two-year-old and ask Why – two-year-olds do it relentlessly, so why don’t you? (see what I did! 😉).  Don’t just question authority – question everything.  Really push on your assumptions, boundaries, and knowledge.
  2. Unleash your inner ‘tween and ask Why Not – they too ask this relentlessly and with good reason – why not, after all?  What’s stopping you?
  3. Be brave – when you’re alone.  This should be the easiest time to be brave – but sometimes it’s the most difficult because it’s when you’re face to face with your biggest nay-sayer and critic.  There’s no escape.  But still, it is the best place to try being brave – who’s going to tell you no?  Only you.  But this can be your time to:
    1. Explore – ask the questions you might have been suppressing – why can’t you play a Qmin7dimsus chord there?  What happens if you put a jazz chord progression into your trad tune?  What happens if you shift the time signature?  How would this sound in another key or another mode? Or a different register?  There’s no road map, that’s why it’s called exploring!
    2. Record and play back – after all, you’re probably not going to like all the answers you come up with your your questions, but every answer deserves to be heard and decided on its merits (and if like me you make noises but can’t remember them – or if you liked them, or if they even were an answer to your question – recording will help!).
    3. Play like no one is listening – because they’re not!  You can make all the noises you want!  And the great thing about sound?  It dissipates and is gone in an instant!  Yea music!
  4. Be exceptional.  Be the 2% who ask.  It really won’t kill you to ask someone else a question.  And if you think you should never ask a star or harp hero your question – well, they likely will surprise you (if only because they too are curious people…and usually very nice).  They may have a ready answer (if they’ve run into curious people before) or they may not (if you’ve asked a very different question).  But just you asking may incline them to become curious about your question too.
  5. Hang out with other curious people – misery isn’t the only thing that loves company – curious people love to hang out with other curious people, if only to hear what you’ll ask next!  Bonus, you’ll spur one another onto to new topics of interest, new questions, and possibly new discoveries.

Remember, the purpose of being curious and asking questions is not to get answers.  The real purpose is to see what questions arise from the answers you get.  To remain curious, you have to keep questioning – and those pearls you garner will feed your creativity!

But maybe this is a bridge too far for you?  After all, it is easy for me. *  If you want to ask the questions but are timid (even (or especially) with yourself), just start by positing questions on paper.  Just write it down.  Throw it away if the questions make you uncomfortable.

What?

Because it’s not the questions that matter – it’s the questioning that’s so important.  Curiosity grows from questions, not from answers.  And as you become more comfortable with asking questions, you’ll be more comfortable with flexibility and being innovative…. which will lead you to more questions – and a really fun, unending cycle of curiosity and creativity!

Because curiosity didn’t kill the cat – it kept it a kitten!

Like developing any skill, you will have to work at this.  You will need to practice asking questions, especially if it’s new to you.  Try starting out by asking just three questions a day.  Why is a great question starter!  (e.g., Why are my scales sloppy?  Why do you play a D chord there?) but what or how will are also interesting (What would happen if I played this in 3/4 rather than 6/8? How does that melody develop?)  Of course, when you start you might falter.  If that happens – ask yourself why? 😉  It does get easier with practice.  And your questions will get better too.

What are you curious about?  Ask me anything (in the comments below)! 

 

 

* No, it’s not, nothing is easy for me, but I fake it…and frankly, I’m curious if I’ll ever find something that is easy!  

Composition Challenge – Whew!

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You always amaze me!

Here we are at the end of the Composition Challenge – and WOW.  Just WOW!

First, THANK YOU for all of you who sent compositions, a noodle, an idea.  I am so gratified to be entrusted with your art.

For those that sent something but were not ready to share with the world, I encourage you to keep going!  And eventually I’d further encourage you to share, share, share!  It always amazes me how receptive people are to new music – but you won’t know if you don’t share and ask the question!

And, believe me — I know, that sometimes the deadline sneaks up on us and we are a little bit flat-footed.  So if you’re not quite ready to share, but you will be in future – you keep working on it and let me know when you’re ready.  I’ll be happy to share my platform with you!

Share your compositions!

I’d also like to remind you of one really important thing.  Like playing, composing requires p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e!  We have talked before about ways to get that practice in – improv, noodling, brute force.  I guarantee that it gets easier with practice.  It does.  With practice it will feel less like you’re forcing it.  Less like pulling teeth.  Less like work.  And with time and practice, it will feel more like joy.  More like expression.  More like breathing.  Why yes, it might even begin to feel like music is literally oozing from your pores!  But you have to let it.

Here are some of the amazing things some of you were willing to share.  Some carefully composed (or carelessly composed!) and some noodling.  Some a combination of the two.

