My mind wanders as I take a break in the vegetable patch. I am stuck trying to finish music for 3Seasons.
Composer John Adams recently said in his commencement speech for Julliard:
… by choosing a life in the arts you’ve set yourselves apart… from a nation that has become such a hostage to distraction that it can’t absorb a single complex thought without having it reduced to a sound byte.
He goes on to say that the arts are “utterly useless.” This herb box could be useless as well, yet the flowering chives and thick sage leaves bring me outside where waving neighbors bicycle along saying that they love the garden. I feel the hesitant Seattle sun mixed with rain sprinkle an encouraging nod towards me tending the vegetable patch. My mind works through sound bytes and starts to weave sonic textures as I weed and prune, transplant and mulch, water and taste.
Tending edibles finds a parallel with composing music. Both take time, patience and the willingness to let go and be surprised. Adams concludes his commencement speech with a simple tally-ho:
Be bold, be humble, don’t mind being difficult, and don’t ever feel that what you’re doing in this attention-deficit disorder country of ours is marginal or unimportant.
Plants have their own ways of growing. By paying attention to the parsley, sage, rosemary and chives, my time as a composer is renewed where I can return to composing music refreshed and confident.
Howdy,
