songblog

practice or write?

Today, typical Monday, except its Tuesday, right? Work, get some stress on, come home do the yoga, now I brief bit of free time.....

and I wonder, do I try and work on a piece of music or do I just woodshed and practice my flute? In the ideal world of course I would have time for all things, and be younger thinner and richer....but here we are in real time, and I decide that for tonight, at least this part of it, its the flute. And in between the times when I need to pause for breath, I can type this up.
Now I have been focusing mostly on getting my CD done, but I just don't seem to be able to turn on the muse at will. For one thing, it takes a couple of minutes to fire up all the gear, and while that isn't much, its not instantaneous.I do find tho that playing the simple scales I need to do to learn a new instrument sometimes can clear my brain. Learning just a new note position can lead me to thinking of some new phrase that I might not record now, or even remember tomorrow, but I think that it adds up to the storehouse in my brain, and makes yet another nerual connection for musical thought. It starts to put me in the space of hopefully creating. Amazing, considering the silly little beginners pieces (with titles like The Cats March and The Worm Slithers [Play 'slowly and creepily' the book says]. Perhaps its focusing so intentley on the intervals......
I know for a fact that I seldom sit right down and knock something out. Usually its twiddling around for some time until the brain begins to function, and even then its suspect. I try and just let the ideas flow out, and later come back and keep the cream of them, without getting too analytical about it. I also know that when the creavitive flow actually starts, I write a ton of material in really short periods of time. Then I will slog to finish the pieces, which is the hardest part, no? But if I could just come up with a way to jump start the process............well, I guess I could put it in a bottle and market the stuff!