The first is titled Noodling BADGE from Barb Costello –

Then we have Sue Richards Herself, using the technique Sue shared and I posted last week –

Sue Richards HerselfThen we have Ca’ the Meows – a playful take on a classic –

and our last share this week is from me, Dimitri’s Revenge, from my deep and abiding love of Shostakovitch but in a mock Celtoid style –

Be sure to give these pieces a listen and a play through.  And PLEASE – leave comments – be lavish with your praise for the music and the sharing (and frankly the bravery!) of the people who contributed.  I know all who shared will enjoy your feedback and encouragement.   And remember, if you do take these pieces on and begin to play them for others – attribute the work.  A little acknowledgement is nice to receive and a little respect is well deserved!

*All rights held by the composers and shared with permission.  Please give credit where it is due!

** If you particularly like one of these and have a hard time getting it downloaded, let me know and I’ll think of a solution!

Composition Seeds

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Next week we’ll be sharing our compositions – so exciting! 

How’s yours coming along?  Some of you have sent me delightful peeks at what you’re working on.  Some of you are already done.

What’s that?  You haven’t started?  You don’t think you can do this? You have no idea how to get started?

!!!

No worries!  You CAN do this.  Please, please, please do not talk yourself out of giving this a try! 

I realize this can be daunting.  It can be intimidating.  You may sit on your bench repeating over and over in your head a low moan: Ican’tdothisI’mnotacomposerI’mnotabrilliantartistIhavenogreat ideaswhydidIevenconsiderthis! *

Composition SeedHere’s the thing, it might be intimidating because, unlike a writer or a painter, you have few constraints.  A writer has only the single sheet of white paper.  The painter has only to consider the single canvas.**

But we musicians? We have time and space, pitch and rhythm, tempo and time signature, timbre and technique.  We have oodles of variables and we haven’t even started thinking about what shape we might be headed toward!

So, to help you along, I’m going to help you narrow your scope.   Remember, you don’t have to write a masterpiece!  Just compose something.  You’re not Mozart or Shubert or J.S. Skinner!    And remember, those guys may be known for their masterpieces, but they all started somewhere!  We are all beginners at some point (side note – avoid people who forget this important fact!  They are toxic – you can do this!).

Remember the major parts of a tune – you need rhythm and pitch.  Find that overwhelming?  Start with one and then overlay the other on top of it. 

I brought you some rhythm seeds that you could start with if you don’t know where to look – to get your creative juices flowing!  Use whichever ones you like or add more – there are literally loads of options!  They look like one composition (maybe they are?) but feel free to cut/paste as you like – or throw them all away or pick and mix!  It’s your composition!

rhythm ideas

  • Keep it simple – there are only seven notes in a scale (in modern western music) so that’s fairly limiting in and of itself!
  • While we’re keeping it simple, stick to a single scale.  Like light and happy?  Use a major.  Feeling dark and moody?  Use a minor scale.  Feeling stressed? Use a pentatonic scale!
  • If you’re stuck, use a simple time signature that you’re used to playing in.  Like 4/4?  Then use that.  Always seem to be thinking in 6/8?  Then use that.
  • No source is too good for you!  In the comments last week Sue Richards shared a great starter idea.  If you missed it, she said,

” Recently on the Nordic FB group, we learned from Mark Harmer how to write tunes based on your name. Here’s the thing:

Name Letters matrixSo my name, Sue, is EGE. Richards is DBCAADDE. So I made a tune out of that. You choose the time signature and key, and develop a LH. It’s pretty cool! I’ll try to post the tune I wrote. I also added my husband Bill: BBDD for the second half of the tune.  Good luck, be creative!”

  • Another way to get rhythm and pitch is to listen to yourself saying something (which might become your lyrics?).  You can use the rhythm of your words and the pitch of your voice as a guide to what you tune might shape up to be.  Use a favorite poem or saying as a starting point.
  • Finally, please do not compare your output to anyone else’s.  This is not a competition!  It is a challenge to each of us to get out of our own way, to try something different and a little bit stimulating!  In no way should anything about this make you feel bad (well, unless you told me (and yourself) that you were going to do it but you’re letting yourself slide because it’s a little uncomfortable!). 

If you find you are still getting in your own way, sit down on your bench, BREATHE, turn on your phone recorder (the one with the really big red “DELETE” button which is ever so useful!), and tickle your harp.    And when it starts to giggle – you can giggle too.  Then you’re having a fun time and you’ll probably enjoy the whole thing (just a little…even if you won’t admit it out loud!).

How’s your composition coming?  Remember you can send a video, an audio file, sheet music, a photo of the napkin you wrote it on.  Still stuck and want other suggestions?  Let me know in the comments below!  When you’re ready to send me your composition (which can totally be in draft form, it’s not a race after all!) – let me know in the comments and we’ll get these collected for next week!

Happy Composing!

*I realize this is hard to read (it was a little bit hard to type) but it says, “I can’t do this.  I’m not a composer.  I’m not a brilliant artist.  I have no great ideas.  Why did I even consider this!”  – All TOSH!

**Yes, gross oversimplification, but the idea isn’t to turn you into a writer or a painter! 

The March to Autumn – Composition Challenge

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Think back.  Way back.  Think back to February when everything was “normal” (whatever that might mean).  We were starting a Composition Challenge. Remember that?  And then, in the middle of that came the beginning of where we are now.  And we were focused on other things – like staying healthy and safe and helping each other get through the beginning of a hard time we are still working our way through.

