I believe we are all creative. I want to inspire you to make time for creativity. There is no better time to start than now and it is never too late. Let’s take the journey together!
How many self-help books do you have on your shelves? I have generally steered away from such books, although I do have several. The question is: If self-help books really help, then why do people keep writing them? Every year there seems like a new flurry of “ideas” are touted by the latest media gurus. I am not saying they can’t be useful or helpful. I am sure they must be helpful to a degree. I have one that I keep trying to get rid of, but I can’t quite seem to put it in the donate pile. It is a book that helped me to move forward at a point when I was unable to do so.
Some days, weeks, even months can feel monotonous and uninspired. Sometimes it is as if we are walking around in a daze–or, maybe it’s the feeling of having stepped into a deep, dark hole. If our creative senses are tired, often, all we need is something to give us focus, to inspire us, to invoke ideas—and, to help us find inspiration.
I have read that according to etiquette experts it is acceptable to say “Happy New Year” for the first seven to ten days of the year. I admit, it seems odd to me to use that phrase anytime after January 1. I am rethinking that this year. I wish you a Happy New Year!
On the route I often take to work in the mornings there is a lady who stands and waits for the bus. The road is a busy, narrow, four lane with a hectic intersection where I always get stopped at the traffic light. Just to the right of where I wait on the light is a bus stop. The bus stops in the right lane between 8 and 8:15 every morning. There is a grassy strip of land next to a Walgreens parking lot where people stand waiting for the bus. It is not level, but hilly and uneven. It is a very unlikely place to see a dancing lady.
Each season has its own sights and smells. Each has its particular light, temperature, weather, and foliage. Spring may be my favorite, but autumn is especially colorful and delightful!
Pieces of paper are important to me. Sometimes they become a song lyric, a blog idea, or simply a reminder of a past event that is meaningful. I have often typed the phrases or sentences into the computer and printed them out . . . but, it simply, is not as much fun or evocative of that moment when I jotted those ideas down.
From the 1940s onward, there has been a greater diversity of sounds and instruments used in country music. Right along with the fiddle, steel guitar, banjo, harmonica, and mandolin—the harpsichord is included on occasion—even as far back as the late 1950s. I admit that I found this very surprising.
Harpsichord continues to be used in recordings—sometimes only in the background, but often it takes a prominent role. I find it fascinating how many ways this versatile instrument is used.
This blog is the third in a series that explores the use of harpsichord in popular music. The harpsichord continued to be used after the 1960s to provide a background filler or a distinctive timbre for solos.
In the 1940s and 1950s (outside of classical music) the harpsichord had been more or less a prop or novelty instrument in jazz and popular music. During the 1960s, the harpsichord became an unlikely star. It was everywhere and in all kinds of music—from TV and movie themes, to jazz, country, soul, easy listening, and of course pop . . . especially Baroque Pop and psychedelia. This blog is the second in a series that explores the use of harpsichord in popular music.
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