CTO … Organizing Sheets of Music

I get this question quite frequently … How do you keep all your music organized?

Ask ten musicians and you'll get ten different answers on this one, but here's a modern way to approach the problem of sheet of music spilling out all over the place. Load it onto your favorite device. You'll have music at your fingertips, organized alphabetically, by set list, by rehearsal list, by any name you want to call it. Searchable. Transposable. The ability to add notes and highlights. More features than you might need.

Check This Out … Look for apps designed for your device. I'm currently trying iGigBook. The iPad is certainly a lot less bulky than a huge 3-ring binder and fits on a music stand!

Let us know what is working for you.

After the Bliss, the Laundry

Wow, it's been a busy week! It's true … there's no place like home. Returning after a week away at the Sandbridge Dulcimer Retreat is always a sweet thing, but accompanied by definite symptoms of withdrawal. Bonding with 18 other people over a shared interest in a supportive environment ... at the beach, with plenty of good food to eat, and limited responsibilities ... is a pretty awesome experience! Real life is full of laundry, bills, cooking, cleaning. And, of course, I must hold the grand baby :-)

Two full days of teaching, though, did give me reason to stay immersed in the music. You might guess that the soundtrack running through my mind this week has been comprised of the tunes we hammered out last week.

I've been organizing and reviewing music from the week. I've written out specific goals.

Goal #1:  Practice more

Following through on this goal will make all the others easier to accomplish!

My biggest challenge is finding time to practice in an already crowded schedule. It's so easy to fill up excess minutes with mundane tasks. So part of my plan is to schedule regular practice sessions with "practice partners". That way, there's a specific time set aside AND somebody who will hold me accountable. Plus, it's BIG FUN to play music with a friend!

What strategies do YOU use to fit playing music into your life?

Monday's Muse

“To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music?” ~ Michael Jackson

CTO … 10 years of Sandbridge Dulcimer Workshops

Artwork by Abigail Wilson West

Check This Out … I'm just home from a week of study with my long-time teacher and mentor Ken Kolodner at week three of his 10th Annual Sandbridge Dulcimer Workshops. Just imagine an entire week of incredible instruction, spiced up with informal teaching moments, energetic jamming, sharing, feasting, playing, laughing  … with friends, at the beach. I am one of the three "charter" members. What a decade it's been!

See you next year!

Have you gotten yourself into a JAM lately?

What IS a jam?

From Wikipedia:
"A jam session is a musical event, process, or activity where musicians play (i.e. "jam") by improvising without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements. Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material (music), find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator acts as a "gatekeeper" to ensure that only appropriate-level performers take the stage, to sophisticated improvised recording sessions by professionals which are intended to be edited and released to the public."

The fact that is missing here? Jams are FUN!

Monday's Muse

 … It goes like this: the 4th, the 5th, the minor fall, the major lift …  ~ Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah

She's ba-a-ack!

It's October 1.

I've been on a blogging break since June 19th … 3 days before the birth of our first grandchild. It's been quite a summer! In addition to the sweet baby girl who is now a part of our routine life, I had the best yield ever in my garden. It's amazing what a little extra sunshine (we felled a few trees last fall) and Mother Nature's well-timed sprinkler system can do. The results? Lots of good eating … and plenty of hours toiling over a hot stove as I "put up" the extra. We had a memorable vacation in August (my first extended backpacking trip) in the Maroon Bells / Snowmass Wilderness area near Aspen, CO. The wildflower display was impressive! and so was I, climbing over four mountain passes in as many days … each at least 12,000 feet in elevation. Whew!

But vacation is over. The summer garden has been put to rest. Students have been scheduled, and most have completed a couple of lessons since Labor Day. I have 5 new students … I mean brand new to the instrument. Three of my regular students gave up their rentals this summer and are now playing their own instruments. That's a new adventure in itself!

I appreciate all who have patiently awaited my return … perhaps feigning satisfaction with the muses of Monday and the random items of interest that I deem worthy of being checked out on Fridays. This has been a rambling missive, but the mid-week posting is back!