The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. - Kurt Vonnegut
After breakfast I thought about which pieces I wanted to give time to learning today. The gigs are over for a while, so I can return to newer compositions. I selected Exiled and About To Be to work on. I also wanted to review of Searching and What Is This? to prepare for recording these. First I improvised. Nothing much was happening, then a nugget. An hour later the nugget had opened and borne fruit. After a short break I played through Searching.
Returning to the new idea, it moved further along. Amazed once again how fruitful this period has been. I’ve usually spent part of my practice time improvising, but beginning with this in the morning began during this workshop. Recently in a conversation with my guitar mentor he told us that everyday he begins with improvisation. Now I’m sold.
The piece I’m negotiating is time. With the craft of my practice I’m good at allocating time. But the composition practice occurs in it’s own time. Then the life concerns - chores, connecting and communicating with others must be addressed and always take longer than I suspect. Grateful for the comfort and joy that the practice of music brings me. May we all grow as our world needs us.
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