Been waking up each morning, anxiously checking your blogs, only to find the same stale dated entries staring at you each morning from your favorite for almost two months? Thought as much. Funny story. Turns out, I can’t actually multi-task. Better Half has been pointing this out for years, but let me explain so that we can all get informed.
So, let’s say, that you’re reading here in the notebook that I’m working on such and such a piece, or that I’m busy doing what-all. In fact, I lie. I may in fact be taking a few hours a day to actually do what I write that I’m doing, but here’s the twisted logic: IF you are reading about it — I’m NOT spending an inordinate amount of time accomplishing it. Because you’re reading about it. Which means that I feel comfortable enough with say, a deadline, or the fulfillment of rental or sales orders or what have you, that sure, why not write a notebook entry, it’s been a few days, etc. And when I write about something, I’m probably going to give the impression that I’m burning candlesticks at various ends / midnight oil / what have you, while doing it.
Nope, not so. Because the above is exactly what I have been doing for the last two months and it didn’t even occur to me to sit down and write something for this page. Can’t. Multi-task. See?
So instead of writing about what I was doing, here’s what I was doing: writing. Music. Two new large ensemble pieces, basically simultaneously. I knew the composing schedule was going to be tight this year, but it all caved in on me in a giant/ugly way, and snowballed into having two pieces basically due at the same time. The problem started when the first piece took about 6 months to write (let alone orchestrate, copy, etc.), instead of the 4 I had budgeted. You could see where that would maybe cause a problem. I don’t recommend doing it like this. It was not fun. One piece may be going well, but then there’s the other… it just means that you’re basically always miserable about something.
But Oh! They are complete. It’s now February (I think), and it’s over. About 2 months later than everyone (everyone!) wanted. One is already in rehearsal (reports are good), and the other is mid-parts-extraction (which, if you’ve been paying attention, I did not actually accomplish today, because why? Because you’re reading this, exactly). And now that that I can do more than one thing (with the only one thing I can clearly do), I’ll write the next couple entries on the details on these two new works.
And so, I dare to lift my head up and look around. I hear there’s an election?
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