What I usually end up with is a bit of a compromise: simple tunes with mildly interesting harmonies and nothing too unpredictable. This time it's You've Got a Friend by Carole King, covered by James Taylor among countless others. We're not quite ready for Handel's Messiah.
As I mentioned on Twitter today, arranging music seems to take up pretty much all my concentration. There aren't many things that are quite so intense, but this turns me into a grunting neanderthal if I'm asked to consider rejoining the real world at any point. I'm no multi-tasker at the best of times, but this orchestration of voices seems to require me to be completely laser-focused on the job in hand.
Part of the reason I find it so exacting is that I'm not really very good at it. I've always been a feel-it-play-it musician. I love the sense that the piano keys are moving underneath my fingertips and I can roll them any way that I like until I like what I hear. I've always thought music should be like that, if it can be. The technical side of learning an instrument is supposed to enhance your ability to express yourself through it - that's all.
This rather hippyish approach that I've adopted has meant that the idea of annotating my creative expression is a little bit 'square'. However, it has to be done sometimes - especially for other people to be able to follow it. Even the free-love movement had to give way to accountancy, I suppose.
And so it is I find myself on nights like these, scratching my head trying to remember how to break the beaming pattern of a bunch of quavers.
On top of that, the lyrics of You've Got a Friend made me analyse how I define what a friend is. You'll be relieved to know that I don't have time to go into all of that. However, you should also know that if we are actually friends, I'd love to be the guy that says he'll be there if the sky's full of clouds or that old north wind's about to blow. All you have to do is call.
Just as long as it's not a night when I'm arranging music.
No comments:
Post a Comment