Random Thoughts

Yestereve was weird, complete with odd mood and company in various states of coming undone. Today was the gradual comedown and smoothing out. A fully wonderful day, it moved seamlessly from food to companionable reading, hair amusement, clerks, dinner conversation and arrived, perfectly in time, at a spectacular concert.

I feel more and more as I write about my discoveries and experiences as they relate to music, well, and life in general, that I'm restating the obvious truths that everyone hears over and over again, but I like the ornaments I add to the old tune, and maybe others will too, although it doesn't particularily matter.

I want to play chamber music like this. Was my first and continuing thought throughout the concert. The interaction between the musicians was so incredibly wonderful. Anoushka Shankar was undeniably the leader, but there was also a give and take, and, of course, the amazingly structured improvisation that always fills me with that strange almost-regret that I didn't grow up in a different musical tradition. Fusion at it's best, there was no jarring oddness, all the musicians working towards the same thing. The laptop musician filled me with a gleefulness that's hard to match. He was so incredibly happy and wore a white shirt that made him look like a little lab technician playing with some sort of highly dangerous magic while being so completely fascinated that he wasn't afraid. ha.

Funny, although music flowed through her body and her power is certainly refined, she doesn't have the steadiness, that deep reserve of musical...wisdom...that really does come with age. She was amazing, the music divine, the edge still firey and held together with will; none of the quiet assurance. I liked it for what it was, but it's neat, to me, to note the difference. I am still not good enough to have that brilliance...

I like it that I can hear the structures more now. I think my ear is getting better, bit by bit. I want to start working on my sight singing again, because I think I might be able to progress a little more this time - learning the cello has really been helping me, pitchwise. I hear scales now, and they stay with me, perhaps it's that my memory is getting better? I'm not sure, it feels similar to when I first was able to match pitch when I was 13 or so, something has definately shifted and my hearing/understanding has changed in a very physical way that needs to be taken advantage of before I start to rely on it in weird ways.