This evening I read an old friend's facebook status update that simply said "Jupiter". In a flurry of excitement, I opened up my planetarium software to see if it was in fact visible from my location and found that it was quite low in the eastern sky. I felt compelled to walk to the beach and look at it, even though this meant I would have to avoid plans to do some composing in Pro Tools and more exercises in Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm and Meter.
I walked out into the cold winter air and noticed that I could actually see Jupiter from my house. I decided to keep going, as I'd already resolved to go the whole distance and as soon as I started walking down the road I noticed that my state of mind changed. That feeling of fascination and inspiration that comes from standing by the ocean at night and under a clear sky was activated instantly, and triggered all sorts of memories and emotions of times I had felt it before. Even though I was alone on this walk, I had the company of multiple imagined visions of myself in my home town at all different stages of my life.
I took my phone with me for the walk and pulled it out several times to record some vocal improvisations of words and melodies. After the first one I did, I listened to it and noticed that my attention started to shift from the customary appraisal of the recording's worth to a simple appreciation of having the ability to do these things.
I returned home and had a listen to the piano I recorded into Reason a couple of weeks ago. It inspired me to get more familiar with the key that I was working with and try out some chords, but I spent most of the time just adding comments to the ideas I liked for future reference. While there is a temptation to dedicate some time to collating every idea that I've ever recorded to make sure they're all easily accessible, I am wary of overcompensating by trying to organise everything and not placing enough trust in the more productive, spontaneous part of my mind.
I walked out into the cold winter air and noticed that I could actually see Jupiter from my house. I decided to keep going, as I'd already resolved to go the whole distance and as soon as I started walking down the road I noticed that my state of mind changed. That feeling of fascination and inspiration that comes from standing by the ocean at night and under a clear sky was activated instantly, and triggered all sorts of memories and emotions of times I had felt it before. Even though I was alone on this walk, I had the company of multiple imagined visions of myself in my home town at all different stages of my life.
I took my phone with me for the walk and pulled it out several times to record some vocal improvisations of words and melodies. After the first one I did, I listened to it and noticed that my attention started to shift from the customary appraisal of the recording's worth to a simple appreciation of having the ability to do these things.
I returned home and had a listen to the piano I recorded into Reason a couple of weeks ago. It inspired me to get more familiar with the key that I was working with and try out some chords, but I spent most of the time just adding comments to the ideas I liked for future reference. While there is a temptation to dedicate some time to collating every idea that I've ever recorded to make sure they're all easily accessible, I am wary of overcompensating by trying to organise everything and not placing enough trust in the more productive, spontaneous part of my mind.
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