aeblog

flexibility

In order to prepare one of my songs to be performed live, I have to go through a number of steps. Some of these are purely logistical and others are creative in that I am finding that I have new ideas for arrangements and ordering etc for some songs. I am enjoying the creative more than the logistical, but the results of both are definitely worth the effort.

I feel like I am getting to know my music again from an entirely different perspective, and it's pretty weird. Recording and composing is very different from performing it seems. Yes, I know this sounds obvious, but I am still surprised at how different they are. Part of what I have to do to prepare a song is break it down into it's tiniest components so that I can build it back up flexibly during a performance. Flexibly is the key here. I don't want the songs to be pre-defined by a rigid recording that I am conforming to while performing, but rather I want to be able to control when and how things happen so I can react in the moment to whatever is happening around me. That's why people come to see live music, right? To experience the subtelties of people interacting with each other in the context of creating music.

I'm taking a break from creating all the little bits and pieces of 'Nature...can be fabulous' right now. I'm almost done, and then I can begin the rebuilding process which is much more fun because that's when the song really takes on a new life right in front of me.