Earlier in the year we talked about theory and technique and practice and ways to work up our own compositions and I challenged you to develop a composition of your own and I hoped you’d share them.  We talked about noodling (here) and ostinato (here).  We crossed into March (little did we know what was coming) and talked about the theory that would help you cultivate noodling into a composition (here).   Then we endured a time change and we talked about the utility of noodling when you’re tired (here).

But then we were all consumed with trying to care for ourselves and others and the composition challenge seemed to be a little naff in light of people sickening and dying.

Nevertheless time keeps passing and it occurs to me that we should not have abandoned the challenge.  After all, making music is helping us hang on to our sanity.  Making music gives us succor and allows us to share with others to make their lives just a little bit better.

So, let’s rejoin our game!

Your composition does not need to be complex or complicated.  Instead we want to celebrate the process of becoming comfortable with generating musical ideas and putting them together.  You can perhaps put together completed ideas, or possibly just fragments.  Give ostinato a try (keep in mind that this can be humbling).  Poke around the modes and roll them around in your (figurative) mouth, keeping the tasty ones and building from there.

Let’s spend the rest of September working on this.  That’s two weeks – plenty of time.  It has been my experience that, if you don’t spend all your time telling yourself that this is hard and you can’t do it, you will put out loads of ideas.  Some will be keepers.  Some will be dreck.  And that’s ok!  I’d suggest you just set your voice recorder to go (I prop mine up on a music stand) and let your fingers do the walking!  Don’t have a voice recorder?  Just download a free app and you’re good to go.

But don’t be timid – give it a go.  You won’t know what you’re capable of until you try!  I’d also like to encourage you to share – this is a warm and generous group and you probably will never find a more welcoming and accepting audience.  Perhaps you generate some fragments but don’t feel like you’re successful…but you might find that someone else has also made some fragments – and wouldn’t it be exciting if those fit together to make a tune?!

We’ll finish up Sunday 4th October – send an audio, a video or a score (fancy-schmancy or handwritten!) and we’ll share them soon after – just in time to enjoy for autumn!  If you have questions or need some help let me know.   Looking forward to what we come up with!

Welcome June

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In the long sad time, when the sky was grey

And the keen blast blew through the city drear

When delight had fled from the night and the day

My chill heart whispered, “June will be here”

A June Tide Echo, Amy Levy

I find that I’m a little mournful just now.  In my original plan, by now I’d be already in Edinburgh, joining friends, seeing sites, sharing tunes (writing on originally scheduled blog post topics!).  I’d be helping students prepare for competitions and performances and recitals.  I’d be trying to decide what, from my “OSAS at Oberlin” stash would be appropriate for “OSAS at the blissfully air conditioned Baldwin-Wallace”.  I’d be organizing my calendar to practice teaching, practice weddings, practice performances, composing, arranging.

[I refuse to think of life before all the sickness of this year-to-date as “normal” because there is no normal.  There is only change we do not see.   And normal = mundane and who wants to be mundane?!]

But as for right here, right now, it is easy to be suckered in by things around us (like social media mostly, although regular media isn’t really helping any either) and its unending stream of “content” (some good, some pathetic).  And for good or bad, I found that I was being sucked in and becoming envious of the people who were posting clever, or at least amusing, videos of their funny children, hilarious pets, perfectly executed, while distributed, performance art, or oops-filled online meetings.  Increasingly, I was feeling particularly peeved that I, a creative and artistic person, was not also generating huge vats of content…like so many artists posting (highly edited) stuff.

But maybe, with a little shift in focus, I can see that this is not the truth of it.  I am doing inventive things (but maybe not subjecting everyone else with the outputs).   And then I remembered one of my favorite quotes. 

Never compare your blooper reel with everyone else’s highlight reel.

This quote should probably be updated to include the words “tightly curated and heavily edited” highlight reels.

I remain excited for this summer and I’m trying to embrace all the changes (yes, I’m mournful and still remain excited…I’m complex like that).  I’m also trying to appreciate that those changes represent potential.  I still look forward to next summer when I might have even more time with friends in Scotland – and the extended absence will definitely make the hearts grow fonder.  I’ll have more tunes to share and a whetted appetite for sites, sounds, smells and tastes.  My students will outgrow the music we started to ready for performance this year and will move on to other pieces to ready for next year’s events and venues.  Pieces we might not have even thought about if “everything was normal”!  I’ll have time to consider the joyful memories of the items in the “OSAS Oberlin” bin while dreaming up what excitement we will find in our new OSAS location in Barea, OH.  And hopefully I’ll be scrambling to get from competition to wedding to workshop – happily busy and working.

Be careful of the perfectness of what you see.  Spend time with your harp – Imperfect time. Try new things.  Play new stuff.  Play old stuff…in new ways.  Share what you feel like sharing.  What are you doing?  What are you planning for next June?  What imperfectly perfect thing are you working on?  Let me know in the comments!