Those of you who know me well know that I’m a thinker.

I’m concrete, direct, thoughtful, deliberate and extremely (sometimes to the point of being  painful) literal.

So … a huge gift for me from “the spontaneous music making” is that I get to (have to?) concentrate on feeling.

Believe it or not, I’m just learning that I get to make decisions based on how I feel. And that, in many instances, this is MORE effective than the considered, practical, thoughtful decision-making I’m used to doing. (And by more effective I mean that I’m happier with the results — See? Feelings.)

Some examples:

Leaving my publishing job of 9 years to return to music school.
Thoughts: This is impractical, frivolous.
Feelings: This is right (and exhilarating and terrifying *smile*).

Coaching the kiddos’ musical.
Thoughts: I don’t have the “right kind” of experience.
Feelings: This could be fun. I’d like to work with young people.

The primary example? Songtaneous itself.

…

When I think about Songtaneous, I can get bogged down in judgments and fear. Is this a good idea? Can it really help people? Is this just my thing? Is anyone else interested?

But when I think about how Songtaneous feels (and how it makes me feel), I can quiet my inner critic. Here’s why.

Songtaneous has a texture, a feel and a style all its own. In fact, Songtaneous has its own personality. It feels something like this.

Of course, it incorporates large parts of my personality since I created this version of group vocal improvisation, but Songtaneous is still its own “person.”

So when I think about how to facilitate Songtaneous, or how to write about Songtaneous, or how to dress (design) Songtaneous, Songtaneous has a lot to say about those decisions.

I can feel it.

More Bloggity Goodness

• Working with the Broken Pieces