Food for Thought (#69)
“All glory comes from daring to begin.”
– Eugene F. Ware
…
It was an inspirational music week.
Most of the inspiration came from mentor friend Bruce Henry. He hosted a workshop Tuesday night and I joined fellow concert-teer Ann Potter (Global, Local and Homemade Songs™ Concert, Saturday Nov. 6) and other local singers, including Karen Quiroz, Rhonda Laurie, Connie Olson for an evening of song and instruction. We practiced improvising (yay!), sang the blues (in a good way) and some tunes for each other. Bruce encouraged us to set a goal for our songs before we sang so we could get feedback and suggestions from each other. All in all, time well spent. *smile*
Then, Bruce and I met again Thursday evening for a lesson. As often happens, my singing lesson turned into a life lesson as we talked about musical projects, goals and beginnings.
Given my own challenges in getting started, I asked him how he starts new projects. Surprise, surprise, he begins by writing things down. (*smile*) He says if he goes back to an idea and it still makes sense, he works out how to do it.
He also told me he believes that artists have an obligation to share their work with their audiences for the benefit of the audience (not just to make money) and encouraged me to perform more. And, he talked about recordings as snapshots of an artist’s musical progression and about his own quest for mastery.
It was a great chance to reinvigorate my vocal practice as I gear up to head back to Europe to continue my vocal improv course this December.
